I'm relocating with my family (all EU citizens) from London to Switzerland very soon, I'm trying to plan everything and I have questions. Brexit + Covid means online information is frequently sparse or out of date.

Here's our current plan:

The relocation company is moving our bulky household goods. They will be taking our filled out 18.44 originals to get this stuff into Switzerland and won't deliver until we have our permanent accommodation, ETA ~6 weeks after we arrive.

Very shortly after our house has been emptied by the relocation company, we need to physically move ourselves (me, my partner and our toddler) and two cats along with:

• enough stuff to be comfortable for 6 weeks in temporary accommodation; clothes, laptops etc.
• valuable stuff that can't be trivially replaced; e.g. 10 bottles of expensive wine
• non-replacable stuff like archive hard drives (I don't have enough time to back these up online)

A rough estimate of the current (e.g. taxable) value of this stuff is about 10k GBP or 12k CHF, but it's almost all used (save toddler clothes) and should be imported via relocation. We think we have the cats covered (vaccines, health cert etc.)

This is more stuff than we think we can comfortably move in a plane trip, so we are planning to rent a car or even a three-seat van in the UK, drive through France into Switzerland, then I'd drive it back to the UK to return it, and finally - an additional complication - I'd ride my motorbike back to Switzerland. I can import the motorbike later, that's not a specific problem.

Specific questions:

What's the right way to cross from UK to France with our vehicle filled with stuff without trouble with customs, given that we're only passing through, and we won't have the 18.44 originals?

What's the right way to cross from France to Switzerland without trouble with customs, given that we won't have the 18.44 originals?

Should I be altering my plan?

Useful information will be very gratefully received!

-- Barry

I've just discovered this recent thread, which is highly relevant:


https://www.englishforum.ch/transpor...gh-france.html


And I've been informed elsewhere that multiple 18.44 forms are possible, I guess if they're all marked partial. While I'll be handing over one form to the relo company I expect my own form will be the first one customs actually see.

I'll just add my anecdotical experience: both times when I moved and when I moved my girlfriend, I just went straight to the tourist customs point instead of the commercial customs with a car full of stuff to the roof. In both cases it went like this with the border agent:
- what's all the stuff?
- I'm moving
- everything used by at least 6 months?
- yep
- whatever, go

So this might be a possibility to save time and fuss. Of course if you have something that needs to leave a paper trail - this approach does not work. Also, in case the agent is picky, it is probably better to try this during the opening hours of the commercial customs, so you have a plan B