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The UK-to-Ireland move is the fastest route AMC handles. Road freight, weekly departures in both directions, door-to-door to anywhere in Ireland in 3-5 days. If you're coming from London, Manchester, Birmingham, or anywhere in England, Scotland, or Wales, your belongings can be in your Irish home inside a week of collection.
What's changed since 2021 is the customs part. Before Brexit, goods moved from Great Britain into Ireland by truck with no customs process at all. Now there is one. It's manageable, AMC handles it, and if you qualify for Transfer of Residence relief your goods still arrive duty-free and VAT-free. But it exists, it needs documentation, and it's the part of this move that most people don't know about until they start asking questions.
This page covers the full picture: the logistics, the Brexit customs process, your car, your pets, what happens to your UK National Insurance record, and the financial details that are specific to people leaving the UK for Ireland.
The majority of AMC's UK inbound customers. Irish people who moved to London, Manchester, Edinburgh, or Birmingham, many in their 20s, some for a year or two, many who stayed for a decade or more. The return to Ireland is often prompted by the same things as the Australia and US returnees: family, the Irish housing market becoming more accessible than it was, or simply the decision that home is home.
This group typically qualifies for Transfer of Residence customs relief and, if they've kept a car, for VRT exemption on one vehicle. Their shipments vary widely, a studio flat from someone who went for two years looks completely different from a 4-bedroom semi from someone who raised their children in London.
Ireland's tech and financial services sectors attract people from across the UK. Dublin in particular has a significant British professional community. Post-Brexit, British citizens are no longer EU citizens, which affects their rights to live and work in Ireland. British people moving to Ireland to work now typically do so under an employment permit or the British-Irish common travel area arrangements, which do allow British citizens to live and work in Ireland without a visa, a provision that predates EU membership and remains in place.
This group tends to move smaller volumes and is often in less of a hurry. Their main concerns are healthcare, banking, and understanding how the Irish system differs from what they're used to.
A specific post-Brexit profile: people from EU countries who built a life in the UK and are now choosing to move within the EU, Ireland being the obvious English-speaking destination. These moves often happen quickly, with people relocating for a new job or ahead of a visa status change. The customs implications are the same as for any Great Britain origin shipment.
The UK-to-Ireland route is road freight. Your goods travel by truck, loaded and sealed at your UK address, and cross to Ireland by ferry. AMC runs weekly departures between Ireland and Great Britain in both directions.
The working ferry routes are Dublin-Holyhead (Stena Line and Irish Ferries, multiple crossings daily) and Rosslare-Pembroke (for moves to and from Wales and south-west England). The ferry crossing is 2-3.5 hours depending on route and vessel. Door-to-door transit time from most UK addresses: 3-5 days.
Groupage (shared truck): your goods share a truck with other shipments heading to Ireland at the same time. The right option for studios, one and two-bedroom apartments, or anyone moving a partial house. More cost-effective for smaller volumes. Transit time is slightly longer because the truck consolidates in the UK before departure.
Dedicated truck: the truck is yours. Everything in it belongs to you. Right for larger houses, people who want faster transit without consolidation, or situations where the volume justifies the cost. A standard removal truck holds roughly a 3-4 bedroom house worth of goods.
Scotland: AMC collects from any Scottish address. Glasgow and Edinburgh are frequent origin points. Transit to Dublin: add a day or two for the road leg from Scotland to the port. Total door-to-door is typically 4-6 days.
Wales: Pembroke is a Welsh port, so moves from south or west Wales can use the Rosslare route, which cuts the road leg considerably. Cardiff to Rosslare is a shorter land journey than Cardiff to Holyhead.
The short transit time compresses the logistics window, but the planning, finding your Irish address, getting your documentation together, sorting your UK affairs, still takes time.
Start the process for a larger move (3+ bedrooms). Book a video survey or in-home survey, AMC has teams on both sides. Confirm your Irish address and get your Transfer of Residence documents in order.
Sufficient for one and two-bedroom moves. The transit is fast, but customs documentation needs to be prepared and verified before collection day.
AMC confirms the collection date, truck arrival window, and customs documentation checklist. Goods are collected from your UK address, loaded, sealed, and routed to the ferry.
3-5 days from collection, your goods are at your Irish address. If your Irish address isn't confirmed yet, AMC holds at our Naas warehouse until you're ready.
Before Brexit, goods moved between Great Britain and Ireland freely within the EU single market. No customs declarations, no documentation beyond the removal inventory, no border process. A truck left Manchester and arrived in Dublin as simply as a truck leaving Cork arrives in Galway.
Since January 2021, goods crossing from Great Britain into Ireland are crossing an international customs boundary. Irish customs apply. For personal household effects being moved by someone relocating to Ireland, the mechanism that keeps those goods duty-free and VAT-free is Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief, the same relief that applies to moves from Australia and the US, now also applying to moves from Great Britain.
For returning Irish emigrants: you almost certainly qualify. If you've been in the UK for more than a year and are coming back with goods you've owned and used, ToR covers your household effects.
For British people and others arriving for the first time: the same conditions apply. If you've been a UK resident for 12+ months and the goods are your personal effects, owned for 6+ months, ToR relief applies.
What isn't covered: new items in original packaging, alcohol and tobacco (subject to Irish excise duty), commercially purchased goods, and vehicles (which go through the VRT process separately).
How AMC handles it: we file the ToR application to Irish Revenue on your behalf before your shipment crosses into Ireland. We prepare the customs declaration, compile the supporting documents, and manage Revenue clearance. You don't deal with customs directly.
What we need from you: a detailed inventory of everything in the shipment (AMC provides the template), proof of your UK address for the past 12+ months (utility bills, bank statements, tenancy agreement), proof of your new Irish address or confirmation it's in process, and your PPS number if you have one from a previous time in Ireland.
Moving from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland is handled differently under the Windsor Framework and involves a considerably more straightforward customs arrangement. If you're moving from Northern Ireland, ask AMC about the specific process, it's not the same as a Great Britain move.
UK cars are right-hand drive. They drive on the left. Their CO2 emissions are measured under WLTP testing, the same standard Ireland uses to calculate VRT rates. There's no ADR conversion (like Australian cars), no headlight adjustment (like US left-hand drive cars), no emissions standard reconciliation. Revenue takes the CO2 figure from the V5C (the UK registration document), calculates the OMSP, and the VRT rate follows directly.
Vehicle Registration Tax is Ireland's one-time registration tax on imported vehicles, calculated as a percentage of the car's Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) in Ireland. VRT rates run from 7% to 37% of OMSP depending on CO2 emissions under WLTP. Electric vehicles attract a flat rate of around €170.
If you've owned and used the car in the UK for at least 6 months and you've been living outside Ireland for at least 12 months, you may qualify for Transfer of Residence VRT relief, which exempts you from paying VRT on one vehicle. The conditions are the same as for ToR customs relief. On a mid-range petrol or diesel car, the relief can be worth €3,000-8,000.
If your car won't be driven in the UK between your move date and the day it's collected for transport to Ireland, declare it SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) with the DVLA. This cancels the UK road tax and confirms the vehicle is off the road. You'll cancel the UK insurance at the same time. Get Irish insurance in place before the car arrives in Ireland.
AMC transports vehicles alongside household goods in the removal truck and can quote for vehicle transport and VRT specialist introductions.
Pet travel from Great Britain to Ireland changed significantly after Brexit. This is one of the areas where the practical consequences of the UK leaving the EU are most visible to individuals.
Before Brexit, a pet with an EU pet passport, a microchip, and a current rabies vaccination could travel freely between the UK and Ireland. That system ended on 1 January 2021. EU pet passports issued in Great Britain are no longer accepted for travel into Ireland.
For dogs only: tapeworm treatment between 24 and 120 hours before arriving in Ireland.
Unlike moves from Australia, the US, or other non-EU listed countries, a rabies antibody titre test is not required for pets travelling from Great Britain, as long as the rabies vaccination is current and valid. This makes the UK pet process significantly faster and simpler than the Australia or USA process. There's no mandatory waiting period beyond the 21-day post-vaccination window.
If your pet has never been vaccinated against rabies, get the vaccination done at least 21 days before your planned travel date. That's the only timing consideration.
The AHC must be issued by a vet registered as an Official Veterinarian (OV) with APHA (Animal and Plant Health Agency). Not all vets are OVs, confirm your vet's OV status or ask for a referral to one. The certificate is valid for 10 days from issue, so timing the OV appointment close to your travel date matters.
Pets travelling from Northern Ireland to the Republic follow different rules, they can travel under EU pet travel rules with a valid EU pet passport, microchip, and rabies vaccination. This is separate from the Great Britain process above.
AMC doesn't transport live animals. We can connect you with specialist pet relocation services experienced on the GB-to-Ireland route who know the OV network and the AHC timing requirements.
This isn't financial or legal advice. Talk to a financial adviser and an Irish tax professional before you move. But here are the issues worth knowing about.
The UK and Ireland have a Social Security coordination agreement that predates both countries' EU membership. The practical effect is similar to the US Totalization Agreement: your UK National Insurance (NI) contribution record doesn't disappear when you move to Ireland.
Years you've paid NI in the UK count toward your entitlement to the UK State Pension. Moving to Ireland doesn't cancel those contributions and doesn't reset the clock. If you've paid enough qualifying years (currently 35 for a full UK State Pension), you'll receive a UK State Pension at UK State Pension age regardless of where you live, including in Ireland.
If you haven't reached 35 qualifying years, you can make voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 NI contributions from Ireland to fill gaps. The rates for voluntary contributions are published by HMRC and are worth checking if you're a few years short, the cost per year versus the pension benefit can be a strong return.
Once you're in Ireland and employed, you'll pay Irish PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) instead of UK NI. Years of Irish PRSI contribute toward the Irish State Pension (Contributory). The Ireland-UK coordination agreement means your UK NI years and Irish PRSI years can be combined to meet the minimum qualifying period for either country's State Pension, even if neither total alone would be sufficient.
These stay where they are. Your UK employer pension, personal pension, or SIPP doesn't transfer to Ireland. It remains in the UK, managed by the UK provider, and you access it at the relevant pension age. Distributions from UK pensions while you're an Irish resident fall under the Ireland-UK Double Taxation Agreement, they're typically taxable in Ireland, with a credit for any UK tax withheld. Get specific advice on your pension type before you start drawing.
ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) lose their tax-advantaged status the moment you become an Irish tax resident. Irish Revenue doesn't recognise the ISA wrapper. Growth within the ISA, dividends, interest, capital gains, becomes taxable in Ireland from the date you establish Irish tax residency. The ISA itself doesn't disappear; you can keep the account open in most cases, and it remains UK tax-free from HMRC's perspective. But you'll owe Irish tax on growth going forward.
If you have a substantial ISA, talk to a dual-qualified adviser before you move. Some people choose to realise gains before leaving the UK, while the gains are still UK tax-free.
Most UK banks allow you to keep your account after moving to Ireland, but some apply non-resident policies and close accounts or restrict access. Check with your bank before you move. Keep at least one UK account if possible, you'll need it for UK pension payments, any ongoing UK income, and transactions in GBP.
Once you have Irish bank accounts, they're not subject to FBAR reporting the way Irish accounts are for US citizens, Ireland and the UK operate within a more straightforward bilateral banking relationship.
If you've been on the NHS, the transition to Irish healthcare is smoother than the equivalent shift from the US or Australian systems, the Irish and UK systems are broadly similar in structure, but there's still a gap to manage.
NHS healthcare is residency-based. Once you establish Irish residency, you're no longer entitled to NHS care (other than for urgent treatment during visits back). Some people carry a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) as a transitional measure, it covers medically necessary care in Ireland and other EU countries as a temporary arrangement, but it's not a long-term replacement for Irish healthcare cover.
Irish citizens returning to Ireland have immediate entitlement to HSE services on return. Public GP visits run €60-80 for most people (free for medical card holders). Public hospital care is subsidised.
Medical card eligibility is income-based. If your income for the assessment year is below the published threshold, you may qualify. Thresholds are at hse.ie.
Most working adults in Ireland carry private health insurance alongside HSE entitlement. VHI, Laya Healthcare, and Irish Life Health are the main providers. Private insurance covers faster access to consultants, private hospital rooms, and some services not available publicly. Monthly premiums run €80-250/month for adults depending on cover level.
Watch for the Lifetime Community Rating (LCR) loading, if there's a gap of more than 13 weeks between health insurance cover and joining an Irish private insurer, you may face a percentage loading on your premium for each year over 34 that you were without cover. Get Irish private health insurance in place quickly after you arrive, and keep documentation of your UK private health cover if you had it.
The Personal Public Service number, broadly equivalent to the UK National Insurance number in terms of how it's used. You need it for employment, Revenue, healthcare, and most interactions with the Irish state. Apply at your local Intreo Centre with your passport and proof of Irish address. For returning Irish people, your old PPS number is still valid and may just need reactivation.
You need an Irish bank account for salary payments, rent, and utility direct debits. AIB, Bank of Ireland, and Permanent TSB are the main high-street banks. Revolut (Irish IBAN) is the quickest to open and works for most daily purposes while you establish an Irish banking history.
Ireland and the UK have a bilateral driving licence recognition agreement. You can exchange your valid UK driving licence for an Irish one at an NDLS (National Driver Licence Service) centre without retaking your driving test. Bring your UK licence, a certified eyesight report from an optician, proof of Irish address, and your PPS number. The exchange covers licences issued by England, Scotland, and Wales. Confirm current requirements at ndls.ie before your appointment.
Once you're earning in Ireland, your employer registers you with Revenue and PAYE tax is deducted at source. The process is straightforward if you're coming in as an employee, your employer handles most of it using your PPS number. Set up a Revenue myAccount online to manage your tax credits and PAYE record.
UK-to-Ireland is significantly less expensive than moves from Australia or the US. Road freight over a short distance with a weekly service costs considerably less than 8 weeks of ocean freight. These are realistic guides; your quote comes from a survey.
All figures include collection from your UK address, export documentation, customs clearance (ToR application), ferry crossing, and delivery to your Irish address. Vehicle transport and specialist items are quoted separately.
Since 2021, UK-to-Ireland moves include a customs clearance process that didn't exist before. AMC handles ToR customs filing as part of the move. The documentation preparation and Revenue submission are included in your quote. There are no surprise customs duty bills if your goods qualify for ToR relief, which the vast majority of residential moves do.
A. Since Brexit, yes in principle. Goods from Great Britain into Ireland cross an international customs boundary. The relief that keeps your household effects duty-free and VAT-free is Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief. If you've lived in the UK for 12+ months and the goods are your personal effects owned for 6+ months, you qualify. AMC files the ToR application on your behalf.
A. 3-5 days door-to-door from most UK addresses. Scotland adds a day or two. The ferry crossing itself is 2-3.5 hours depending on the route. It's the fastest international removal route AMC operates.
A. No. The Ireland-UK Social Security coordination agreement protects your NI contribution record. Years paid into UK NI count toward your UK State Pension entitlement regardless of where you live. You'll receive your UK State Pension at UK State Pension age, paid to wherever you live, including Ireland. If you're short of the 35 qualifying years, look into voluntary NI contributions from Ireland. The HMRC website has the current rates.
A. The ISA wrapper loses its UK tax-advantaged status from an Irish Revenue perspective the day you become an Irish tax resident. Irish Revenue taxes growth within the ISA going forward. The ISA doesn't close (you can keep the account), but growth is no longer tax-free in Ireland. If you have a substantial ISA, get advice before you move.
A. No. EU pet passports issued in Great Britain are no longer valid for travel from Great Britain to Ireland since Brexit. You need an Animal Health Certificate (AHC), issued by an Official Veterinarian (OV) within 10 days of travel, alongside a current rabies vaccination and microchip. The good news: no titre test required from the UK, so there's no mandatory waiting period beyond 21 days post-vaccination.
A. Yes. The British-Irish Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangement (which predates EU membership) allows British and Irish citizens to live and work in each other's countries without a visa or employment permit. Brexit didn't change this. British citizens can arrive in Ireland and work immediately under CTA arrangements.
A. A video survey works for moves from anywhere in the UK. We assess your volume and access over a call and have a written quote to you within 48 hours. For moves from London and the south-east, we can arrange an in-home survey.
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