What is filed
- Shipping bill, the export declaration
- Packing list and itemised inventory
Administered by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) ↗
International moving from India
Leaving India with a whole household? This page covers what every move out of India shares. Each route guide covers one lane.
2010Trading since
12,000+ successful movesCompleted to date
99.5%Delivered on time, over the last five years
4.8 out of 5 from 188 Google reviewsAccredited by IAM (International Association of Movers), IMA and GEMBangalore (head office), Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kochi
Where in India do we work?
In India we operate in Bangalore (head office), Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kochi.
You might be an NRI heading back abroad, an expat at the end of a posting, or a family moving for a new job. The move follows the same six stages either way.
What changes from route to route is the sea leg and the paperwork at the far end.
How it works
What does a move out of India involve?
Six stages, and only one is the ship. The other five happen on land.
Survey and quote
Your home is walked through with you, room by room, and what is going is listed, so the volume is measured, not guessed. The quote follows.
Export-grade packing
Packing is built for a sea container, not a van. Cartons are made for the load, furniture is wrapped, and an item that needs it is crated.
Export clearance
The shipping bill is the export declaration CBIC requires. It is filed against the packing list and the itemised inventory.
The freight leg
Sea carries the household and air carries what you cannot be without. A move can use both, booked together.
Clearance at the destination
A second authority applies its own rules to the shipment. Each route guide sets out what it wants.
Delivery and unpacking
Check what arrives against your inventory, and raise anything straight away. Insurance is all-risk marine cover at declared replacement value, included as standard.
What it costs
What decides the price of a move from India?
Six things decide it. No price is published, because yours depends on all six.
- 01
How much is going
What is going decides the container, which drives the cost. - 02
Where it is going
Route and import rules matter more than distance. Strict ones can cost more to clear. - 03
Sea, air, or both
Air carries what cannot wait. Sea carries the rest. The split is decided at the survey. - 04
Access at both ends
A fourth-floor flat with no lift is a different job from a ground-floor house. - 05
Packing and crating
Export-grade materials are not moving-day boxes. A marble top or a large mirror may need its own crate. - 06
Timing
School terms, visa dates and lease ends crowd the same weeks. A few days of flexibility helps.
Leaving India
What does export clearance from India involve?
Two documents are filed, and you supply two more.
What you provide
- Your passport
- A visa for the destination country
Administered by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) ↗
The destination decides the paperwork
Export from India looks much the same whichever country you are going to. The import side is what changes. Each route guide sets out the documents and the relief that apply there.
Where a move starts
Which Indian ports does a move load from?
India has deep-sea container ports on both coasts. Where your home is sets how far a container travels overland.
Mumbai and Nhava ShevaNhava Sheva sits across the harbour from Mumbai. It is a deep-sea container port on the west coast.
Bangalore and the southBangalore is inland. A container packed there travels overland to a port on either coast.
Chennai and the east coastChennai is a deep-sea port on the Bay of Bengal. A ship leaving it takes a different ocean route from one leaving the west coast.
Reviews
What do customers say about IMove?
We shifted from Bangalore to Auckland and our complete move was handled by Venissa from IMove Global Mobility LLP.There was a vessel delay due to port congestion in Hong Kong, but the team communicated well and managed everything smoothly. Still very happy with the service. Highly recommend their service for international relocation. Thank you Vanessia and I Move
Kumail Abbas Jung Mir · Household move · Bangalore → Auckland
Special mention of appreciation to Venissa for handling our shipment door to door from Bangalore to Chicago. Her crew had packed all the items very well and marked each item for identifying as it was a shared container. All the items were intact and without damage or scratch especially the Marble dinning tables, chairs, Diwan and the console. Venissa was tracking the shipment from port to port an updating us every step of the way. Her counterpart team in New Jersey also did a very good job of unloading, opening crates and assembling the furniture. Also they removed all the debris from our site. Overall we were very impressed with the service the Venissa - IMove had provided and will definitely recommend them to our friends and also to people who wish transport items from India. Well done IMove. Once again special thanks to Venissa.
Harish Manjunath · Household move · Bangalore → Chicago
I recently moved from Australia to India and IMOVE handled Indian customs and the experience was seamless. They delivered my shipment within the promised timeframe, and the process was straightforward from start to finish. Riju kept us informed every step of the way, providing regular updates, assisting with the paperwork, and ensuring everything went smoothly. Their professionalism and excellent communication made the move incredibly easy and stress-free. I highly recommend their services to anyone looking for reliable relocation services.
Anushree Chacko · Household move · Australia → India
Common questions
What do people ask about moving abroad from India?
How long does an international move from India take?
There is no single answer for a move that simply starts in India, because transit depends on the destination, the port pair and the season, and an average of the four routes would give a figure that is true of none of them and misleading on all four.
Clearance at both ends can move the date too. Each route guide gives the figure for its own route.
What if I live somewhere else in India?
In India we operate in Bangalore (head office), Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kochi, and if you live somewhere else in India, send your full address with your quote request, because where your home is shapes the journey to the port and the plan for packing day.
Mention the floor, and whether the building has a lift.
What if I leave India before my things are shipped?
Say so at the survey, because the survey, packing day and your own flight all need to fit together, and the question of who can act for you once you have gone is one to settle then rather than on the morning the cartons are packed.
Raising it early leaves time to plan packing day around your flight.
What can I not ship out of India?
Every destination publishes its own prohibited and restricted list, and India applies its own export rules on top of that list, covering currency, certain plant and animal products, and anything that needs a separate licence before it may leave the country.
Raise anything unusual at the survey, not on packing day. One restricted item can hold up a whole container.
Is my shipment insured?
Insurance is all-risk marine cover at declared replacement value, included as standard, so it is not an extra you are offered late in the process, and it is worth working out what each valuable item would cost to replace before anybody starts packing.
Ask at the survey how the value you declare is recorded.
What happens if something is damaged?
Check what arrives against your inventory as it is delivered, and raise anything that is missing or damaged straight away, because a problem noted on delivery day is far easier to establish than one reported after the cartons have been unpacked and cleared away.
Tell us where you’re going.
Send us your route, a rough date and your city in India. We reply to every enquiry within 2 hours.