Removals to Denmark
Williams & Yates plan and manage removals to Denmark from the UK for private families, the PAs and household managers who act for them, and corporate mobility teams relocating a senior executive. One dedicated move coordinator manages the whole home’s journey, from the first survey in the UK to the last box unpacked in Denmark.
This page focuses on Copenhagen and its northern suburbs, from Frederiksberg apartments to Hellerup villas, though we deliver across Denmark.
When you are ready, arrange a tailored home survey and your coordinator will start planning.
Your Move to Denmark, Planned Around the Route and the Address
A move from the UK to Denmark is a long road move across the Channel and the continent, ending either on Jutland, the Danish mainland, or on an island, most often Zealand, where Copenhagen sits. The route and the delivery address decide the plan, so your coordinator plans both and is your single point of contact.
For a full household, your belongings travel on a vehicle dedicated to them, which also suits an address with set delivery rules. Smaller consignments, the first phase of a phased move or a second home can travel on our European part-load service. Your coordinator recommends one at the survey, and our guide to moving house by sea, air or road explains the options.
The survey takes place in person or virtually. Your coordinator completes the inventory for you, assesses access at both ends (stairs, lifts and kerbside) and plans storage at the same time. They also handle customs, duties and Denmark’s own requirements, and we are FIDI/FAIM accredited and members of BAR and IAM.
A PA or household manager often runs a move like this day to day, and we work alongside them throughout. Most PAs we work with prefer one end-of-day update to a stream of calls. A project manager can also fly out to Denmark and direct the crews through the unpack alongside your PA. One move can combine more than one collection address, such as a main residence and a second home.
Corporate mobility managers deal with one contact, and the paperwork is handled with certainty, so the family’s arrival stays calm.
At the Danish address, you choose how far the crew goes. A debris clear unpack unpacks every box onto clear surfaces so you can arrange things yourself. The full white-glove service unpacks everything, puts it away and makes up the beds.
-
Storage While You Find Your Danish Home
Finding the right home in Copenhagen can take time, so your belongings may be ready to leave the UK before a settled address exists. Storage is part of the plan from the survey.
In the UK, our high-security storage in London and Dunstable keeps your belongings together in their own containers, temperature and humidity-controlled, with a picture inventory taken before anything goes in.
We also have storage in Denmark, so belongings can wait close to their final address and cleared customs for swift final delivery.
A phased delivery can send essentials to a first address while the rest waits. The slip we see most often is winter coats sent into storage, so we flag them at survey. Fine art can wait in our fine art storage in the UK until the Danish property is ready.
-
-
-
Fine Art, Design Pieces and Valued Collections in Denmark
A Danish home of this kind often holds design furniture and lighting alongside paintings and sculpture, so the packing has to suit lacquer, polished metal and sculptural forms as well as canvas. Packing materials are chosen piece by piece: quilted wrapping paper for shiny surfaces, oil-based paper where a surface could sweat in transit, and a bespoke crate where a piece needs one.
Our in-house crating workshop builds crates to specification for any shape or size. Paintings, sculptures and statues are measured at the survey so their crates are ready before collection, and crates for international moves use ISPM 15 compliant timber. With a heavy sculpture, our crews analyse where the weight sits, and it is wrapped and crated around that before it goes near the vehicle.
Antiques containing ivory, tortoiseshell or similar protected materials fall under the EU’s wildlife trade rules when they enter Denmark, and documentation is needed before they move. We handle this through CITES paperwork, a separate regime from customs relief, as our guide to CITES permits for antiques and fine art explains.
Wine and other alcohol sit outside customs relief, so duties and taxes are payable, as our page on moving wine collections explains.
Bringing Cars and Pets to Denmark
Your car and pets can travel with the household consignment, planned so everything arrives in the right order.
A vehicle that must be registered in Denmark needs registering before use on Danish roads, and registration triggers Danish registration tax, which falls on the owner. The Danish Customs Agency refers cars brought from outside the EU to the Danish Motor Vehicle Agency. We transport the vehicle, and the tax position is yours to confirm with the Danish authorities before you decide to bring it.
A dog entering Denmark from the UK is arriving from outside the EU. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration’s rules for travelling with a dog require a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination (a first one given at least 21 days before entry), an animal health certificate and arrival through an approved entry point. Denmark also bans 13 dog breeds and their crossbreeds, with no dispensation, even for visitors.
-
The Route From the UK to Copenhagen and the Rest of Denmark
A road move to Denmark crosses the Channel between Folkestone and Calais, on LeShuttle Freight or by ferry, the same crossings used for our removals to France. From there the route runs through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, entering Denmark on Jutland.
Denmark’s geography shapes the final leg. Aarhus is on the east coast of Jutland, while Funen, home to Odense, and Zealand are islands joined by the Great Belt Bridge. The same coordinator-led approach applies to our removals to Sweden.
-
-
-
Delivering Into Copenhagen: Courtyard Apartments and the Northern Suburbs
Many older apartment buildings in Indre By, Christianshavn, Frederiksberg and Vesterbro are walk-ups without lifts, with narrow stairwells, entrances through a rear courtyard and cobbled streets outside. At the survey, your coordinator notes stair turns, doorway and stairwell widths, the lift size where there is one, and the nearest place a vehicle can stand.
Where a piece will not fit the stairs, a hired external furniture lift can take it in through a window, as we have done with a large American-style double wine fridge. A glazier removes the window first, and the window type and access are checked in advance.
Cycle lanes run along many central streets, and Copenhagen Municipality requires a road space permit for a vehicle of 3,500 kg or more, applied for by the removal company. Your coordinator arranges it well ahead of moving day and advises on timing.
Copenhagen is also one of five Danish cities with a low emission zone. Older foreign-registered diesel lorries need a particulate filter or Euro VI standard. Our fleet is modern and regularly refreshed to ensure we always meet low emissions zones across Europe and are as sustainable as possible.
North of the city, villas from Hellerup, Charlottenlund and Klampenborg on the coast to Lyngby and Holte inland, and on to Vedbæk and Rungsted, often have gated or gravel drives, narrow lanes and overhanging trees. The survey checks turning space, gate widths and how close the vehicle can get to the door, using smaller shuttle vehicles if access is restricted.
Danish Customs Relief and Registering Your Move
Since Brexit, a move from the UK to Denmark is a move from outside the EU customs territory. Your used household goods can still enter free of duty and VAT when you transfer your normal residence, provided you meet the Danish conditions. Wine, other alcohol and tobacco are excluded.
The Danish Customs Agency’s guidance for people moving to Denmark sets the conditions. You must have lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months, and the goods must have been owned and used for at least six months, for the same purpose in Denmark. They must arrive within 12 months after you move, or up to six months before with security for the duty and VAT. Lending, pledging or renting them out in the first 12 months after import makes duty and VAT payable. The relief rests on EU Council Regulation 1186/2009, which also excludes commercial vehicles and trade equipment.
We file a customs clearance declaration, and a declaration of personal property goes to the Danish Customs Agency with supporting documents such as a tenancy or employment contract. Your coordinator prepares the inventory and paperwork with our customs agent.
Once you arrive, you notify your arrival in person at the borgerservice in your new municipality, within five days of having a home and a residence permit. British citizens arriving now apply for a Danish residence permit as third-country nationals, and immigration and tax sit with specialist advisers. Registration is yours to complete, and your coordinator times delivery with it in view.
Denmark is one of many destinations within our European removals, and when you are ready, your coordinator can begin with a tailored home survey.
Moving To Denmark FAQs
-
Do I Need to Pay Duty on My Belongings When Moving to Denmark?
Usually not on used household goods, provided you are transferring your normal residence and meet the Danish conditions: 12 consecutive months living outside the EU and six months’ ownership and use. Wine, other alcohol, tobacco and vehicles are handled separately. A declaration is still needed, even for personal items.
-
How Does Moving Household Goods From the UK to Denmark Work After Brexit?
Your goods now cross an EU customs border, so they are imported into Denmark from a third country rather than moved within the EU. That means an inventory, a customs clearance declaration and a declaration of personal property. Your coordinator prepares the paperwork with our customs agent before collection.
-
Can a Removal Lorry Reach an Apartment in Central Copenhagen?
Yes, with planning, but a UK lorry cannot simply park outside. Copenhagen Municipality requires a road space permit for heavier removal vehicles, applied for well ahead of moving day. The survey checks stairs, lifts and windows, and a furniture lift can hoist larger pieces in.
-
Is a Dedicated Vehicle or a Part Load Better for a Move to Denmark?
A dedicated vehicle suits a full household and gives tighter control over delivery, which helps where a Copenhagen permit fixes the day. A part load suits smaller consignments, a second home or the first phase of a move. Your coordinator recommends the right one at the survey.
-
Can You Store My Belongings While I Look for a Home in Denmark?
Yes. We have storage in London and Dunstable and in Denmark, planned at the survey rather than left to the last minute. A phased delivery can send essentials to a temporary address while the rest waits for your permanent home.
-
Can I Bring My Car or Pets to Denmark?
Yes, both can travel as part of your move. A car must be registered before use on Danish roads, which triggers registration tax, so confirm the position with the Danish authorities first. Dogs need a microchip, rabies vaccination and a health certificate, and 13 breeds are banned.
-
Can My PA or Household Manager Run the Move for Me?
Yes. Many of our moves are run day to day by a PA or household manager, working with your coordinator throughout. A project manager can fly out to Denmark to direct the crews and the unpack alongside them. Corporate mobility teams get the same single point of contact.
To book or ask us a question, call us on 0208 081 0188 or get in touch.