Shipping Furniture from the UK to New Zealand

For smaller furniture shipments, a shared container is normally the most economical sea-freight option.

You pay according to the amount of container space your professionally packed shipment occupies instead of paying for an entire container.

For larger furniture loads, a dedicated 20ft or 40ft container can become better value once the packed volume reaches a certain point.

It depends on the furniture.

High-quality furniture, complete furniture sets, bespoke pieces, antiques and sentimental items can be expensive or impossible to replace and are often stronger candidates for international shipping.

Low-value flat-pack furniture and very bulky inexpensive items may be less economical. Compare the shipping cost against the cost and availability of buying furniture of an equivalent quality after arriving in New Zealand.

Yes. You do not need to fill an entire container.

Our shared-container service can be used for a few pieces of furniture, a partial household shipment or furniture combined with boxes and personal belongings.

Small part-load furniture shipments currently start from around £791.

Yes. Sofas can be professionally export packed and shipped in either a shared or dedicated container.

Because sofas can occupy a large amount of cubic space, their dimensions will have a significant effect on shared-container pricing.

Sending photographs and measurements when requesting a quote helps us estimate the likely packed volume more accurately.

Yes, in most cases.

Ordinary clean household furniture can generally be imported, but New Zealand has strict biosecurity requirements for goods that may contain untreated plant material, insects, soil or other contaminants.

Antique, handcrafted, cane, bamboo or unusual wooden items should be identified before shipping so the relevant MPI requirements can be checked.

Ordinary household furniture does not automatically need fumigation simply because it is being shipped to New Zealand.

However, MPI may require inspection, cleaning, treatment or other action where an item presents a biosecurity risk.

Furniture should therefore be clean and accurately declared before shipment.

Yes. Outdoor furniture should be thoroughly cleaned and free from soil, mud, plant material, seeds, insects and other contamination.

Pay particular attention to feet, undersides, joints, hollow sections, wheels, castors and areas beneath covers where dirt or organic material can collect.

Items that arrive contaminated can be directed for cleaning, treatment, re-shipment or destruction, with additional charges potentially applying.

No. Where dismantling is appropriate, our packing team can deal with suitable furniture as part of the professional packing process.

Not every item should be dismantled. The packing team will determine the safest and most space-efficient way to prepare your furniture for international transit.

Yes. Furniture shipments regularly contain a combination of furniture, cartons and personal belongings.

For shared shipments, these can be protected and palletised together as one identifiable consignment.

All contents must be accurately listed on the inventory and comply with New Zealand Customs and MPI biosecurity requirements.

Yes, but new or unused furniture does not qualify for the normal concession available to qualifying used household effects.

It must be declared to New Zealand Customs, and duty and GST can apply.

Keep invoices, receipts or other proof of purchase and value available, and tell your Move Manager about any newly purchased furniture before shipping.

No. There is not a general 12-month ownership requirement for ordinary household furniture under the current household-effects concession.

New Zealand Customs requires qualifying household effects to have been personally owned and used by you before departure.

The 12-month ownership rule commonly associated with moving to New Zealand applies to certain other categories, such as vehicles, rather than normal household furniture.

Current sea transit times vary by destination port.

As a guide, current schedules are around 58 days to Auckland, 64 days to Tauranga, 66 days to Christchurch/Lyttelton and 70 days to Wellington from vessel departure.

Allow additional time for UK collection and packing, export preparation, New Zealand Customs and MPI biosecurity clearance and final delivery.

They can.

New Zealand Customs may examine household-effects shipments to verify the information supplied.

MPI separately screens household-goods documentation and inventories for biosecurity risks and can require inspection, cleaning, treatment or other action where necessary.

Not every individual household shipment requires a full physical inspection of all goods.

NZCS 218 is the New Zealand Customs form used when bringing unaccompanied personal household items into New Zealand.

It forms part of the documentation required for clearing household furniture and personal effects through New Zealand Customs.

We can advise you on the documentation required for your shipment before your furniture leaves the UK.

Yes, subject to the materials from which the items are made and any relevant import restrictions.

Antiques, artwork, mirrors and fragile or valuable furniture can require additional protective packing or bespoke crating.

Items containing plant or animal material can also be subject to MPI biosecurity rules or CITES controls, so tell us about unusual pieces before shipping.

Shipment protection is not compulsory in every case, but internationally shipped furniture can be expensive to repair or replace.

Our Move Protect options are designed for international household-goods shipments and are based on the replacement values you declare.

It is particularly worth considering for valuable, fragile, bespoke or sentimental furniture.

We provide professional furniture collection and packing throughout mainland UK.

Collection is normally arranged sufficiently ahead of the planned sailing to allow time for professional packing, measurement, inventory preparation and Customs and biosecurity documentation.

We provide door-to-door delivery throughout New Zealand.

This includes Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga, Hamilton, Dunedin, Queenstown, Nelson, Napier and regional destinations across both the North and South Islands.

Your exact delivery address should be supplied when requesting your quotation because inland delivery distance can affect the final cost.

The biggest controllable factor is volume.

Before shipping, compare bulky low-value furniture with the cost of replacing it in New Zealand.

Where appropriate, dismantling suitable furniture can reduce wasted container space.

For shared shipments, efficient professional packing also matters because your shipping cost is closely connected to the final packed volume.

Booking early gives you more choice over collection dates and provides time to deal with Customs and MPI biosecurity requirements properly.

This is particularly useful if your shipment contains outdoor furniture, sporting equipment, unusual wood products or other belongings that may need additional checking or preparation.

If you need to ship at short notice, contact us with your preferred dates and we can check the next suitable collection and sailing options.