Considering a Move to South Africa?

Moving to South Africa from the UK

Abels Moving Services has provided discreet export packing and shipping for over 50 years. We work with discerning families and professionals moving to South Africa.

South Africa has golden coastlines, sunny days and cool nights. It’s easy to see why so many people choose to move here. As the country’s motto puts it, “diverse people unite”. People move here for many different reasons, from lifestyle to family to new career opportunities.

South Africa: Geography and the Three Capitals

South Africa sits on the southern tip of Africa. It borders six countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Lesotho is an enclave, entirely surrounded by South African territory.

South Africa covers 470,693 square miles. That makes it just over five times the size of the UK.

South Africa has three capitals. Pretoria is the executive capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. The country divides into nine provinces. These are Western Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Cape.

The South African Economy

South Africa’s economy splits across several key sectors. These include natural resources, agriculture and food processing, manufacturing, services, business process outsourcing, and financial services. Main exports include gold, diamonds, metals and minerals, cars and machinery.

Culture, Cuisine and Places to Visit

South Africa’s population sits at over 63 million people. The country’s culture reflects that scale. South Africa is known internationally for its fusion cuisine, built around traditional barbecues. It’s also known for its mixed cultural and ethnic heritage.

Johannesburg is the largest city, with a metro population of over 5.5 million people.

Worth visiting once you’ve settled in: Table Mountain National Park, Nelson Mandela Square, and Johannesburg Zoo. For nature and wildlife, visit the Imfolozi-Hluhluwe / Mkuze / St Lucia complex in KwaZulu-Natal. The Kruger National Park, spanning Mpumalanga and Limpopo, is another of the country’s largest reserves.

Planning Your Move To South Africa

Talk to a specialist international removal company before you move to South Africa. The process has its own pitfalls, and a domestic mover won’t be familiar with them.

Call our head office on +44 1842 816600 or email shipping@abels.co.uk. We’ll be in touch shortly to discuss your move.

When you get in touch, we’ll give you the resources to make a formal enquiry. We’ll also explain the regulations involved and how we approach a thorough, premium, end-to-end move. Please have your volume, access, packing requirements and shipping method ready to share. This helps us tailor our advice to your move.

Once you book with Abels, you’ll meet your Customer Liaison Move Coordinator. They manage the booking, organisation and day-to-day details of your move.

Export Packing

Export packing is essential for your belongings when moving to South Africa. It protects your items in transit. We use either a 6-ply paper blanket with a wax inner and water-resistant outer, or a tough bubble blanket with a soft cloth inner and robust outer that keeps corners protected. Certain items need an extra layer of card, cartoning, or wrap for additional protection. This includes polished furniture, antiques, delicate legs, and mirrored or glass-fronted units.

A domestic move by road needs less protection. A journey of thousands of miles in a 20ft or 40ft container needs far more. Your items get handled multiple times on that journey. They’re wrapped, loaded, and driven to port. They’re then lifted on and off the stack, loaded onto the vessel, and handled the same way again in reverse at the other end. Robust export packing matters throughout.

We use the highest quality export materials throughout. We choose these to withstand a long export journey, not just a short domestic one. Containers stack up to two metres high in transit, so cartons at the bottom need to hold their shape and protect their contents for the whole journey.

Fine Art & Specialist Packing Services

Fine art needs particular care. Shipments to South Africa involving valuable or delicate pieces call for enhanced export packing and careful handling throughout. This includes paintings, grandfather clocks, barometers, and chandeliers. In many cases, we build bespoke cases specifically for the item. Find out more about moving antiques, fine art and valuables.

Our team trains specifically to handle specialist goods abroad, with the care and precision these items need. Explore our moving advice for further reassurance ahead of your move.

Airfreight

South Africa has several international airports. The four main ones are Cape Town International Airport (CPT) and King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban. The other two are Lanseria International Airport (HLA) and O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg.

O.R. Tambo is the busiest, handling over 20 million passengers a year, more than double Cape Town International’s traffic. O.R. Tambo sits at a high altitude of 5,558 feet. Its runway is unusually long, at 14,495 feet. This helps aircraft take off and land in the thinner air.

Sea transit typically takes over 7 weeks door to door, so consider airfreight for anything you need sooner. Security restrictions mean airfreighted goods need professional packing rather than owner-packed cartons. We load them into heat-treated modules of various sizes, with waterproof covering for extra protection. Allow around 2 weeks door to door for airfreight. This accounts for UK and South African security and customs checks before delivery.

See more on airfreight shipments.

Customs Information

Import and export rules govern personal items and household goods entering South Africa. Your Abels Move Manager will give you tailored guidance through this part of the process.

You’ll need specific documentation for customs clearance. The exact requirements depend on your personal circumstances. Our team will talk you through these ahead of your move. Explore the FIDI Customs Guide for South Africa for further background before your move consultation with the Abels team.

Destination Services In South Africa

We choose our destination partners for their accreditations. Most hold the FIDI-FAIM quality award. That means the standard you experience with Abels continues right through customs clearance and delivery in South Africa.

We notify our destination partner as soon as your container departs the UK. They’ll contact you as delivery approaches and manage customs clearance on your behalf. Once cleared, they’ll arrange your delivery date. This normally includes delivery, unpacking, and set-up of standard furniture (excluding flat-pack items unless agreed). It also covers removal of packaging waste and return of the container to the wharf. Talk to your Abels Customer Service Manager or Customer Liaison if you’d like additional services. This includes a put-away service, cleaning, or settling-in support.

Our destination agents bring local knowledge of import documents, customs clearance and delivery. This keeps your arrival in South Africa as smooth as possible.

Wherever your move takes you, we’d like to be the removal company you think of. That means this move, and the next one. If you’re moving to South Africa, or anywhere else in the world, get in touch for a removal quotation.

Useful links

South Africa tourism – a site which provides plentiful information about attractions, cultural history sites, sporting events, route planning and directions around the country

South Africa – official information from the International Marketing Council of South Africa: useful information for all newcomers

Inside South Africa – a privately-owned website offering immigration advice

Above all, we want you to think of Abels for your next move and the one after that, we don’t simply wish to buy your current move at the risk of losing your future business, goodwill and recommendations!

In conclusion if you are moving to South Africa you are welcome to ask Abels Moving Services to provide you with a removal quotation for your move. If you are moving to another destination other than South Africa we would also be glad to assist you with your move.