- Car Shipping United Arab Emirates
- Shipping A Car To Uae (United Arab Emirates)
- Typical Shipping Prices – How Much Does It Cost?
- Cost & Time Examples For Shipping A Car To Uae
- Regulations When Shipping A Vehicle To The United Arab Emirates
- Shipping A Motorcycle To The United Arab Emirates
- Selecting The Right Shipping Method
- Crate Shipping
- Container Shipping
- Roro Shipping
- Shipping An Rv To The United Arab Emirates
- Selecting The Right Shipping Method
- Roro Shipping
- Lolo Shipping
- Shipping Vehicles Overseas
- Popular Uae Shipping Destinations
- Importing A Vehicle To Uae
- Required Documents For Shipping A Vehicle To The United Arab Emirates
- More Information And Resources
- Other Services
- Related Information
Car Shipping United Arab Emirates
Shipping A Car To UAE (United Arab Emirates)
Typical Shipping Prices – How Much Does It Cost?
- Shipping a car to the United Arab Emirates from the U.S. usually costs from$3,500 to $6,000 for most vehicles.
- Specialty services (such as door-to-door delivery) and shipment of larger vehicles carry an additional cost.
Cost & Time Examples For Shipping a Car to UAE
| To/From | Ground | Ocean | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles to (California port) to Jebel Ali | $350 | $2,300 | 5+37 |
| Boston, MA to (New York port) to Jebel Ali | $400 | $2,100 | 5+25 |
| Las Vegas, NV to (California port) to Sharjah | $450 | $2,400 | 5+37 |
| Seattle, WA to (California port) to Jebel Ali | $550 | $2,300 | 6+37 |
| Detroit, MI to (New York port) to Jebel Ali | $575 | $2,100 | 6+25 |
| Chicago, IL to (New York port) to Jebel Ali | $675 | $2,100 | 6+25 |
| Denver, CO to (California port) to Sharjah | $775 | $2,400 | 7+37 |
| Memphis, TN to (New York port) to Jebel Ali | $800 | $2,100 | 6+25 |
| Miami, FL to (New York port) to Jebel Ali | $925 | $2,100 | 7+25 |
| Dallas, TX to (California port) to Sharjah | $1,025 | $2,400 | 7+37 |
*Prices and times are estimated. They can vary depending on the season and the type of vehicle.
*Save the ground transport cost by delivering the vehicle to the nearest port.
*Allow an additional 10 days to process the documents.
*Prices are for 1 car in a dedicated 20ft container. This is the safest and most reliable way to transport a vehicle internationally. Other items may be included in the container to help save you money when moving.
*Using the RoRo (roll on, roll off) method is less expensive and shipments can be completed in fewer days. Contact us now for a free RoRo quote.
The United Arab Emirates commonly referred to as Emirates, or the UAE is located right on the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula. The region is known for its tropical weather with its sweltering summers and warm winters. While the capital of the country is Abu Dhabi , Dubai is a popular capital and a trendy area for vacationing.
Regulations When Shipping A Vehicle To The United Arab Emirates
In addition to the 5% import duty imposed by customs, it seems that a 5% value-added tax (VAT) will also be charged. According to reputable international moving organization FIDI, if you fail to submit original documents to customs - then you’ll be billed a further $300 (1). Be aware that customs doesn’t allow vehicles manufactured more than 10 years ago to be imported, without special approval from the local office processing your shipment. Right-hand drive vehicles or vehicles with tinted glass also cannot be brought into the United Arab Emirates.
The make, model, year, chassis number, gross weight, market value and engine number of the vehicle must all be listed in the shipping documentation. After entering the country the traffic department will need the vehicle clearance certificate you received from customs. Last but not least clearance periods in Jebel Ali a major port in the United Arab Emirates can be lengthy typically taking up to two weeks (2).
Shipping A Motorcycle to The United Arab Emirates
The same paperwork and regulatory requirements covered above, should apply when shipping a motorcycle to the UAE. Keep in mind that customs apparently enforces a limit of just a single personal vehicle (of any type) per year (3). This means that if you choose to import a car into the country, you won’t be permitted to also bring in a motorcycle for at least one year.
Selecting The Right Shipping Method
In most cases, crate, container or roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) shipping will be the most appropriate choice for your motorcycle.
Crate Shipping
This method involves crating up your bike and setting it on a pallet for easy loading and unloading. The custom crate size allows for a snug fit - meaning your motorcycle shouldn’t shift (or fall) during the ocean crossing. The crate also provides a measure of protection from the salt in the sea air, plus it shields the motorcycle from being dented or scratched by other cargo on board. Though some countries mandate that all wood crates undergo fumigation per ISPM 15 certification guidelines - the United Arab Emirates does not require this step (4).
Container Shipping
While container shipping provides the same advantages, it also offers much more interior space for other goods. This makes it a convenient choice, if you wish to ship other household belongings along with your motorcycle. Standard shipping container lengths are 20 and 40 feet.
RoRo Shipping
A common solution for shipping a vehicle overseas, roll-on/roll-off vessels feature folding ramps - allowing vehicles to drive right onto the ship. This approach eliminates the need for much preparation before shipping, and it greatly speeds up the loading and unloading process (5). RoRo shipping can also be an economical choice. Once in place, your motorcycle will be secured using tie-downs, or with a securement rig built into the deck.
Shipping An RV to The United Arab Emirates
With its much larger dimensions, your available shipping options are a bit different, when shipping an RV to the United Arab Emirates.
Selecting The Right Shipping Method
Since container or crate shipping won’t work with an RV, you can select either roll-on/roll-off or lift-on/lift-off shipping.
RoRo Shipping
RoRo ships are designed to accommodate different sizes of vehicles, so this method is a viable one - as long as your RV isn’t larger than the maximum allowable dimensions for a specific RoRo vessel. Keep in mind that height clearance could be an issue for your RV - so be sure to check beforehand that your particular model will fit comfortably on board.
LoLo Shipping
An alternative is lift-on/lift-off (LoLo) shipping, which uses a derrick, gantry or jib crane built into the ship to load cargo on board. Since LoLo vessels are usually designed with flexible cargo areas, they can often handle even extremely large loads (6).
In fact, this method is used to transport large sailing vessels around the world - so it may well be the perfect solution if you own an oversized Class A RV. With the upper limit for RVs standing at 45 feet in length and upwards of 15 tons, LoLo shipping may be your only feasible choice (7).
Shipping Vehicles Overseas
For many, the thought of shipping a vehicle that they’ve paid thousands of dollar for, from the United States to another country sounds scary. Your fear can be eliminated with a healthy dose of research and by obtaining the help of a reputable auto shipping company.
Need to ship your vehicle to the United Emirates? Call us today for more information or fill out the form located right on right-hand corner of this page for a free real time estimate.
Get a Free, No Obligation to Buy, Auto Shipping Quote.
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Popular UAE Shipping Destinations
Importing a Vehicle to UAE
Shipping a vehicle internationally has it's challenging. Before you begin the process it’s important to make sure, you have the necessary documents required by UAE custom’s department. To avoid any delays in the customs clearances be sure that you have acquired the appropriate documents for you MVC.
Click here to learn more about vehicle registration process in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Required Documents For Shipping A Vehicle To The United Arab Emirates
- Proof of insurance for the vehicle being imported
- Export declaration from the U.S customs department
- Original invoice or certificate for new vehicles
- Trade license of the company exporting the vehicle and documents identifying the importer
- Bill of lading
- Passport
- Visa or residence permit
Special conditions for importing a foreign vehicle into the United Arab Emirates include:
- You must have a valid residence permit
- The depreciation of the vehicle being imported cannot exceed five years
You will also be required to pay a custom’s duty fee of 5% of the market value of your vehicle.
More Information and Resources
Tourist Travel Certificate for Vehicles – Tourist must apply for a special certificate to import their vehicle into the United Arab Emirates for tourism purposes only.
Fee Structure – When importing a vehicle from outside the UAE you will incur special fees and taxes.
Other Services
Related Information
- Import vehicle into USA from UAE
- Cost to ship a car to UAE
- Exporting a car from USA to UAE
- How much does it cost to ship a car from the USA to the UAE
- Importing a car into the UAE from the USA
- Ship a boat to UAE
- Ship motorcycle to UAE
- Antique collector car shipping to UAE
SOURCES:
(1) https://www.fidi.org/sites/default/files/public/2020-03/M_Svcs_Customsregulation_United%20Arab%20Emirates_0.pdf
(2)https://www.iamovers.org/ResourcesPublications/CountryGuides.aspx?ItemNumber=3514
(3)https://www.fidi.org/sites/default/files/public/2020-03/M_Svcs_Customsregulation_United%20Arab%20Emirates_0.pdf
(4)Found on Atlas Int’l “Importing Personal Belongings Into The United Arab Emirates” page.
(5)https://www.a1autotransport.com/shipping-a-car-overseas-via-roro-ship/
(6)https://www.a1autotransport.com/what-is-lift-on-lift-off-boat-shipping/
(7)https://www.curbed.com/2018/8/16/17697922/rv-class-comparison-travel-trailer-camper-van-guide
Frequently Asked Questions
The United Arab Emirates is a growing commerce powerhouse and for this reason, attracts a flood of foreign investors and workers every year. If you want to get your car shipped to this exotic land, you may use any one of these famous ports in the country:
Jebel Ali Port: The port is the biggest manmade harbor not only in the UAE but also in the world, and it has unabated access to the global trade routes; a perfect gateway between the east and the west. Not only is it equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for cargo handling but also ample container volume somewhere between those of Singapore and Rotterdam ports. By 2030, the port is projected to be able to handle 50 million TEUs of cargo!
Mina Zayed Port: The port is located north of the UAE’s economic backbone, Abu Dhabi, which also happens to be its capital and most famous city. It has a cargo tonnage of 900,000 which makes it perfect for processing car imports as well. To top it all, the port has 41 hectares of land dedicated to accommodating containers.
Mina Rashid Port: Not only can this port handle a heavy influx of people, but also tons of cargo coming from all of the world, including car imports from the USA. It also has a security certificate of excellence from International Maritime Security.
Mina Khalid Port: Nestled by the city of Sharjah, this port is perfectly equipped for handling cargo shipments, and also car imports – especially with the roll-on, roll-off shipping option. The port is hosting several construction projects and rapid expansion is expected; there is ample storage space as-is, and things will only get better from here.
Khor Fakkhan Port: This port is managed by the same authority that handles affairs at the Mina Khalid Port. While the rest of the ports mentioned above are manmade, this one is a natural deepwater port and receives dense traffic of cargo from the Indian Ocean trade routes. It also features the most sophisticated and modern container cranes which enable the management to deal with tons of cargo at a time; it can work on 1,000 containers at a time!
While there are no fixed prices for shipping cars across the sea, you can expect to pay between $3,500 and $6,000 for importing your car to the UAE from the USA. This, of course, is an estimate for container shipping, you don’t necessarily have to pay as much if you opt for the open-air shipping method.
However, there are too many variables to be able to put the pin on an exact number, such as whether or not you have to pay a tax for the import (some cases qualify for an exemption), or the specific details of your car in case the tax is applicable.
And so on…
But keep this range in mind just for a reference.
The overseas travel time will take the biggest fraction of your car shipment schedule. This chunk of time depends on the route chosen, of course, other factors like weather conditions can also come into play, but for the most part, it is the distance.
Your choice for the departure port and the destination port will be dictated by the original location of the car and where you want it shipped. For instance, the route connecting the California port to Jebel Ali is a 37-day voyage, whereas the distance between New York port and Jebel Ali can be covered in 25 days.
Of course, you've got other things to consider as well such as the overland travel involved in transport and delivery, the time required for customs clearance, and unexpected delays which are a part of the business.
Here’s a checklist of paperwork you need to keep with you when importing a car to the UAE:
- Insurance documents for the imported vehicle from the USA
- Export declaration documents from the customs department of the USA
- Bill of sale/invoice for the vehicle with detailed specs and price
- Identification documents for the important
- Logistics services provider’s trade license
- Lading bill
- Passport
- Visa
- Valid residence permit for the UAE, if you’re a foreigner
If you have all of these at hand, you shouldn't have any trouble with getting customs clearance. Also, make sure that the details mentioned on these documents are up to date and all accurate because otherwise, things can become a bit problematic.
You’ll first have to start with cleaning the vehicle, both the exterior and the interior, especially taking the time to clean the undercarriage to decontaminate it from any foreign biological entities, i.e. microbes, seeds, cysts, etc.
You also need to make sure that none of your personal possessions are left inside the vehicle if you’re planning on using the roll-on, roll-off/open-air shipment option. For the same reason, you'll also need to fill up your gas tank to a quarter of its full capacity, but no more than that.
And so on…
Of course, you could save yourself the trouble and get experts from A1 Auto Transport to handle the whole thing for you while you plan your move and deal with business.
Here’s how this whole process works:
- Research – you need to check out the special requirements for importing a car to the UAE from the USA and other things such as:
- Conformity requirements for imported cars
- The vehicle’s depreciation limit (it is 5 years at max)
- Applicable taxes and customs duties
- Tax exemption cases and whether you can avail the relief
- Age limit for car imports
- Documents for importing the car – next, you need to create a checklist of the documents you need and then make sure that you have all of them with accurate details:
- Residence permit
- Visa
- Passport
- Insurance papers
- Export declaration from the USA customs
- ID documents
- Sales invoice
- Trade license of the shipping company
- Bill of lading
- Certificate of origin
- Figure out the costs – break it down into fractions, find out the flexible areas so that you can save up:
- Freighting bills
- Insurance dues
- Storage charges
- Transport/delivery dues
- Preparation fees
- Customs duties
- Taxes
- Import processing fees
- Vehicle registration fees
- Customs broker’s fee
- Logistics services provider’s charges
- Select a shipping company – you need to search for a shipment company like A1 Auto Transport that offers:
- International shipping; in this case, shipping services to the UAE
- Trust and commitment
- Connected service providers to help ease every step of the process
- Document processing services
- Various shipment methods
- Preparations – you need to handle a couple of things before you ship your vehicle:
- Cleaning the vehicle, both interior, and exterior
- Undercarriage steam cleaning for removing foreign soil
- Selecting the departure and destination ports
- Opting for a suitable shipment option (i.e. open-air or closed-air)
- Shipping the vehicle
- Arrival at the destination port
- Import processing
- Customs clearance
- Vehicle registration
You have two options for shipping regular cars from the USA to the UAE: the open-air shipment and closed-air shipment options. Both have their applications and one can’t say that either is better than the other but in some cases, it would make more sense to go one way rather than the other.
For instance, the open-air shipment or roll-on, roll-off shipment involves operable vehicles with no personal effects in them. The car is driven onto the freight vessel, fastened on board, transported, taken off-board, and then delivered where required.
This works well for operable and used vehicles, is fairly reliable, and is cheaper – for most clients, it works very well.
In the latter case, the car is shipped in a container. This way, the vehicle is protected more than in the former case. For non-operable vehicles, this is the preferable option, plus you can have your possessions inside the vehicle in this case.
Of course, all of this protection comes at a higher price.
In your case, if you want to ship your own, used vehicle from the USA to the UAE, the former option will be more preferable.
Firstly, you can’t get right-hand drive vehicles or those with shaded glass in the UAE. The same is also true for cars manufactured 10 years before the time of import, so classic models are also out of the question.
You’ll need to provide detailed information about your car in the paperwork accompanying it, this includes the name, color, make and model, year of manufacturing, chassis number, weight, engine number, price, and so on because this is important for customs clearance.
Also, be sure to get a certificate of clearance from the said department because you'll need that later on. The clearance process can take up to 2 weeks for large ports such as Jebel Ali, so be a little patient here.
If you’re importing your car temporarily into the UAE, then you’ll need the following to make the process go on smoothly:
- A valid driver’s license
- Vehicle registration documents
- Insurance coverage for the vehicle, applicable throughout the period you intend to keep the vehicle in the UAE.
- A Carnet de Passages en Douane (CPD) – a document for customs clearance – with international clearance to avoid confusion with the amount of taxes and duties payable.
- If you’re not a national of the UAE, you’ll also need to provide a valid residence permit before you can get your vehicle in there.
Also, the individual importing the said car (in this case, you) must be the legal owner and should have been authorized by the concerned departments in the state of origin (in this case, the USA), to drive the said vehicle.
In case you don’t fall into the tax exemption zone (check with the local authorities), you’ll need to pay up the following to have your car imported to the UAE:
- 5% customs duties, based on the vehicle’s value, 1% of the insurance coverage amount, and a fraction of the shipping cost.
- A value-added tax of 5% will also be charged.
The customs department will inspect the vehicle after it has been delivered to ensure that the details and the specifications are accurate so that it can be taxed fairly. There is a fine for submitting inaccurate information, so be careful about that.
If their estimation is different from what you’ve declared on the papers, you’ll have to pay the difference. Once you clear these payments, you’ll get the Vehicle Clearing Certificate (or VCC) from the Traffic & Licensing Department.
After this, you can register your vehicle with the UAE.
Considering that you’ve paid your customs duties and taxes, and have already received your VCC or Vehicle Clearance Certificate for your car, you’re already halfway through the process. All you need to do from here is to submit the VCC to the local police’s traffic department and apply for vehicle registration.
Keep all the necessary documentation at hand just in case.
Once you’ve registered with the state, they’ll assign you a number plate, put that on, and you’re all clear to drive your car in the UAE.
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