If you’re moving your life back to the UK, or moving here for the first time to settle permanently, one worry tends to surface once the excitement of the move itself has settled: will customs charge you duty on the things you already own? Furniture you’ve had for years. Your children’s belongings. A kitchen’s worth of things that have nothing to do with trade or resale.
There’s a relief scheme built exactly for this situation, and it’s more straightforward than the acronym makes it sound. It’s called Transfer of Residence relief, ToR for short, or ToR1 after the form that grants it, and it’s what stops HMRC treating your household goods like a commercial import. Get the timing and evidence right, and you won’t pay a penny in duty or VAT on your own belongings. Get it wrong, and the same goods can be held at the border while you scramble to prove what should have been straightforward from the start.
Here’s what it actually involves.
What Is Transfer of Residence Relief?
Transfer of Residence relief is a customs relief administered by HMRC that allows someone genuinely moving their normal home to the UK to import personal and household belongings without paying import duty or import VAT. It exists because the alternative, treating every returning resident’s furniture as a taxable import, would be both impractical and unfair. The relief only applies to used goods you already owned and had in your possession before the move; it isn’t a way to import new purchases duty-free.
The process runs through an online application to HMRC called the ToR1. HMRC does not publish a fixed processing time for ToR1 approval. In practice, applicants commonly report anywhere from a couple of weeks up to around six weeks, depending on how complete your documentation is and how busy customs is when you apply, so build some buffer into your plan rather than assuming the fastest outcome.
Who Qualifies for Transfer of Residence Relief?
The relief is designed for people making the UK their genuine, long-term home, not a short stay. Under GOV.UK’s guidance, the core conditions are:
- You have lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before your move. This applies whether you’re a returning UK national or moving to the UK for the first time.
- The goods have been in your possession for at least 6 months before the move, and you’ll use them in the UK for the same purpose as before. Anything bought new specifically for the move, such as furniture picked up just before departure, generally won’t qualify.
- You bring the goods in within 12 months of taking up residence in the UK. Splitting the move across more than one later date is allowed, but everything still needs to fall inside that window.
- You have approval before your belongings are declared to customs. Apply well before they arrive. Once approved, the import declaration uses customs procedure code 40 00 C01, which your move manager or customs agent will apply.
- You don’t lend, hire out, use as security or transfer the goods to someone else within 12 months of the date you moved.
Some categories are excluded regardless of how long you’ve owned them: tobacco, alcohol above personal-use quantities, and anything intended for a second home rather than your main residence. Wedding gifts and a trousseau have a narrower exception (generally within four months of the wedding date); mention it to your move manager if it applies rather than assuming the standard rules cover it.
What if you don’t quite meet a condition? GOV.UK says HMRC will consider waiving some conditions where circumstances beyond your control prevented you from meeting them, for example the 12 months abroad or the 12-month window to bring goods in. This is discretionary, not a right, and a lack of funds or of space in your new home is specifically not treated as an exceptional circumstance. If you think you may need this, ask before your belongings are collected, not after.
Planning A Move Back To The UK?
Your move manager will look at your dates and your inventory with you and tell you when the ToR1 application needs to go in for your specific move. That conversation happens in your first call, before anything is collected.
What the ToR1 Application Actually Requires
The application is submitted online to HMRC and asks for:
- Proof of your move. Evidence you’ve genuinely lived abroad for the required period and are now relocating your main residence to the UK. This might include a rental or employment contract abroad, a change-of-address history, or similar.
- A full, itemised inventory of everything you’re bringing. This catches people out most often: a vague “household goods, various” listing is not sufficient. Every item, or reasonable category of items, needs to be listed.
- Evidence of ownership and usage period. Receipts, insurance documents, or photographs showing items in use in your previous home, particularly for higher-value items where customs may ask for more than a self-declaration.
If you want the full list of documents for the move as a whole, in the order you’re likely to need them, our guide on sets it out. One grey area is worth knowing about: there is no single, universally agreed list of what counts as acceptable proof of residence, and forum answers disagree. When in doubt, gather more evidence than you think you need and ask your move manager before you submit.
The Mistakes That Actually Lose People the Relief
Most of the anxiety around ToR comes from a handful of avoidable mistakes, not from the scheme itself being unreasonable:
Applying after your belongings have left or arrived. The ToR1 needs approval before your goods are declared to customs. Retroactive applications are harder, slower and not guaranteed to succeed.
Including newly purchased items without separating them. If you’ve bought new furniture to bring with you, it can usually still travel, but it needs to be declared and accounted for separately, not folded into the “used household goods” inventory as if it qualifies for the same relief.
A thin or vague inventory. “3 boxes of kitchen items” invites more questions, not fewer. A specific, itemised list is what actually speeds the process up.
Not accounting for the 6-month ownership rule on specific items. If you’ve recently upgraded a single expensive item, such as a sofa, a bike or electronics, right before the move, it may not qualify even if everything else does.
Lending, hiring out or selling an item too soon. The conditions attach to the goods for 12 months after you move. Selling a piece of furniture you brought in, or lending it to family, can put the relief at risk for that item.
Treating a delay as an excuse. Running out of money or space in your new home is not an exceptional circumstance in HMRC’s eyes, so plan the 12-month window around real dates, not hopes.
How This Fits Into Your Wider Move
None of this needs to be navigated alone, and it shouldn’t be treated as a separate project from the rest of your move. At Gerson Moving Services, your move manager coordinates the ToR1 process alongside the physical logistics of your move: timing the application against your actual departure and arrival dates, helping structure the inventory so it stands up to scrutiny, and flagging in advance if a specific item (a recent purchase, a high-value piece) is likely to need separate treatment. The goal is straightforward: no surprises at the border, and no duty charged on things you already own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to apply for ToR relief myself, or can my removal company do it?
You can apply yourself directly to HMRC, or your removal company can support and guide the process alongside your move. Either way, the application is submitted under your name as the person transferring residence. Your move manager’s role is to help you get the timing, evidence and inventory right, not to submit it as if it were their own import.
How long does ToR1 approval take?
HMRC does not give a fixed processing time for ToR1 applications. Processing times can vary depending on the application and whether HMRC needs any further information or supporting evidence.
Apply well in advance of your move and allow plenty of time for the approval to be issued before your goods are shipped. If your application is still being processed when your goods arrive in the UK, you may have to pay customs charges initially and seek relief once your ToR1 approval has been received.
Do I need ToR1 approval before my belongings arrive in the UK?
Yes. GOV.UK’s guidance requires approval to be in place, and the import declaration then uses customs procedure code 40 00 C01. Apply well before your belongings are due to arrive so that approval is not the thing holding up delivery.
What happens if my ToR1 application is refused or incomplete?
If HMRC isn’t satisfied with the evidence, it can ask for more documentation or, in some cases, assess duty on part of your goods. This is why a specific, itemised inventory with strong supporting evidence matters more than speed.
Can I include items I bought new just before moving?
Newly purchased items generally don’t qualify for ToR relief in the same way as used household goods you’ve owned for six months or more. They can usually still travel, but should be declared and accounted for separately rather than included in the ToR inventory.
Can I sell or lend items I brought in under ToR relief?
Not within 12 months of the date you moved. GOV.UK says goods for which relief is granted cannot be lent, used as security, hired out or transferred to another person in that period. If your circumstances change, speak to HMRC before you dispose of anything.
What if I've lived abroad for less than 12 months?
The 12 consecutive months abroad is a core condition. HMRC can consider waiving it in exceptional circumstances, for example where you can show you intended to stay abroad for the full period but circumstances beyond your control prevented it. This is discretionary and not guaranteed, so ask before your belongings are collected.
Related Topics
- : how your move manager coordinates documentation alongside your shipment
Your move manager can talk through exactly what ToR1 will need for your specific move in your first call – including whether any of your belongings are likely to need separate treatment.
