ToR1: the form that can save your move to England thousands of euros

Before Brexit the removal lorry simply drove on through. Now there is a real customs border between Hook of Holland and Harwich, and with that your household goods are formally an import — with import duty and VAT on the value of everything you bring, unless you have relief. That relief exists, is called Transfer of Residence (ToR), is free, and the only thing it asks is that you arrange it in time. Yet this is the step removal companies most often see go wrong, simply because people don't know it exists.

The conditions

The relief is for whoever really moves, and the requirements match:

• You lived at least twelve consecutive months outside the UK — for a Dutch citizen emigrating, true by definition.
• Your goods have been in your possession and in use for at least six months before the move. The sofa from the living room qualifies; the television you quickly bought last month does not.
• The import takes place within twelve months of you settling in the UK. So you don't have to bring everything in one go — a second trip six months later is covered too.
• Afterwards you may not sell, hire out or transfer the imported goods for twelve months. Alcohol and tobacco fall outside the relief in any case.

How you apply

The application (the ToR1 form) runs online at HMRC and takes an evening. You supply: an inventory list of the goods — and it may be practical: grouping as "kitchen items, 8 boxes" is allowed, and even a photo of a handwritten list is accepted — plus proof of your British address (tenancy agreement, bank statement), proof of your Dutch address, and the photo page of your passport. If the car comes along, make, model, chassis number, registration number and purchase date go with it.

After approval you get a unique reference number — the URN. That number is the whole point of the exercise: your removal company (or its customs agent) uses it in the import declaration, and with that the goods cross the border free of duty and VAT. So pass the URN on as soon as you have it, and choose a removal company that regularly drives to the UK: whoever looks puzzled at "ToR" or "URN" is leaving you to do the homework they ought to know.

The timing

HMRC gives no fixed processing time, so plan generously: apply for the ToR as soon as your British address is known, weeks before the moving date — the application can already be running while the boxes are still empty, and you may declare the goods before they are shipped. The order is sacred: first the approval and the URN, only then the lorry. The other way round means your goods stand waiting at customs — or worse, that at the border you still have to pay up on your own sofa, bed and books.