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Sea or air freight · 4-6 weeks by sea

Removals to UAE

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are steady destinations for academic and corporate movers across the UK. The shipping is routine; the prohibited-items list is not, and it catches people out more than any other destination we serve.

✓ One contract, one price, nationwide ✓ £50,000 goods in transit cover ✓ £2m public liability ✓ Companies House 15886470

What actually matters on this route

Prohibited itemsAlcohol, pork products, and material considered politically or religiously sensitive are seized. This includes items people never think about, such as some artwork and printed matter.
Residence visaDuty-free import of personal effects generally requires your visa to be in place.
Attested documentsSome paperwork needs consular attestation. Start early - it is the usual cause of delay.
InspectionPhysical inspection at Jebel Ali is common. A precise inventory speeds it up considerably.
Customs documentationExport declaration and itemised packing list - £145, added once regardless of destination or volume, never folded into the cost of the vehicle.
Destination terminal handlingPort charges at the other end are itemised separately too - currently £265, quoted at cost - this applies to sea and air shipments, not to our road groupage routes.

Customs rules change. We confirm the current requirements for your date at survey rather than relying on what was true last year.

How the price is worked out

International moves are priced by volume, not by distance. What matters is how many cubic metres you fill and how the shipment travels - a container does not care whether it started in Abingdon or Aberdeen.

  • Survey first. We measure your load in cubic metres, on video or in person.
  • Shared or sole-use. Below roughly 24 m³ sharing is cheaper. Above it, a container of your own usually wins.
  • Route: Jebel Ali.
  • Transit: 4-6 weeks by sea, plus consolidation before and clearance after.
  • Export packing. Every shipment gets export-grade wrap and a customs inventory, itemised as its own line - about 18% added to the shipping cost for packing that has to survive a container and a long transit, not just a van down the road. Full details of our packing service are on its own page.

We are not VAT-registered, so there is no VAT to add to your shipping cost - the figure you see is the figure you pay.

Moving to the UK instead?

If you are bringing a household back to the UK, ask us about Transfer of Residence (ToR1) relief. Applied for correctly and in advance, it lets you import your own used belongings without paying UK duty or VAT. Applied for late, it does not. It is free to apply and we will point you at the form.

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Moving to UAE

What can I not ship to the UAE?

Alcohol and pork products certainly, and anything that could be judged politically or religiously sensitive, including some books and artwork. We go through the list with you at survey.

Is air freight worth it to Dubai?

For a small, urgent shipment yes. For a household it is several times the cost of sea and rarely justified.

How much does it cost to move to the UAE from the UK?

A one-bedroom household is typically £3,450-£4,000 by shared container - the common size for the single academics and early-career staff who make up much of our Dubai and Abu Dhabi traffic.

Other destinations

Where else we ship

IrelandFranceSpainPortugalGermanythe NetherlandsItalySwitzerlandCyprusthe USACanadaAustraliaNew Zealand

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Tell us about your load. Our team will check the details and confirm an itemised price.

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