International Removals to the UAE (2026)
Relocating to the United Arab Emirates is one of the most rewarding moves a European family or professional can make, and one of the most demanding to organise. Whether you are settling into a Dubai apartment, a villa on Palm Jumeirah, a townhouse in Abu Dhabi or a family home in Sharjah, your household has to travel by sea or air, clear one of the strictest customs regimes in the region, and arrive intact and on schedule. Flyto Relocation coordinates that whole journey door to door, so you can focus on your new job, school places and residence visa rather than on shipping paperwork.
Flyto is a European international mover. We operate our own hubs in Northern, Central and Southern Europe, so the origin side of your move, the survey, packing, export documentation and loading, is handled directly by our own teams. For the UAE we ship by sea and air and work with a small network of vetted, long-standing local partners for customs clearance and final delivery in the Emirates. You get the reliability of an owned European operation with genuine on-the-ground expertise in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and one dedicated coordinator who stays with you from first quote to the last box unpacked.
How Flyto works: European hubs, vetted UAE partners, one coordinator
We are honest about our model because it is the reason our moves run smoothly. We do not pretend to own an office in Dubai. Your move is built on two solid halves. The European half is ours: a qualified surveyor scopes your home, our crews pack and wrap your belongings, and we prepare the export documentation from our own hub. The UAE half is delivered by carefully vetted local partners who clear your shipment through UAE customs and handle delivery to your door, all connected by a single English-speaking coordinator at Flyto, so you are never handed between call centres or left to chase a foreign agent in a different time zone.
Most household shipments to the UAE travel by sea freight to Jebel Ali in Dubai, the largest container port in the Middle East and one of the ten busiest in the world, from where goods are cleared and trucked onwards to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the northern emirates. For urgent or smaller consignments we also ship by air into Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Our services to the UAE
We tailor the shipping method to the size of your home and your budget. A full household typically moves as a dedicated full-container load (FCL), giving you exclusive use of a 20ft or 40ft container. Smaller homes and partial moves travel as a shared less-than-container-load (LCL) or as groupage, where your goods share space with other consignments and you pay only for the volume you use.
Every move is genuinely door to door. Our services include:
- Professional export packing, wrapping and custom crating for fragile and high-value items
- FCL, LCL and groupage sea freight to Jebel Ali, plus air freight for urgent shipments
- Full export and import documentation, and coordination of customs clearance through our UAE partners
- Delivery, unloading and unpacking to apartments and villas in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the wider UAE, including buildings with lift bookings and access permits
- Short- and long-term storage at origin or destination if your new home is not ready
- Marine transit insurance so your belongings are covered from door to door
What shipping to the UAE costs
Every relocation is priced individually, so we never quote generic figures that turn out to be wrong. Your cost is driven by a handful of clear factors: the total volume and weight of your goods, whether you take a dedicated container (FCL) or share space (LCL or groupage), your origin city in Europe, and the shipping method.
Sea freight is by far the most economical option for a full household and is what most families choose; the trade-off is a longer transit time. Air freight is considerably more expensive per cubic metre but far faster, ideal for a small essentials shipment you need in your first week. Access at both ends also matters: long carries, difficult parking, high floors without a service lift, and villa or compound access rules can all affect the price. Once our surveyor has assessed your home, your coordinator gives you a single transparent quote with no hidden extras.
Customs, paperwork and your residence visa
UAE customs clearance is strict and sequence-sensitive, and getting it wrong is the most common cause of delay and storage charges. The single most important thing to understand is the order of events: you generally need your UAE residence visa and Emirates ID in place before your shipment can be cleared. Dubai Customs and the UAE Federal Customs Authority require the importer to present a passport copy, a valid residence visa and, normally, an Emirates ID before personal effects are released, and the shipping line will not issue the delivery order without them. If your Emirates ID has not yet been issued, your entry permit and employer offer letter can often be used temporarily, but this must be planned in advance.
The good news is that used personal effects and household goods are generally exempt from import duty for holders of a valid UAE residence visa, provided the goods are genuinely used, for personal use and not for resale. Brand-new items may attract customs duty, typically around five per cent of value, so keep new purchases to a minimum or be ready to declare them.
The UAE also enforces some of the strictest prohibited and restricted item rules anywhere. Do not ship, and always declare where required:
- Alcohol only within strict duty-free limits; large quantities in a household shipment are not permitted
- Pork and pork products, which are prohibited
- Narcotics and many controlled medicines, including items containing codeine, tramadol, certain sleep and anxiety medications and CBD products; controlled medicines need advance Ministry of Health and Prevention approval and a prescription
- Printed matter, films, DVDs and other media, which may be reviewed and censored; material considered offensive to Islamic values or UAE law can be confiscated, and large media collections can trigger a review that adds days to clearance
- Firearms, weapons, gambling equipment, counterfeit goods and Israeli-origin products, which are prohibited
When in doubt, declare it and ask us first. Your residence visa route, most commonly an employment visa sponsored by your UAE employer, or a longer-term Golden Visa for eligible investors and specialists, determines your timing, and we build your shipping schedule around it.
Why choose Flyto for your UAE move
Families and professionals choose Flyto because we combine an owned European operation with real UAE know-how. We hold a 4.9 rating from more than 500 reviews, every shipment is insured door to door, and you work with one English-speaking coordinator throughout. Above all, we understand the visa-before-clearance sequencing that trips up so many moves, and we plan your timeline around it from day one rather than discovering it at the port.
How long does it take?
Timing depends on your origin city and shipping method. Sea freight from Europe to Jebel Ali typically takes around two to four weeks in transit, plus packing and export handling at origin and clearance and delivery in the UAE. Air freight moves in a matter of days but suits smaller consignments. Because clearance cannot begin until your residence visa and Emirates ID are ready, your visa timeline, not the ship, is usually the deciding factor, and your coordinator maps the whole sequence with you so there are no surprises.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my UAE residence visa before my shipment arrives?
In practice, yes. UAE customs and the shipping line generally require a valid residence visa and Emirates ID before personal effects are released. If your Emirates ID is still being issued, an entry permit and employer letter can sometimes be used temporarily, but plan this in advance to avoid storage charges.
Are my used household goods subject to import duty?
Used personal effects are generally exempt from duty for holders of a valid UAE residence visa, provided the goods are for personal use and not for resale. Brand-new items may attract customs duty and should be declared.
What items are prohibited or restricted?
Prohibited items include pork products, narcotics, firearms, weapons, gambling equipment, counterfeit goods and Israeli-origin products. Alcohol is limited to strict duty-free allowances, many controlled medicines require prior Ministry of Health approval, and printed matter and media may be reviewed and censored. Declare anything you are unsure about.
Do you ship to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah as well as Dubai?
Yes. Most shipments arrive by sea at Jebel Ali and are delivered onward to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the northern emirates. We deliver to both apartments and villas, including buildings that require lift bookings and access permits.
Should I ship by sea or by air?
Sea freight is the most economical choice for a full household and is what most families use, with a longer transit time. Air freight is faster but costs considerably more per cubic metre, making it ideal for a small essentials shipment you need quickly.
Does Flyto have its own office in the UAE?
No, and we are upfront about it. Flyto runs its own hubs in Europe and handles your origin move directly, then ships to the UAE and uses vetted local partners for customs clearance and delivery, all coordinated by one Flyto point of contact. That honest hubs-plus-partners model is exactly why our UAE moves run so smoothly.
Start your move to the UAE
Tell us about your home and your timeline and your dedicated coordinator will build a clear, door-to-door plan and quote for your relocation to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or anywhere in the Emirates.