International Relocation

Moving across borders, planned like a project

An international move has more moving parts than a domestic one — customs paperwork, shipping timelines, and packing that needs to survive a longer, multi-stage journey by sea or air. Urban Relocations supports households and businesses relocating internationally, coordinating the domestic portion of the move — packing, crating and transport to the port or airport — as part of a broader international relocation plan.

Clients typically reach out to us from our branch cities such as Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad when relocating for work, higher education, or family reasons. Since international shipments involve destination country regulations, freight forwarders and customs clearance, we work alongside these specialists to handle the packing and domestic transport portion professionally.

How it works

• A detailed survey of the household or office inventory to be shipped internationally
• Discussion on shipment mode (sea or air) based on your budget, timeline and volume
• Export-grade packing using wooden crates, corrugated sheets, bubble wrap and stretch film suited to a longer transit
• Preparation of a packing list and documentation needed for customs and shipping
• Transport to the port or airport, or coordination with the freight forwarder handling onward shipment

What's included

• Export-standard packing for furniture, electronics and personal effects
• Wooden crating for fragile and high-value items
• Detailed inventory and packing list preparation
• Loading and domestic transport to the port, airport or nominated handover point
• Coordination support with your shipping line or freight forwarding partner

International moves usually take considerably longer than domestic ones, since sea freight in particular can take several weeks depending on the destination, on top of customs clearance timelines at both ends. It's worth starting the planning process well ahead of your travel date, ideally as soon as your move is confirmed, so packing and documentation aren't rushed.

A good practice for international relocation is to separate items into what travels with you (essentials, documents, valuables) and what goes by sea or air freight, since the latter can take weeks to arrive. We can guide you on how households typically approach this split based on past moves.

Given the value and duration of international shipments, transit insurance is strongly worth considering. We provide GST-compliant bills for the domestic portion of the service, and can point you toward the documentation typically required for customs at the Indian end of the shipment.