International relocation services in Dubai

Surveying before quoting

A relocation is priced on volume, and volume is very hard to estimate from a room count. A survey — in person or by video — produces an inventory and a realistic cubic measurement, which is what turns an approximate figure into a quote that will hold.

The survey is also where the exceptions surface: the piano, the safe, the wall-mounted television, the items that will not fit down the stairwell, the things the family assumed were coming and the things they had not thought about at all. Finding those on survey day rather than on packing day is the difference between a calm move and an expensive one.

For moves into Dubai, the survey is also when we identify anything that will need particular customs attention, so approvals can be started early rather than when the shipment is already in the country.

Air, sea and groupage for household goods

Sea freight carries most household moves. A dedicated container suits a full household and keeps the shipment enclosed from origin to destination. Groupage shares a container with other consignments and costs less for a partial household, but it adds consolidation at origin and deconsolidation at destination, and the schedule follows the consolidation rather than the family.

Air freight suits a small, urgent shipment — the things needed in the first weeks before the sea consignment lands. Many families ship both: an air consignment of essentials and a sea consignment of everything else. That is usually cheaper than air-freighting the whole household and far more comfortable than waiting weeks with nothing.

Which combination is right follows the volume, the budget and the date the family actually arrives, which is why the arrival date is asked for at survey.

Packing, uplift and delivery

Professional packing exists because household goods travel badly. Cartons are packed and labelled by room, fragile items are wrapped individually, and furniture is protected and dismantled where required. An inventory is prepared at packing and it is the reference for everything afterwards — the customs declaration, the delivery check and any claim.

At destination, delivery can include placement in the correct room, reassembly of dismantled furniture and removal of packing debris. Debris removal is worth agreeing in advance; the volume of used cartons a household move generates surprises people.

Relocation scope can include:

• Pre-move survey and inventory, in person or by video
• Professional packing, wrapping and labelling by room
• Dismantling and reassembly of furniture where required
• Air, sea, groupage or full-container freight
• UAE customs clearance and documentation
• Delivery, room placement and removal of packing debris
• Storage at origin or destination where dates do not line up

UAE customs for personal effects

Personal effects and household goods are declared differently from commercial cargo, and the declaration is built from the inventory. A detailed inventory is not administrative overhead — it is the document the clearance depends on, and a vague one invites inspection.

New items still in their packaging, items bought shortly before the move, and anything that looks like stock rather than personal property may be treated as commercial and assessed accordingly. Restricted and controlled items follow their own rules regardless of who owns them, and it is far better to raise them at survey than to have them found at the terminal.

Where the family's arrival and the shipment's arrival do not coincide, storage at origin or destination can bridge the gap rather than the shipment sitting at the port accruing charges.

Frequently asked questions