International shipping guide to the UK

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Updated on 13 Sep 2022

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As an island nation, the United Kingdom relies on air and ocean freight more than many other countries may do. At Shipa Freight, we can offer competitive shipping rates to UK destinations from some 100 countries around the world.

If you are new to the business of commercial cargo shipment, and expect to send freight to UK locations in the near future, it will be worth your while to browse through the information on this page focusing on how to import into the UK.

It will give you some idea of how long your shipments will take to reach their destinations. Included are the things you should look into, such as customs procedures and import regulations, before you dispatch your first UK-bound cargo. Majority of these procedures are taken care of by Shipa Freight as your dedicated Freight Forwarder in the UK.

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Standards and Requirements for Shipping to the UK

The regulations and standards set by the United Kingdom’s HM Revenue and Customs service are as complex as any you’re likely to come across. The standards differ depending on whether you’re importing goods from inside or outside of the European Union.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the UK must comply with EU import and export legislation. It can be difficult to know which rules apply under specific sets of circumstances.

Fortunately, the website of HM Revenue and Customs contains comprehensive guidance. Of course, our team of international shipping experts will compile the information you provide when you book your freight with us. Check it for compliance, and electronically to the customs service.

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Key Requirements for Inbound Freight to UK Ports

If you are an importer or exporter of goods into the United Kingdom, there are a number of important requirements to understand. Many of them need some action to be taken both by the shipper of the goods, and the consignee who will take possession of them once cleared by UK customs.

EORI Number: All businesses wishing to import and export commercial goods across UK borders will require an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, a unique identifier issued by HM Revenue & Customs. You can apply for EORI registration at the HM Customs and Revenue website. Registration takes around three working days.

Commodity Codes: The UK uses commodity codes, based on the international Harmonized Coding system, so you will need to know the correct commodity codes for the goods you are shipping to the UK.

Documents required for customs clearance: Along with a manually or electronically submitted customs declaration document, HM Revenue and Customs will require the following documents in order to clear your shipment for import:

The bill of lading (for ocean freight) or airway bill (for air freight)
The commercial invoice issued by the supplier of the goods
A packing list

As a customer of Shipa Freight, you will not need to concern yourself with the documents above. We will complete all standard documents required by customs authorities, and submit them according to the necessary protocols.

However, you may need to arrange to obtain some of the documents in the list below if they are required for the type of goods you are shipping.

Depending on the type of goods you are shipping to the UK, other documents required for customs clearance may include:

A Certificate of Origin
Preference Certificates
Health certificates
Certificates of analysis
Organic certificate

The importation of most types of freight to UK consignees is permitted without the need for a license, but of course, there are exceptions. Be sure to seek advice from your freight forwarder or customs broker regarding the need for import licenses or additional documentation.

Restricted Imports to the United Kingdom

Restrictions and licensing requirements exist for some types of UK imports. A few of these regulations apply to imports from all countries, while other restrictions/prohibitions exist only to control imports from outside the European Union.

For example, the following imports are prohibited or restricted regardless of their origin:

Agricultural products (require licensing)
Controlled drugs (restricted and controlled by licensing)
Explosives (prohibited under most circumstances)
Firearms (controlled by license)

Products that may be imported freely into the UK from EU countries, but not from countries outside the union include:

Nuts and dried fruits (regulated/require health certification)
Animal products (require health/veterinary checks before customs will clear them for entry)
Honey (prohibited)
Cordless telephones (require permissions)
Foods and beverages (require health checks before customs will clear them for entry
Plants (require licenses and health certification)
Products manufactured in foreign prisons (with some exceptions)

This is not an exhaustive list and the intent is only to provide a few examples. You can find a more extensive list of restricted and prohibited imports on the website of HM Revenue and Customs.

Ocean Freight to the UK Ports

The following information will help you familiarize yourself with some of the main ocean freight routes for shipping to the United Kingdom. While the information here only covers port-to-port shipping legs, Shipa Freight also offers port-to-door and door-to-door transportation to destinations anywhere in the British Isles.

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In contrast to larger nations like the United States and China, the UK, whilst surrounded by water, does not have a great number of container ports. The two most important ports are Felixstowe in the East of England, and Southampton on the South coast of the country. Therefore, you will find that the majority of trade lanes serving the UK terminate at one of these two ports.

The United Kingdom and the USA have traditionally enjoyed good relationships and trade between the two countries is healthy. Many of the major carriers are involved in ocean freight shipping from the USA to UK ports. So if you will be moving goods between these two countries, you will find no shortage of companies willing to accommodate your shipments.

Indeed, some of the most important ocean-freight trade lanes to the UK originate in the United States, as revealed by the following top-five list of busiest routes.

Busiest Trade Lanes for Shipping to the UK

Based purely on the number of cargo vessels scheduled on specific ocean routes, the following five connections are among the busiest for freight to the United Kingdom:

Savannah (Georgia) to Southampton Charleston (South Carolina) to Southampton Long Beach (California) to Southampton Antwerp (Belgium) to Southampton Antwerp (Belgium) to Felixstowe

Longest and Shortest Transit Times

While ocean freight shipping from the USA to UK ports is clearly very popular, it also takes some time. However, the longest ocean trade lane of all is the one connecting the United Kingdom with Australia.

The average time for a container vessel to travel between Sydney in Australia and the Scottish port of Grangemouth is about 45 days.

At the other extreme, with the United Kingdom separated from Northern Europe only by the relatively narrow English Channel, the shortest transit times are those on routes connecting the European ports of Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Le Havre, and Antwerp with Felixstowe and Southampton. Many cargo ships complete the crossing between these ports in just a single day or even less.

Ocean Freight to UK Ports: Example Routes and Transit Times

From America

Country of Origin	Port of Origin	Destination Port	Duration
Mexico	Veracruz	Felixstowe	27 Days
United States	Seattle	Felixstowe	23 Days
United States	Seattle	London Gateway	23 Days
United States	Seattle	Southampton	23 Days
United States	Savannah	London Gateway	27 Days
United States	Long Beach	London Gateway	28 Days
United States	Long Beach	Felixstowe	28 Days
United States	Long Beach	Southampton	28 Days
United States	Los Angeles	London Gateway	28 Days
United States	Los Angeles	Felixstowe	28 Days
United States	Los Angeles	Southampton	28 Days
United States	Norfolk	Felixstowe	17 Days
United States	Baltimore	Southampton	18 Days
United States	Charleston	Felixstowe	13 Days
United States	Port Everglades	Liverpool	18 Days
United States	New Orleans	Felixstowe	21 Days
United States	New York	Felixstowe	32 Days
United States	New York	Southampton	17 Days
United States	New York	London Gateway	32 Days
United States	Baltimore	Felixstowe	19 Days
United States	Charleston	Southampton	13 Days
United States	Mobile	Felixstowe	19 Days
United States	Norfolk	Southampton	15 Days
United States	Savannah	Felixstowe	15 Days
United States	Savannah	Southampton	13 Days

From Europe

Country of Origin	Port of Origin	Destination Port	Duration
Belgium	Antwerp	Felixstowe	2 Days
Belgium	Antwerp	London Gateway	5 Days
Belgium	Antwerp	Southampton	5 Days
Cyprus	Limassol	Felixstowe	19 Days
Germany	Bremerhaven	London Gateway	2 Days
Germany	Bremerhaven	Southampton	4 Days
Germany	Bremerhaven	Felixstowe	1 Day
Germany	Hamburg	Felixstowe	3 Days
Germany	Hamburg	Southampton	3 Days
Germany	Hamburg	London Gateway	2 Days
Netherlands	Rotterdam	Southampton	1 Day
Netherlands	Rotterdam	Grangemouth	5 Days
Netherlands	Rotterdam	Felixstowe	1 Day
Netherlands	Rotterdam	Liverpool	2 Days
Netherlands	Rotterdam	London Gateway	5 Days
Spain	Algeciras	London Gateway	3 Days
Spain	Algeciras	Southampton	3 Days
Spain	Algeciras	Felixstowe	3 Days
Spain	Valencia	Felixstowe	6 Days

From Asia and Oceania

Country of Origin	Port of Origin	Destination Port	Duration
Australia	Sydney	Grangemouth	45 Days
China	Xiamen	Felixstowe	29 Days
China	Qingdao	Felixstowe	35 Days
China	Ningbo	Felixstowe	33 Days
China	Shanghai	Felixstowe	31 Days
China	Shanghai	Southampton	29 Days
China	Shanghai	London Gateway	29 Days
China	Shenzhen	London Gateway	29 Days
China	Shenzhen	Felixstowe	29 Days
China	Shenzhen	Southampton	29 Days
China	Ningbo	London Gateway	30 Days
China	Ningbo	Southampton	30 Days
China	Qingdao	London Gateway	43 Days
China	Qingdao	Southampton	43 Days
China	Dalian	London Gateway	41 Days
China	Dalian	Felixstowe	41 Days
China	Dalian	London Gateway	41 Days
China	Xiamen	London Gateway	27 Days
China	Xiamen	Southampton	27 Days
China	Lianyungang	London Gateway	38 Days
China	Lianyungang	Felixstowe	38 Days
China	Lianyungang	Southampton	38 Days
China	Nanjing	London Gateway	36 Days
China	Nanjing	Felixstowe	36 Days
China	Nanjing	Southampton	36 Days
Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Southampton	38 Days
Hong Kong	Hong Kong	London Gateway	38 Days
Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Felixstowe	26 Days
Indonesia	Jakarta	Felixstowe	28 Days
Indonesia	Jakarta	London Gateway	28 Days
Indonesia	Jakarta	Southampton	28 Days
Indonesia	Surabaya	Felixstowe	31 Days
Indonesia	Surabaya	London Gateway	31 Days
Indonesia	Surabaya	Southampton	31 Days
Japan	Kobe	London Gateway	38 Days
Japan	Kobe	Felixstowe	38 Days
Japan	Kobe	Southampton	38 Days
Malaysia	Port Klang	Felixstowe	28 Days
Malaysia	Port Klang	London Gateway	28 Days
Malaysia	Port Klang	Southampton	28 Days
Malaysia	Tanjung Pelepas	Felixstowe	20 Days
Malaysia	Tanjung Pelepas	London Gateway	25 Days
Malaysia	Tanjung Pelepas	Southampton	25 Days
Philippines	Manila	Southampton	32 Days
Philippines	Manila	London Gateway	32 Days
Philippines	Manila	Felixstowe	33 Days
Singapore	Singapore	London Gateway	18 Days
Singapore	Singapore	Southampton	21 Days
Singapore	Singapore	Felixstowe	18 Days
South Korea	Busan	London Gateway	37 Days
South Korea	Busan	Felixstowe	32 Days
South Korea	Busan	Southampton	37 Days
Sri Lanka	Colombo	Felixstowe	15 Days
Taiwan	Kaohsiung	Southampton	35 Days
Taiwan	Kaohsiung	Felixstowe	35 Days
Taiwan	Kaohsiung	London Gateway	35 Days
Thailand	Laem Chabang	Felixstowe	30 Days
Thailand	Laem Chabang	London Gateway	30 Days
Thailand	Laem Chabang	Southampton	30 Days
Vietnam	Hai Phong	London Gateway	32 Days
Vietnam	Hai Phong	Felixstowe	32 Days
Vietnam	Hai Phong	Southampton	32 Days
Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City	Felixstowe	31 Days
Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City	Southampton	31 Days
Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City	London Gateway	31 Days

International Air Freight Shipping to the UK

The following information covers some of the main air freight routes for shipping to the United Kingdom. While the information here only covers airport-to-airport shipping legs, Shipa Freight also offers port-to-door and door-to-door transportation to destinations anywhere in the UK.

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Most Popular Routes to the UK for Air Freight Shippers

London’s Heathrow airport is the main air freight hub for the United Kingdom, and is therefore the terminus for many international cargo flights, in addition to the thousands of tons of freight arriving in the holds of passenger aircraft.

All of the busiest routes terminate at London Heathrow, with the following five being used by the highest numbers of airlines engaged in freight shipping to the UK:

Frankfurt (Germany) Heathrow
Amsterdam (Netherlands) Heathrow
Paris (France) Heathrow
Madrid (Spain) Heathrow
Munich (Germany) Heathrow

Transit Times for Air Freight to the UK

If your business will be shipping boxes to UK consignees from Australia, and 48 days at sea is not an option, air freight will be a much faster, but also more expensive alternative. While the route from Perth to London Heathrow involves the longest transit time of all UK inbound flights, your boxes will still be on the ground in London in around 17 hours.

Asia to the UK is also a long haul for air freight, with flights from Singapore to Heathrow taking about 14 hours. Air freight from the USA to the UK takes around six or seven hours if shipped from East Coast airports like Boston or New York, or closer to ten hours from the West Coast.

As you might expect, the shortest transit times are between Western Europe and England, with flights from Brussels, Paris, or Amsterdam taking little more than an hour to reach Heathrow or Manchester.