Route · Putney to Portugal
Removals from Putney to Portugal
Portugal is reached through Spain, which makes it the longest single drive of the four and the route where sharing a vehicle is most common. Lisbon in particular will feel familiar to anyone leaving a conversion: a city built on hills, with narrow older parishes and buildings that were not designed around a three-seater.
The Algarve takes most of the volume. Lisbon and Cascais behave like city moves and bring the staircase question with them.
Who takes this route from Putney
- Remote workers and younger households to Lisbon, Cascais and the Silver Coast, moving less furniture and more equipment.
- Retirements and semi-retirements to the Algarve — usually a whole household, and very often with a holding period in the middle.
- Second-home owners around Porto and the north, shipping part-loads both ways.
Getting out of SW15
South Circular and A3 to the M25, round to the M20 and the Eurotunnel shuttle from Folkestone. It is a long way, and the shuttle earns its place mainly by keeping the driver's allowance intact for the drive that follows.
Down through France on the A26, A10 and A63 to the border at Irún, then across northern Spain. For Porto and the north, the A-52 and A-55 through Vigo. For Lisbon and the Algarve the route runs south through Salamanca and crosses at Vilar Formoso, or further south via Badajoz towards the A6 and Lisbon, then the A2 down to the Algarve.
Where we deliver
Customs and the file
Portugal wants a Portuguese tax number and a certificate of baggage alongside the usual inventory. It is a well-worn process that works reliably, provided the documents are gathered before the goods travel rather than chased while they sit at a port.
Who obtains what
| Document | Obtained by | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Detailed inventory (valued, in Portuguese) | Us | Prepared at survey and translated, with each electrical item listed separately. |
| NIF (número de identificação fiscal) | You | The Portuguese tax number — required for the declaration and for daily life there. |
| Certificado de bagagem | You | The baggage certificate, through the consulate or the appropriate authority for your circumstances. |
| Proof of the Portuguese address | You | Deeds, a registered lease, or your residence registration. |
| Proof the UK residence has ended | You | Completion paperwork or a final council tax bill from the Putney address. |
| Export declaration and Portuguese import entry | Us | Both raised against the same inventory through our Portuguese agent. |
Rows marked You are the ones that stall a load when they are left late — begin those first. Rows marked Us are prepared here and lodged against the inventory taken at your flat.
A city on hills
Lisbon does to a delivery what a converted terrace does to a departure. The older parishes are steep, the streets are narrow, and the buildings have staircases that were generous in 1890 and are not now. An exterior lift on the street is the standard local answer and it has to be booked, so we establish whether your building needs one before quoting rather than after.
The Algarve is the opposite in every respect except one: the access is good, the roads are wide, and the doors are small. Older villas have thick walls and openings that were never designed around modern furniture. Take a tape to the doorways at the viewing — the same measurement you have been taking in SW15, for the same reason.
Third, the holding stage matters more on this route than any other. Algarve purchases run late with real regularity. Collect against the date that is certain, hold the goods listed, and ship when the far end is genuine.
Putney to Portugal
Questions on this route
01 Do you go through Spain?
Yes — there is no other overland way, which is why this is the longest drive of the four and why part-loads are so common on it.
02 Will we need an exterior lift in Lisbon?
In the older, steeper parishes, frequently. It is routine there rather than exotic, it requires booking, and it changes the plan and the quote — so we establish it in advance.
03 What is the certificate of baggage?
A Portuguese document confirming the goods are your used personal effects accompanying a change of residence. The application is yours; ours is making sure the inventory describes the same consignment.
04 Can you hold our things while the purchase completes?
Yes, and on this route it is close to standard. Collected in Putney, listed and held, with the export file built from that same inventory.
05 Will our furniture fit an Algarve villa?
Measure the entrance, the turn and any stairs and send us three numbers. Thick walls and small openings are the norm in older properties there.
06 Are electricals worth taking?
Portugal runs the continental voltage and plug standard, so UK appliances need adaptors and some do not enjoy the change. Big white goods rarely justify the freight.
Moving from Putney to Portugal?
Both addresses, the floor at each end, and whether the far end has a date yet. We will come back with the route, the documents to begin, and a written quote.