The International Moving Process, Explained by People Who've Actually Done It
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Moving across town is stressful enough. Moving across an ocean adds passports, customs declarations, freight schedules, and at least one language barrier into the mix, on top of everything you’re already juggling with a normal move.
The international moving process looks nothing like a local move stretched out over more miles, and treating it that way is exactly how shipments end up sitting at a port for six weeks or hit with a customs fee nobody warned you about. Reebie Storage & Moving was founded in 1880, long before international freight was routine, and we’ve spent the century since figuring out what actually needs to happen, and in what order, for a shipment to leave one country and arrive intact in another.
Here’s what that looks like when it’s handled by people who’ve done it thousands of times.
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Step One: The Survey That Actually Sets the Plan
Every international move starts with a survey, either in person or over video, where we go through your home room by room instead of guessing off a square-footage estimate. This is where the real planning happens: what’s coming with you, what’s being sold or donated before you go, and which items need special handling because of size, value, or the specific rules of your destination country.
From that survey, you get a written estimate and a customized plan that accounts for the actual scope of your move, not a generic package built for a domestic relocation and stretched to fit.
This step matters more for an overseas move than it would for a move across the state, because the international moving process only works if the plan is accurate from the start.
A shipment that gets re-quoted mid-transit because the initial estimate missed a room, or missed a piano, creates delays that ripple through every step that comes after it, from freight booking to customs paperwork.
Step Two: The Paperwork Nobody Warns You About
This is where most of the stress in an international move actually lives, and it’s also where having an experienced partner matters most.
Every country sets its own rules for what can enter and what requires special documentation, from vehicle titles to firearms to certain electronics, and getting this wrong doesn’t just slow things down, it can get a shipment held at customs indefinitely.
Our team prepares the documentation your specific destination requires, including detailed inventory manifests, customs declarations, and any permits tied to restricted or regulated items.
We also walk you through what you’ll need to handle personally, since visas, work permits, and residency paperwork aren’t something a moving company can do on your behalf. Keeping those two tracks, our documentation and your personal paperwork, moving on the same timeline is a big part of what keeps the international moving process from stalling out somewhere in the middle.
Customs Paperwork Shouldn’t Be the Reason Your Move Gets Delayed. We Handle It.
Step Three: Packing and Choosing How Your Shipment Travels
Once the plan is set, our crew packs and crates your belongings for a trip that’s a lot rougher than a domestic move, sometimes weeks at sea, multiple points of transfer, and handling by more than one crew before your things reach your door.
Furniture gets wrapped and padded, fragile and high-value items get custom wooden crating, and everything gets a detailed inventory number so nothing gets lost between departure and arrival.
You’ll also decide between ocean freight and air freight at this stage, and it’s worth understanding the tradeoff.
- Ocean Freight: Ocean freight costs less and handles large shipments well, but takes considerably longer, often four to eight weeks depending on the destination.
- Air Freight: Air freight moves in days rather than weeks but costs significantly more, and usually makes sense only for smaller shipments or items you need immediately.
Most full household relocations go by ocean, with a smaller air shipment covering the essentials you’ll need before the rest of your things arrive.
Step Four: The Network That Actually Gets You There
None of this works without a global network capable of handling a shipment on both ends, which is why we operate as an agent for Allied International rather than trying to manage overseas logistics on our own.
That partnership gives our customers access to more than a thousand locations across 37 countries, meaning your shipment isn’t handed off to an unfamiliar subcontractor once it leaves the country, it’s managed by a network built specifically for this kind of move.
You get a shipment tracking system that lets you follow your belongings through each stage of the international moving process, from the day your crew finishes loading to the day your shipment clears customs at the destination port.
That visibility matters more here than it would domestically, simply because there are more steps and more places where a shipment could otherwise go quiet for weeks with no update.
Step Five: Customs Clearance, Handled Instead of Explained to You
Customs clearance is the single most common place an international move goes sideways when it’s handled by a company without real experience in it.
Every destination has its own rules about duty-free allowances, restricted goods, and required paperwork, and getting even one form wrong can mean your shipment sits in a bonded warehouse while the issue gets sorted out.
Our team manages this step directly rather than leaving you to navigate a foreign country’s customs bureaucracy on your own from thousands of miles away.
That includes preparing the declarations in advance, coordinating with customs brokers at the destination, and resolving any questions that come up before they turn into a weeks-long hold.
It’s the step in the international moving process where experience shows up the most, because there’s no generic checklist that works for every country equally.
Step Six: Arrival, Unpacking, and the Part Everyone Forgets to Ask About
Once your shipment clears customs, our destination crew delivers everything to your new home and unpacks it into the rooms where it belongs rather than leaving boxes stacked in an entryway.
Furniture gets reassembled, packing debris gets removed, and your detailed inventory gets checked against what arrived so any discrepancy is caught immediately instead of discovered weeks later.
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What Nobody Tells You Could Go Wrong
A few things trip up international movers more often than anything else, and most of them are avoidable with the right planning upfront.
- Prohibited Items: Certain countries restrict or outright ban specific items, from particular electronics to wood furniture without the correct treatment certification, and finding this out after your shipment has already left is an expensive problem to have.
- Current Exchange Differences: Currency exchange rates can shift the actual cost of a move that’s quoted partly in a foreign currency.
- Pets, Vehicles & Misc Items: Pets, vehicles, and firearms each come with their own separate set of rules that have nothing to do with the rest of your household shipment.
Working through these details during the survey and planning stage, rather than discovering them mid-shipment, is most of what separates a smooth international moving process from one that turns into a months-long headache. It’s also why a written, itemized plan upfront matters so much more here than it does for a move down the street.
Protection for What You Can't Just Replace From Another Continent
We provide full-value insurance coverage for your belongings throughout the entire international shipment, not just for the domestic leg before it leaves the country. If damage or loss does happen, and across an ocean and multiple handoffs it occasionally does, our claims team works to resolve it directly and quickly rather than routing you through a foreign insurer with no local point of contact.
Given how much can happen to a shipment between a home in one country and a home in another, that coverage is not a detail worth skipping to save a little on the estimate.
What Actually Drives the Cost
Pricing for an overseas move depends on more variables than a domestic relocation does: the volume and weight of your shipment, the distance and freight method, destination-country fees and duties, and any specialty packing your belongings need for a longer transit.
Ocean freight is priced differently than air freight, and some destinations carry higher port and customs handling fees than others regardless of how much you’re shipping.
We provide a detailed, written estimate after the survey rather than a rough number, because two households shipping the same volume of goods to two different countries can end up with very different final costs once destination fees are factored in.
Getting that breakdown upfront, before anything is packed, is what keeps a quote from turning into a surprise invoice once your shipment has already left the country.
Ready to Start Your Move Overseas?
Reebie has been moving households and businesses since 1880, and for decades that’s included getting people safely to new lives on other continents through our partnership with Allied International. Get your free quote online or call our team to walk through your specific destination, timeline, and budget before your international move even gets its first date on the calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an international move typically take from start to finish?
It depends heavily on your destination and the freight method you choose, but most ocean shipments take four to eight weeks in transit after pickup, plus time on either end for packing and customs clearance. Air freight moves faster, often within days, though it’s usually reserved for smaller shipments rather than an entire household.
Do I need to handle my own visa and immigration paperwork?
Yes. Visas, work permits, and residency documentation are handled directly between you and the relevant government or embassy, since a moving company has no authority over that process. We do coordinate the shipping documentation and customs paperwork for your belongings, which runs on a separate but connected timeline.
What items are commonly restricted or banned for international shipment?
This varies significantly by destination, but common restrictions include certain electronics, untreated wood furniture, plants and food items, firearms, and some medications. We review your inventory against your specific destination’s rules during the survey stage so nothing gets flagged once it’s already in transit.
Can I ship my car or pet internationally along with my household goods?
Vehicles and pets can typically be shipped internationally, but both involve separate documentation and regulations distinct from a standard household shipment, and pricing is quoted apart from your main move. We coordinate these as part of your overall relocation plan rather than treating them as an afterthought.
What happens if my shipment gets held up in customs?
Our team works directly with customs brokers at your destination to resolve any documentation issues as quickly as possible. Because we prepare your paperwork in advance and know what each destination typically requires, holds are uncommon, but when they do happen, you have a dedicated point of contact managing the resolution rather than being left to sort it out with a foreign customs office yourself.