Guides / ToR1 in several shipments · Updated 30 September 2026

Moving to the UK in several shipments under ToR1

Transfer of Residence relief can cover a move that arrives in more than one load, as long as every consignment meets the same conditions and arrives in time. Here is how to plan the reference number, the dates and the inventory.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Very few moves to the UK happen in one go. A common pattern is a van with the essentials first, a car driven over separately, and the rest of the household following weeks or months later once a lease is signed. Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief can still cover that, but splitting a move creates timing and paperwork risks that a single shipment does not. This guide looks only at the multi-shipment side of ToR1. The general conditions are covered in our main guide, moving to the UK from Poland with ToR1 relief.

Splitting a move is allowed

HMRC's guidance on transfer of residence to Great Britain says it plainly: the goods can be imported in multiple consignments. Nothing on gov.uk requires you to bring everything in one lorry. What it does require is that every consignment still meets the same conditions as the first one.

Those conditions, as HMRC sets them out, are:

• you have been resident outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months before moving;
• you have had the goods in your possession for at least 6 months before moving to the UK;
• you intend to use the goods in the UK for the same purpose you used them for before moving;
• you import the goods within 12 months of coming to live in the UK.

Relief is for personal property meant for your own use or household needs. It does not apply to alcoholic beverages, tobacco and tobacco products, or commercial means of transport, so those items do not become eligible simply because they travel in a later load.

One approval, used on each declaration

HMRC says you must get approval before claiming the relief, by completing a ToR1 form with details of the goods and evidence to support your claim. You then receive a unique reference number, which should be used on your import declaration. HMRC also warns that if a valid unique reference number cannot be quoted on the import declaration, you may be billed for duty and VAT.

In practice this means every shipped consignment needs its own import declaration, and each of those declarations needs to quote your reference. Give the number to whoever lodges each declaration for you. If the first load goes with one removal firm and the second with another, both need it. The customs procedure code HMRC gives for these declarations is 40 00 C01. See our guide to customs procedure codes if that format is unfamiliar.

For goods that travel with you in person, HMRC says most personal goods can be declared by conduct or orally. A formal declaration and the ToR1 reference are for goods that are shipped.

The 12-month window after you arrive

The time limit that matters most for a staged move is the requirement to import the goods within 12 months of coming to live in the UK. The clock is tied to the date you came to live here, not to when your first van crossed. A final shipment that arrives after the window closes falls outside the condition as HMRC states it.

A realistic plan works backwards from that date:

1. Record the date you actually took up residence in the UK. Keep proof of your UK address, because the ToR1 application asks for it.
2. List every later consignment with a target arrival date well inside the 12 months, leaving room for delays at the border or with the carrier.
3. Put the items you are least sure about, such as a second vehicle or goods still in use abroad, into an earlier load rather than the last one.

Goods sent before you arrive

Some people send a first load ahead of themselves so the flat is furnished when they land. The gov.uk transfer of residence page frames its general conditions around the date you move and the 12 months after it. Apart from a separate rule for goods imported ahead of a marriage or civil partnership, which calls for a guarantee, it does not set out a separate procedure for goods arriving before you. If you plan to ship ahead of your own arrival, raise it with HMRC or your agent before the goods leave, so the ToR1 application and dates are consistent. Do not assume the relief will simply apply.

Goods kept in storage

Storage between loads is where staged moves tend to go wrong. Gov.uk does not give a separate rule for goods held in storage. The relevant tests are still the ones above: how long you have owned and used the items, and whether they reach the UK within 12 months of your move. Long storage abroad can push a final consignment past the window. Storage also makes it easier to include items that were never really part of your household, and those do not qualify.

If goods have to wait in storage, keep the storage agreement and dates with your move file. They help show the goods were already yours and part of the move when the final load is declared.

What to put on the inventory

The ToR1 application needs details of the goods. HMRC's application guidance helps here: you do not need to list individual items in a group, such as each book or each piece of clothing, and you can estimate numbers for things like kitchen items. A typed document, a spreadsheet or a photo of a handwritten list is acceptable.

For a split move, build the list so each consignment can be traced back to it:

• group items by room or category, with estimated quantities;
• mark which consignment each group is expected to travel in, including anything left in storage;
• give vehicle details separately, as the application asks for identifiers such as the VIN, registration and year of manufacture;
• keep a copy with every load so the declarant can match what is on the vehicle to the list HMRC accepted with your application.

HMRC says you can make an addition to an application, but you cannot amend it after it has been submitted. If you realise that something going in a later load is missing, add it rather than expecting to correct the original.

After the goods arrive

Relieved goods cannot be lent, used as security, hired out or transferred to another person within 12 months of the date you moved. That applies to every consignment, not only the first.

If a consignment was charged duty or VAT when relief should have applied, HMRC's guidance covers late claims. Where the goods went through the Customs Declaration Service, the repayment form is C285. See the glossary entry for CDS.

When to get help

A staged move usually means several declarations and sometimes several carriers. The main risks are a missing reference number on one of them, or a final load that misses the 12-month window. If you are coordinating a van, a separate vehicle and goods in storage, a clear record of dates is often the most useful single thing. Easy Clearance publishes a planner for multi-shipment UK moves that lays each load, vehicle and storage gap out side by side. If you are unsure whether you need an agent at all, read do you need a customs broker.

Related guides

• Moving to the UK from Poland: transfer of residence relief (ToR1)

• Importing a car or van into the UK from the EU

• Inward processing in the UK: duty and VAT relief for processing and repair

Sources

• Transfer of residence to Great Britain (GOV.UK)
• Application for transfer of residence relief ToR1 (GOV.UK)

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.