Moving from Saudi Arabia to France (2026): Relocation Guide

Moving from Saudi Arabia to France (2026): Relocation Guide

Key takeaways

• Plan pets first. Saudi Arabia is not on the EU’s list of approved third countries, so a dog or cat needs a rabies antibody titration test (blood drawn at least 30 days after vaccination, result ≥0.5 IU/ml) followed by a mandatory three-month wait before entering France. Start about four to five months ahead.
• Claim the franchise de déménagement. France waives import duties and VAT on used personal belongings if you lived outside the EU for at least 12 months and owned/used the goods for at least six months.
• Close out Saudi Arabia correctly. Employer cancels your iqama and files the final exit visa via Qiwa and Muqeem; settle your end-of-service award first.
• Validate your visa fast. A VLS-TS long-stay visa must be validated online within three months of arrival; register with CPAM and open the other services after that.
• Sea freight Jeddah or Dammam to Le Havre or Marseille-Fos typically runs four to six weeks port to port; air freight is the fast option for essentials.

1. Leaving Saudi Arabia: what to close out

Departing the Kingdom for good is largely employer-driven, so begin early and keep records. The key step is cancelling your iqama (residence permit) and getting a final exit visa. For most private-sector employees the employer requests it through the Qiwa and Muqeem platforms, and it is issued on Absher. Reforms now also allow qualifying workers to apply through Absher or Qiwa without employer approval where the contract has ended or expired. When the final exit visa is issued your iqama is effectively cancelled, though it stays usable as ID until you leave at the airport.

Mind the deadline: after issuance you have a fixed window (currently 60 days) to depart, or the visa must be cancelled and re-issued, with a fine. The Kingdom also requires a minimum remaining iqama validity to issue a final exit, so keep it current while the paperwork runs.

End-of-service settlement. Saudi labour law entitles you to an end-of-service award (gratuity) plus accrued leave. Reconcile the figures with HR and, as is standard, ensure the settlement is paid and receipted before cancellation is finalised.

Close accounts. Settle and close bank accounts (or remit your final balance abroad before it is frozen after departure), end mobile and utility contracts, clear any Absher traffic fines, terminate your tenancy and recover your deposit, and sell or de-register your car. Keep salary certificates and references — French landlords and banks often ask for supporting documents.

Household export. Personal effects clear outbound through the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA). Your mover prepares a detailed, valued inventory; keep it, because French customs will want a dated, signed inventory in duplicate. Ship from Jeddah Islamic Port or King Abdulaziz Port, Dammam.

Pet export. To take a dog or cat out of Saudi Arabia you need an export health certificate endorsed by a MEWA-approved vet (usually within about 10 days of travel), plus microchip and rabies records. This is separate from the EU entry rules in section 5 — and the EU titre test plus three-month wait are the real bottleneck, so read section 5 before setting a moving date.

2. How your household goods ship to France

Most Saudi Arabia-to-France moves travel by sea in a 20ft or 40ft container — a full container (FCL) for a whole home, or shared groupage (LCL) for smaller loads. Loading is at Jeddah or Dammam; the usual French gateways are Le Havre (for northern and central France) and Marseille-Fos (for the south).

Qualitatively, budget around four to six weeks port to port for a direct or lightly transhipped sailing, plus a week or two each side for packing, export clearance, French customs and delivery. Services routed via the Suez Canal and a Mediterranean hub can run longer where there is transhipment or schedule disruption, so treat any single figure as indicative and confirm the live sailing when you book.

Air freight is the fast alternative — a few days door to door — but it is charged by weight and volume, so it suits an essentials kit (clothes, laptop, documents, a few kitchen items) rather than furniture. A common approach is air for a small arrival box and sea for the bulk. Keep your passport, visa, employment contract, the customs inventory and residence documents with you rather than in the container.

3. France customs & transfer-of-residence relief

Moving your main home to France from a non-EU country, you can import your used personal belongings free of import duties and VAT under the franchise de déménagement (transfer-of-residence relief). You clear the goods with French customs (la douane) at first entry, presenting a detailed inventory and proof of the move.

The conditions, which must all be met, are:

• you have lived outside the EU for more than 12 months;
• the goods have been owned and used for more than six months before the transfer of residence;
• the goods are declared for import at first passage, within 12 months of settling in France; and
• the goods are not sold, lent or hired out for 12 months after import.

Excluded from the relief are alcohol, tobacco, commercial/professional vehicles and equipment, and vehicles bought tax-free. You will need a detailed, valued, dated and signed inventory in two copies, proof you resided in a third country, and proof you are settling in France (a certificat de changement de résidence, transfer order, employment contract or residence card). Your remover normally prepares and lodges the paperwork for unaccompanied freight.

4. Arriving: registration, residence, driving, healthcare

Visa and residence. As a Saudi or other third-country national you enter on the appropriate long-stay visa arranged before travel — most commonly a VLS-TS (visa long séjour valant titre de séjour), which doubles as a residence permit for the first year. Crucially, you must validate it online within three months of arrival via your ANEF account (administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr), paying the applicable fee. The three-month clock runs from your first entry into France, not the visa’s start date. Miss it and your status lapses, blocking the bank, health-cover and family steps that follow.

Healthcare. Once resident and stably present, you register with CPAM (Assurance Maladie) under the PUMa scheme to get a social-security number and, later, a carte Vitale; top up with a mutuelle (complementary insurance). Employers usually help initiate this. Keep vaccination records and a summary of ongoing prescriptions from your Saudi doctor.

Driving licence. Non-EU licences can be driven in France for up to one year after your residence begins (with an official French translation or international permit). To keep driving after that you must exchange your licence, but only if Saudi Arabia has a reciprocity agreement with France for your category and the conditions are met; otherwise you take the French test. Because exchange eligibility and the application window are strict, check the current rules and start the ANTS exchange application early.

Local set-up. There is no single mandatory “town registration” as in Germany, but you will need a French address to open a bank account, sign a lease and set up utilities. Keep proof of address (justificatif de domicile) — utility bills or your lease — because almost every administrative step asks for it.

5. Pets

Start here, before any other date. Because Saudi Arabia is not on the EU’s list of approved (Annex II) third countries, a dog, cat or ferret entering France from the Kingdom must complete a rabies antibody titration test — not just a vaccination.

The EU sequence is:

• Microchip (ISO 11784/11785) first — it must be in place before the rabies vaccination to count.
• Rabies vaccination after the chip.
• Blood sample for the titration test taken at least 30 days after vaccination, tested at an EU-designated laboratory, with a result of at least 0.5 IU/ml.
• A mandatory three-month wait from the date of that satisfactory blood sample before the animal may enter the EU. (The wait is waived only if the sampling was done before the pet ever left the EU, which will not apply here.)
• An EU animal health certificate completed by an official vet before travel, and entry through a designated Travellers’ Point of Entry with advance notification.

Add the Saudi MEWA export certificate from section 1 and the realistic lead time is about four to five months. Any misstep — chip after the vaccine, blood drawn too early, the three-month wait not elapsed — can mean refusal or quarantine. Use an EU-designated titration laboratory, keep every original, and verify the current requirements on the European Commission’s guidance and with your Saudi vet before booking travel.

6. Money, banking & tax basics

Opening a French bank account is much easier once you have an address and a validated VLS-TS; some banks and digital providers can onboard newcomers before that. In the meantime keep an internationally usable account or card, and transfer your Saudi end-of-service settlement before your Saudi account closes, using a regulated currency provider rather than a walk-up bureau. A French account (RIB) is needed for rent, utilities and salary.

On tax, you generally become a French tax resident when France is your main home or the centre of your economic interests, so record your arrival date, final Saudi payslips and end-of-service payment. Saudi Arabia has no personal income tax, so there is no Saudi tax certificate to reclaim, but keep evidence of the source of funds you bring in — French banks and the tax authority may ask. France taxes worldwide income of residents and now runs monthly withholding (prélèvement à la source); if your affairs are complex (overseas property, investments, continuing Saudi income), take French tax advice in your first months and check the France-Saudi position on double taxation.

How Flyto handles your Saudi Arabia to France move

Flyto Relocation moves households from Saudi Arabia to France and across the continent, backed by our own hubs across Northern, Central and Southern Europe. We manage export clearance at Jeddah or Dammam, the sea or air leg to Le Havre or Marseille-Fos, and French customs so your franchise de déménagement is applied correctly with the right inventory and proofs — plus the parts people underestimate, above all the pet titre timeline that has to start months ahead. One project manager owns the move from packing inventory to the VLS-TS validation checklist waiting on arrival. Get a quote and we will plan your dates backwards from the day you want to be settled in France.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my pet need a blood test to enter France from Saudi Arabia?
Because Saudi Arabia is not on the EU’s list of approved third countries, pets need a rabies antibody titration test showing at least 0.5 IU/ml, taken at least 30 days after vaccination, plus microchip and vaccination. See European Commission — bringing a pet into the EU.

How long before the move should I start the pet process?
Around four to five months. After a satisfactory titre result there is a mandatory three-month wait before EU entry, on top of the vaccination-to-blood-draw interval and the Saudi MEWA export certificate. See European Commission — non-EU pet entry.

Can I import my furniture into France duty-free?
Yes, under the franchise de déménagement, if you lived outside the EU for more than 12 months, owned and used the goods for more than six months, and declare them within 12 months of settling in France. See French Customs — moving to France from a third country.

How do I leave Saudi Arabia permanently?
Your employer normally cancels your iqama and files the final exit visa through Qiwa and Muqeem, issued on Absher; settle your end-of-service award first. See Qiwa.

What must I do soon after arriving in France?
Validate your VLS-TS long-stay visa online within three months of arrival, then register with CPAM and open a bank account. See France-Visas — arrival in France.

Can I drive in France on my Saudi licence?
For up to one year after your residence begins; after that you must exchange it (only where a reciprocity agreement applies) or pass the French test. See Service-Public — exchanging a foreign driving licence.

Related moves

• Moving to Riyadh from Abroad
• Moving from France to Saudi Arabia

Sources

• French Customs (Douane) — Moving to France from a third country (franchise de déménagement)
• Service-Public — Customs duties when moving to France from outside the EU
• European Commission (Food Safety) — Bringing a pet into the EU from a non-EU country
• European Commission — Designated rabies antibody titration laboratories
• France-Visas — Arrival in France and VLS-TS validation
• Service-Public — Exchanging a foreign (non-EU) driving licence
• Absher — Saudi government services (exit/final exit visa)
• Qiwa — Saudi labour services platform
• Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) — animal export

Hiring an international mover? See our full International removals to Saudi Arabia service — Flyto’s own European hubs, vetted local partners and one English-speaking coordinator, door to door.