Considering a Move to Sri Lanka?

Moving to Sri Lanka from the UK

Abels Moving Services has provided discreet export packing and shipping for over 50 years. We work with discerning families and professionals who are moving to Sri Lanka.

The tropical island of Sri Lanka sits in the Indian Ocean. It also has 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites and over 15 national parks. This is often the reason people give for moving here in the first place. Until 1972, the island was known as Ceylon.

Sri Lanka: Geography and Provinces

Sri Lanka has an administrative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, and a commercial capital, Colombo. The island splits into nine provinces: Central, North Central, Northern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western, and Eastern.

Sri Lanka covers around 25,332 square miles, with a population of around 22 million. As a result, the population grows at around 1.3% a year, giving Sri Lanka a population density slightly higher than the UK’s.

The Sri Lankan Economy

Sri Lanka is well known for its tea. Tea production is no longer one of the island’s leading industries, though. Today, the main sectors instead include food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and banking. Textile and garment exports alone account for around 60% of the island’s total exports.

Beaches, National Parks and Heritage Sites

Sri Lanka has numerous beaches worth relaxing on. For example, these include Negombo, Hikkaduwa, Kosgoda, Tangalle, Wadduwa, and Unawatuna. Many more line the island’s 1,330km of coastline.

There’s plenty to see once you’ve settled in too. Yala National Park is home to elephants, deer and peacocks. Similarly, Wilpattu National Park has storks, pelicans and spoonbills. The Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site too. It’s one of the best places to spot the red-faced malkoha and Sri Lankan blue magpie.

Planning Your Move to Sri Lanka

First, talk to a specialist international removal company before you move to Sri Lanka. The process has its own pitfalls, and a domestic mover won’t be familiar with them.

Before you call, think about whether you want to send everything you own or just a select few personal effects. Call our head office on +44 1842 816600 or email [email protected]. We’ll be in touch shortly to discuss your move.

For full house moves or large volumes, we recommend a home survey. One of our International Customer Service Managers will visit your home. They’ll discuss your requirements, answer any questions about the process, and assess the items you’re packing. They’ll also explain how best to protect them in transit and confirm access for a larger removal vehicle or shipping container. Once this is performed, our colleague draws up a full list of items to take during the visit. Once we’ve collated all the costs (origin, freight, destination services), we’ll send you a detailed door-to-door removal proposal.

For smaller volumes, you can discuss your move over the phone, by email, or through our online service. From there, we’ll assess your volume, access, packing requirements and shipping method from the information you give us. We’ll then send a detailed door-to-door proposal for you to consider.

Once you book with Abels, you’ll meet your Customer Liaison Move Coordinator. They work alongside your Customer Service Manager to manage the booking and organisation of your move to Sri Lanka.

Export Packing

Export packing is essential for your belongings when moving to Sri Lanka. This 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.

For instance, 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, and loaded onto the vessel. The same happens again in reverse at the other end. Robust export packing matters throughout.

We use the highest quality export materials throughout. In particular, we choose these to withstand a long export journey, not just a short domestic one. Containers stack up to two metres high in transit. 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 Sri Lanka 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.

How we dismantle these items before shipping matters as much as how we pack them. Grandfather clocks need their main components taken apart and weights removed before casing. Barometers need specialist handling too, since we bung the tube to prevent the mercury inside from spilling.

Thorough training is what keeps our packing teams versed in the right handling and packing techniques for items like these. Find out more in our moving advice.

Airfreight

Sri Lanka’s main international airport is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), named after former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. In addition, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), near Hambantota, offers a second option, and Ratmalana Airport handles some additional flights too.

Sea transit typically takes around 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 Sri Lankan security and customs checks before delivery.

See more on airfreight shipments.

Customs Information

Import and export rules govern personal items and household goods entering Sri Lanka. 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, and our team will talk you through these ahead of your move. Explore the FIDI Customs Guide for Sri Lanka for further background before your move consultation with the Abels team.

Shipping Services

We ship larger volumes and full house moves in a 20ft or 40ft container. Where access allows, we load the container outside your residence, so you can see our team’s care and skill first-hand. We seal the container with our uniquely numbered bolt seals. Where access doesn’t suit a container of this size, we load goods at our warehouse instead (you’re welcome to attend). Or we use a shuttle truck between your home and the container.

Some shipping lines offer low-cost freight at the expense of container quality and transit time. Abels sources containers through an organisation that secures A1-class containers on our behalf. These arrive without fractures, dry, clean, odour-free, and with a reliably consistent transit time. An odour in the container will transfer to your goods, and any fractures risk water damage.

Smaller volumes travel as LCL (less than container load). We take these to our warehouse and load them into heat-treated wooden crates for shipping.

Transit from port to port in Sri Lanka typically takes around 24 days by sea. Vessels depart the UK weekly to Colombo. Door to door, allow around 7 weeks, depending on weather, strikes, re-routing, vessel availability and customs inspections.

Read more about shipping options when moving abroad.