A Comprehensive Guide on Car Shipping from the UAE to Other Countries

Choosing the right option for car shipping from the UAE to other countries can make life a lot easier for car owners. The United Arab Emirates is quickly becoming an international hub for both exotic and everyday cars, bringing in tens of thousands, if not more, fuel-sipping or 400-plus horsepower behemoths to dealerships across the country. (Some are even left abandoned!)

In fact, there are more exotic cars per capita in the UAE than virtually anywhere else in the world. So suffice to say that dealerships and private sellers are keen to sell their four-wheeled tokens to eager buyers, no matter which side of the equator they live on.

However, in that last sentence exists one problem: How do you export cars from the UAE to other countries? Well, thankfully, it’s not as nebulous or difficult as it might seem. In many ways, car shipping from the UAE is quite a straightforward affair.

Let’s dive into just how you can get your next car exported from the UAE to any other part of the world.

Get Your Paperwork in Order for Car Shipping

Before you can start looking into buying the car and shipping methods to get it to your driveway, you’ll first need to make sure you have all your paperwork in order.

Given below is a list of documents you’ll surely need to kick-off the process:

• An authentic Vehicle Clearance Certificate (VCC).
• Relevant and up-to-date insurance documents.
• Both an actual passport and copies of it.
• Authorized visa of the UAE.
• Authorized visa of the country you are shipping the car to. You can, however, ignore this step if you’re a citizen of this country.
• Bill of shipping and landing is needed for sea and air transportation only and it may or may not be needed for recovery truck delivery.

Also, keep in mind that you may need to pay up to 5% “duty fee” based on the car’s value if you are exporting a new car to any Gulf Corporation Country (GCC). If your car is used or certified previously owned, you don’t have to worry about this fee, which can save you literally tens or hundreds of thousands in some cases.

Exporting cars to non-GCC countries can have a different percentage for duty fees. So, regardless of where you’re importing your UAE-bought car to, it is important to double-check with your country’s registration and duty fees. Incorporate them into your budget, so you’re not shell-shocked when you learn how much you will have to pay in duty fees to get your car into your garage.

A word to the wise: You, by no means, need a “residency visa” in the UAE to export a car. A simple tourist visa will suffice.

How to Get Your New Car across Seas and Country Lines?

Ok, so now you’ve got all your paperwork squared away, and are in the final steps of car shipping and cementing your new car purchase. This is all great, but now comes the time to confront the elephant in the room: How do I get my new or used car from the UAE to my Zip Code?

Well, again, there are options.

By Sea

Transporting your car via freight shipping atop a boat is, by far, the most cost-effective option. Depending on the country you’re shipping to, most shipments can be done with traditional container shipping or “Roll on, Roll off” (RoRo). Both of these options can be easily accessible through your nearest port.

By Air

If you can’t wait any longer to see your new car’s paint glisten in your neighborhood’s sunlight, then consider shipping it via the air. While this will be the quickest option, it’ll cost you a pretty penny.

By Land

Depending on your geographical location, you might be able to simply drive your newly purchased ride across country lines. If you do decide to do this, just double-check you have all the necessary paperwork for each border stop before setting off. Also, in some instances, you can have your car shipped via traditional semi-truck freighting.

Regardless of how you choose to get your car from the UAE, expect if you drive it back yourself, you’ll need to inform the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) about the means and company you’ll use to ship it.

A side note: If you are, in fact, driving your car out of the UAE, you must do so within two weeks. Also, no matter how you choose to ship your car, opt to get shipping insurance to cover you in a worst-case scenario.

In Conclusion: Preparation is Key and the Sea is Your Friend

All in all, it’s clear by now that you need to make sure you’re prepared both financially and logistically for car shipping from the UAE to other countries in a hassle-free manner. However, once you’ve got all your proverbial ducks in a row, odds are you’ll want to get your car to your driveway by the sea.

If you are planning to export your car from the UAE to any other part of the world, then don’t forget that with us you can export any car in a hassle-free manner.