Moving Berlin ↔ Aarau: to the town of beautiful gables

A move from Berlin to Aarau takes you to the capital of the canton of Aargau, on the edge of the Swiss Plateau towards the Jura, and so to a country outside the EU customs union. Household goods that you have used yourself for at least six months and will continue to use in Switzerland can be imported duty-free as removal goods. For this you need the signed form 18.44, an inventory list and proof of your change of residence, such as an employment or tenancy contract. We organise the transport from your Berlin flat to the address in Aarau and prepare the documents with you.

For a return move from Aarau to Berlin the border simply has to be crossed from the other side: Swiss customs receives a list of your household goods with both addresses for export, and in Germany you declare the goods at the customs office. No duties are payable provided you have lived outside the EU for at least twelve months and have used the items for six months (Regulation (EC) 1186/2009). For this too you receive a fixed price after the survey, with liability under the German Commercial Code (HGB).

The roughly 844 km run via the A9 to Nuremberg, the A6 (151 km) to the Weinsberg interchange and the A81 past Stuttgart to the Bad Dürrheim interchange. Via the A864 feeder road and federal roads we head to the High Rhine, across the border into Aargau and the last kilometres on the Swiss A1 to the Aarau-Ost junction. We reckon on approx. 13 h by lorry including breaks.

A lorry over 3.5 t may not drive faster than 80 km/h on the German motorway (§ 18 para. 5 StVO); after 4.5 hours of driving a 45-minute break is required. One working day at the wheel is not enough to reach the Aare, so two drivers take turns or the lorry stops overnight before the High Rhine. Which border crossing we use depends on the customs office where your removal goods are cleared during the opening hours for commercial goods. Then comes unloading in Aarau – or, on a return move, in Berlin.

Aarau is known as the “town of beautiful gables”: around 70 gables with painted undersides shape the old town. There is also the large Telli housing estate in the north-east and, since 2010, the district of Rohr. Since the opening of the Sauerländer tunnel in 2003 and since 2006, the old town has been largely free of through traffic; access and parking there look different from outside a Telli high-rise. We clarify this before the date and schedule moving day to match the handover of the flat. After moving in, you register with the town of Aarau; the municipality tells you the deadline and documents.

Anyone coming back from Aarau to Berlin has two weeks to register at the citizens' office (Bürgeramt) – an ID and the landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) are enough, whether the new flat is in Pankow, Charlottenburg or Friedrichshain. We apply to the district office for the parking restriction in Berlin; the signs are put up there at least three full days before the move.

These ranges serve as initial orientation for the move from Berlin to Aarau and the way back from Aarau to Berlin. What you actually pay is set in writing after the survey:

For the journey to Aargau (around 844 km) the guide price is from €3,290, whichever direction. LSVA, customs clearance and a change of driver or overnight stay are listed separately in the quote. We give you the binding amount after a free survey.

The cubic metres come first. Then come the 844 kilometres to the Aare, the LSVA for the Swiss section, customs clearance and whether two drivers or an overnight stay are needed. The floor, lift and extra services such as furniture assembly or a parking restriction zone also play a part. Small households save with a shared load.

For Aarau and back, you put your move together from these components:

• Private move – the whole household, from Moabit to the Aare
• Company move – offices with short downtime, set-up after customs
• Furniture transport – when only individual pieces travel
• Shared load – share cargo space with other consignments
• Move with assembly – dismantling, transport and assembly from a single source
• House clearance – declutter before the customs list is drawn up

Aarau is one of many long-distance routes we drive from Berlin – to Switzerland, to Austria and right across Germany. An overview of all areas is on the locations page; the routes themselves are listed under long-distance moves.

Whether you are moving to Aarau or returning from Aarau to Berlin: first we see your belongings, then we fill in the inventory list and form 18.44 with you, then the fixed price is set – guide price from €3,290. Book an appointment on 01625978461; the survey costs nothing.