International Shipping Questions and Answers

For customers who have less than a container load, our groupage service is made available. This means that your consignment is loaded in a shared container with the household belongings of other emigrants who are moving to the same destination as you. The container is shipped when it is full. This is a cost-effective way to ship smaller consignments as the freight, port, and transport costs are shared. Read more about groupage shipments at our international moving blog.

Elliott International makes a groupage service available to the following destinations:

Australia
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Europe
USA
Canada

In the USA, Canada, Australia, and other countries, the voltage and plug sockets are different from the voltage and plug sockets in South Africa. Before including any electrical items in your shipment, you should check to ensure that the electrical appliances will operate in the country to which you are moving.

Environmentalists around the world have initiated the introduction of stringent requirements for the importation of animal products into many countries. These requirements vary from country to country, and you must be in possession of the correct documentation both for exporting these products from South Africa and for their importation into the country to which you are moving. Most shipping lines do not allow the inclusion of animal trophies in the shipment.  

All ivory items require a Cites permit (both issued at the origin and the destination) prior to shipment.

If you include any animal products (no matter how small) in your consignment, it is our recommendation that these be clearly identified and loaded last into the container so that they are easily accessible to customs for an inspection, should this be required.  

Please speak to an Elliott Sales Executive for more information.

Please note that many countries apply restrictions regarding the importation of foodstuffs. It is essential that you are fully aware of the regulations applicable to the importation of foodstuffs into the country to which you are moving. Our experienced sales executive will be able to guide you in this regard.

For the transportation from South Africa of liquor, an export permit must be made available to us. We can assist you to obtain one at a small additional fee. In order for us to assist, please complete a detailed list of all the liquor and wine that will be included in the shipment.

The importation of alcoholic beverages of any kind to a foreign country usually incurs payment of duty and/or taxes and often involves a physical inspection by customs. It is our recommendation that, if alcoholic beverages are to be included, complete details be declared to customs in the country to which you are moving and that the packages containing alcoholic beverages be clearly identified and loaded in such a way that they are easily accessible to customs for inspection.