If you're just about to become an international student, it would imply you'll be relocating for a period of at least 3 to 4 years. At this time there are a countless number of things you'll have to take care of including: choosing the right course and university, writing applications, applying for a visa and researching living expenses and loans. It’s a truly frightening, yet exciting period of your life.

Few students have the time to even think about how they are going to ship their belongings to their new country. This normally results in either overpaying for a shipping container or, in most cases, trying to fit a bedroom in a suitcase the night before the flight (we’ve been there).

How much would international shipping cost?

As you might expect, the cost will depend on your place of origin and your destination, the seasonality and how many people you'll be sharing a freight container with.

To give you a rough estimate, here are the costs for an entire 20-foot container from some of the most popular routes, with prices in GBP. Although, keep in mind that if you'll be sharing with other people, the cost will be split between all parties.

If you decided to ship your belongings to the UK, USA, or anywhere else in the world, you should allow at the very least a few months to arrange it.

Melbourne to Auckland

1,200 ()

New York to London

1,800 ()

Sydney to Vancouver

1,900 ()

Toronto to Paris

2,200 ()

Los Angeles to Sydney

2,600 ()

Berlin to Melbourne

2,900 ()

Singapore to San Diego

3,400 ()

Why you should consider shared shipping

Whether you are shipping your belongings across Europe, which most likely will be overland, or across the Atlantic or Pacific, you'll need to plan your move well in advance. As a student you probably don't have many possessions or much money to spare, which is the reason you'll most probably find shared shipping to be the most convenient method.

Shared shipping is when you team up with other people to share a freight container with and split the cost. This makes your move more environmentally friendly and of course, a lot cheaper.

Select the size of your move to get free quotes

How to find people for shared shipping?

As you might expect by far the easiest and most convenient way to team up is with friends that are also moving to the same destination. It may seem like a challenge, but after a few weeks of asking around you may be surprised by the number of people in your social circle moving to the same place.

Another method is to look for people on local forums or asking members of your community, such as your teachers or your employer who are more likely to know people moving abroad. Your university should have a dedicated resource for international students and may be able to help you find someone in a similar situation.

Another important consideration is figuring out how much you can fit in a 20-foot container, so you can determine the number of people you need to fully load a container as well as the amount of your bill.

You'll also have to do some research on how your items should be stored in a container so they wouldn't be damaged during the shipment.

How to choose a shipping supplier?

If you find someone to share a container with, but still can't fully fill a 20-foot container or you didn't manage to find anyone, you can ask for a quote from a shipping supplier and ask them to help you in your search. There's a reasonably high chance they'll be able to help.

Unfortunately, given the fact that different shipping suppliers have cost advantages in different regions, they charge vastly different amounts for the same moving routes. This would imply that in order to get the best price, you'll have to use Google to your best ability, to find the one that is right for you. A much easier option is using our form to get quotes from up to 6 shipping suppliers and help you find sharing partners, all in one go.