MetEx House, 496a Great West Road, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW5 0TE  ·  Shipping since 1998
0800 096 38 39
🩺 Shipping for Nurses • UK relocation specialists • Since 1998

Shipping for Nurses
Relocating abroad? We’ll get your belongings there — without the airline excess fees

Taking a nursing role overseas is a big move, often on a tight timeline. We collect your belongings from your door anywhere in the UK and ship them to your new posting by air or sea — so you arrive with your things, not a stack of airline excess-baggage charges.

Whether you’re an NHS nurse heading to Australia, moving to the Gulf on a hospital contract, or joining a New Zealand DHB, the shipping question is the same: how do you get a home’s worth of belongings there — affordably, and around a start date and a visa? We’ve helped nurses and healthcare staff relocate from the UK since 1998, and this page is everything we’d tell a friend in the profession making the move.

Where nurses relocate — and how we ship there

The destinations change, the need doesn’t. We ship luggage, boxes and full households from the UK to wherever your posting takes you:

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Australia. AHPRA registration and a start date to hit — we ship your belongings to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and beyond by sea for value or air for speed.
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The UAE & the Gulf. Hospital contracts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and across the Gulf (DHA, DoH, MOH). Fast air freight for a quick start, sea for a full home.
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New Zealand. Joining a DHB or aged-care provider? We handle the move end to end, with New Zealand’s strict biosecurity in mind.
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Canada & Ireland. Nearer moves by air or sea, door to door, without the airline’s per-bag excess charges.

What nurses usually ship — and what to keep with you

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Send: clothes, shoes, personal effects, kitchen and home comforts, books and study materials — the things that make a new place feel like home and cost a fortune to replace abroad.
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Keep with you: your passport, visa documents, and the original certificates and references you need for overseas registration. Never put anything you’ll need at the airport or for registration into a shipment — carry those.
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Batteries: no lithium batteries in a standard shipment, including inside laptops, phones, tablets and power banks. Batteries can be packed and exported as declared dangerous goods — ask us before you pack.

Timing it around your registration and start date

The single thing that trips nurses up is timing. You’re often juggling NMC good-standing, overseas registration (AHPRA in Australia, the Nursing Council in New Zealand, DHA/MOH in the Gulf), a visa, and a hospital start date — all at once.

Our advice is simple: work backwards from your start date. If you need your things soon after you land, air freight is typically 4–10 working days, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers. If you can wait and want to save, sea freight runs to weeks rather than days — the average sea shipping time can be anything from 4 to 12 weeks depending on destination, so allow a week or two either side for sailing dates and customs. Tell us your start date and we’ll tell you when to book.

How it works, step by step

1
Quote & book. Tell us what you’re sending and where. We give you a clear quote up front — and as long as your shipment is what you told us, that’s the price you pay, subject to airline rates at the time of booking.
2
Door collection. We collect from your address anywhere in the UK — no depot runs, no airport queues.
3
Pack & itemise. We export-pack and prepare the inventory customs needs, so your belongings clear smoothly at the other end.
4
Ship by air or sea. Air for speed, sea for value — delivered to your new address abroad.

Shipping for nurses — your questions answered

Should I ship my belongings or pay the airline for extra bags? +
For anything beyond one or two extra bags, shipping is almost always cheaper than airline excess-baggage fees — and you’re not dragging the weight through the airport on top of everything else a relocation involves. We collect from your door and ship door to door.
How long does it take? +
Air freight is typically 4–10 working days to the arrival airport plus clearance, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers. Sea freight runs to weeks — roughly 4 to 12 depending on destination and sailing dates, so allow a week or two either side.
Can I ship before my visa or registration comes through? +
Often yes, but it depends on the destination’s customs rules — some want proof of residence or a visa before personal effects can clear. Tell us where you’re going and we’ll tell you what needs to be in place before your shipment arrives, so nothing sits at the port.
What about my uniform and professional documents? +
Ship uniforms and reference books if you like — but keep original certificates, references and anything you need for registration or the visa with you. Don’t put documents you’ll need on arrival into a shipment.

Ready to plan your move?

Tell us your destination and your start date, and we’ll come back with a quote and a realistic transit-time estimate — before you commit to anything.

Get a quote 📞 0800 096 38 39