If you live in an Ajman flat and your belongings come down to cartons, suitcases, a TV and a bicycle, you do not need a full container. The better fit is usually a shared sea part-load (LCL), charged per cubic metre and grouped with other customers’ goods in one container. It reaches Ambarlı port, close to Esenyurt, in roughly four to six weeks, then is delivered to your door after clearance. Al Basmah International Shipping is a shipping company from Ajman to Turkey that collects from the towers of Al Nuaimiya, Al Rashidiya, Al Jurf, the Corniche and beyond. We measure your belongings, write the inventory with you, and send urgent suitcases by air when they cannot wait.
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Your part-load, step by step
- Photograph your belongings and send the count on WhatsApp; the team estimates the volume in m³.
- Write an inventory with brand and serial number for every electrical item.
- Have your Turkish residence permit and tax number in place before booking, since clearance depends on them.
- Collection from your flat in Ajman, then packing and final measurement at the warehouse.
- Sailing in a consolidation container, with WhatsApp updates at every stage.
- Clearance in Istanbul, then delivery to your flat in Esenyurt.
What we ship from Ajman flats to Turkey
Most of our Ajman customers are families and individuals in apartments, either moving to Turkey or sending part of their things ahead. A typical load is fairly small but mixed, and each kind of item needs its own packing and paperwork:
- Cartons: clothes, kitchenware, books, children’s toys, bedding and curtains.
- Suitcases: full travel cases, locked, strapped and shrink-wrapped.
- TV and monitors: in the original box if you kept it, or in a purpose-made wooden crate.
- Bicycle: pedals removed, handlebar turned, packed in a bike carton.
- Small furniture: a table, chair, small wardrobe, a cot that comes apart.
- Appliances: a small washer, microwave, vacuum cleaner, each with its serial number on the list.
Pickup areas in Ajman
We collect from every part of Ajman, and its residential towers have their own routines: booking the service lift, a move-out permit from building management or security, and a place for the truck to stop. Tell us about these in advance so the crew arrives when the building allows. Areas we collect from include:
- Al Nuaimiya, Al Rashidiya, the Corniche towers and Al Bustan.
- Al Jurf, Al Hamidiya, Al Rawda, Al Mowaihat and Al Zahya.
- Al Nakhil, Al Rumailah, Al Yasmeen, Al Helio and Al Amerah.
- Emirates City, the Garden City towers and Ajman Free Zone.
After collection your belongings go to the consolidation warehouse, and from there the container moves to the departure port, usually Jebel Ali or a Sharjah port. That is a transfer inside the UAE only; the route to Turkey itself is by sea or air.
How a part-load is priced per cubic metre
With LCL you are not paying for a container, only for the space your things take. Each item’s volume is length × width × height in metres, and the volumes are added up. Most consolidation services set a minimum charge of around one cubic metre, so half a cubic metre is usually billed at the minimum. Here is a typical flat’s load:
| Item | Qty | Approx. size (cm) | Approx. volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium carton | 20 | 60 × 40 × 40 | 1.92 m³ |
| Large suitcase | 3 | 80 × 50 × 30 | 0.36 m³ |
| 55-inch TV in its box | 1 | 135 × 85 × 17 | 0.20 m³ |
| Bicycle in its box | 1 | 140 × 25 × 75 | 0.26 m³ |
| Total | about 2.7 m³ |
The final measurement is taken at the warehouse after packing, because wrapping adds a few centimetres to each piece. To keep the volume down, fill cartons to the top instead of leaving gaps, take the legs off tables, and pack clothes inside suitcases rather than in extra cartons. If your things go past roughly 13 to 15 cubic metres, the team will compare the LCL price with a full 20 ft container.
Inventory and serial numbers
Turkish customs usually asks for a detailed inventory of personal effects, listing the brand and serial number of every electrical item. A good list shortens the inspection and heads off questions at clearance. Set it out like this:
Carton number
Written clearly on the carton itself and matching its line on the list.
Contents
Short, honest descriptions: “men’s clothing”, “kitchen pots”, not “miscellaneous”.
Appliances
Type, brand, model and serial number, for the TV, washer, laptop and so on.
Condition
Used or new; new items still in their boxes may be treated as commercial goods.
The serial number is usually on a sticker at the back or bottom of the appliance. Photograph the sticker with your phone before packing; it is far quicker than hunting for it once the item is wrapped. And avoid putting lots of new boxed items in a personal shipment, as customs may treat them as goods for sale.
Mobile phones and IMEI registration in Turkey
A phone used in Turkey for more than 120 days must have its IMEI registered with the authorities, or the networks will cut it off. Registration is normally done with your passport and entry stamp and your Turkish residence permit, and the registration fee is high and changes every year; one device per person is usually allowed every few years. So we advise carrying your own phone with you when you fly and registering it yourself, and not packing phones in cartons. Phones inside a shipment, especially new ones or more than one, may be treated as imports and need other procedures.
The sea route from Ajman to Istanbul
Once the consolidation container is full, it sails from Jebel Ali or Sharjah through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to Ambarlı in Istanbul, or to Mersin or Izmir if your city is in the south or west. The voyage itself takes roughly three to five weeks port to port, and a part-load usually needs about an extra week for the container to fill and then be unpacked at a bonded warehouse. Ambarlı sits on the European side near Avcılar and Beylikdüzü, a short drive from Esenyurt, so delivery after clearance is relatively quick.
Transit times and options
| Method | Approximate time | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea, part-load (LCL) | About 4–6 weeks to clearance | Cartons, suitcases and appliances from a flat, roughly 1–15 m³ | Priced per m³ with a minimum charge |
| Sea, full container (FCL) | 3–5 weeks port to port + clearance | A full flat or villa of furniture, over 15 m³ | Loaded at the building and sealed |
| Air | About 2–5 days door to door | Urgent suitcases, documents, light items | Actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher |
Air freight from Ajman to Turkey
If you will land in Istanbul before the sea shipment and need some things straight away, send a suitcase or two by air from Sharjah or Dubai airport to Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen, or to Ankara or Antalya. It usually takes two to five days including clearance. The charge is on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher, where volumetric weight = length × width × height in cm ÷ 6000; a 75×50×30 cm suitcase counts as about 19 kg.
- Put the first weeks’ clothes, documents and the children’s essentials in the air shipment.
- Leave out loose lithium batteries, power banks, perfumes and liquids, which are restricted on air cargo.
- Furniture and a large TV do not suit air freight; the price gap is large.
Packing a flat’s belongings for a part-load
A part-load is loaded and unloaded several times: at the consolidation warehouse here, at the devanning warehouse in Turkey, and onto the delivery truck. That makes packing even more important than in a full container:
- Double-wall cartons, not used supermarket boxes, with tape on every edge.
- Plates and glasses wrapped one by one in paper and stood on edge.
- The TV in its original box with the foam, or in a wooden crate, marked “fragile”.
- Bicycle: pedals off, handlebar turned in line with the frame, tyres slightly deflated, then a bike carton.
- Suitcases locked, strapped and shrink-wrapped, with a label showing your name and piece number.
- Where possible the team puts all your items on one wrapped pallet so nothing gets separated at the consolidation warehouse.
Documents for personal effects
Used belongings of someone moving to Turkey are usually cleared as personal effects, but that requires certain documents. For a foreigner relocating to Turkey, customs usually asks for:
- A valid passport.
- A valid Turkish residence permit or work permit.
- A Turkish tax number, obtained from a tax office or online.
- A detailed inventory with brands and serial numbers of appliances.
- A bill of lading in the owner’s own name.
- A rental contract of 12 months or more, or the flat’s title deed.
Returning Turkish citizens have different conditions. The team checks your case before booking, and no exemption is guaranteed; if your residence permit is not issued yet, it may be better to delay shipping or store the goods until the paperwork is complete, rather than have them arrive at the port and pay storage.
Shipping a small car from Ajman to Turkey
Turkey restricts imports of used cars by individuals and charges a special consumption tax (ÖTV) based on engine size and value; many private cars cannot be imported, or only temporarily by foreign residents. So the team first checks whether your sedan can enter and what it is likely to cost before any booking. If the case is acceptable, the car usually goes by RoRo: driven aboard and secured on deck, uncovered, and completely empty of belongings. The car is photographed from every side before it is handed over at the port, and the photos are sent to you on WhatsApp.
What cannot go in a personal shipment
- Prohibited: narcotics, weapons and ammunition, counterfeit goods.
- Permit required: drones, some medicines, some foods.
- More than one mobile phone: subject to IMEI registration and may be treated as an import.
- Gas cylinders, flammables and loose batteries: not added to the load.
- Opened home food and unsealed spices: best left behind to avoid inspection and delay.
Warning: Do not hide a new device or item in a carton marked “clothes”. If the carton is opened at inspection and does not match the list, the whole shipment is held, and so may be other customers’ goods in the same container.
Shipping prices from Ajman to Turkey
There is no fixed price that fits every load, because a part-load is charged on its actual volume, plus packing and delivery inside Turkey. Send the details on WhatsApp and you will get the price: photos or a list of your belongings, the area and building in Ajman, and the address in Turkey. You can also use the quote page.
What decides the price
| Factor | How it affects the cost |
|---|---|
| Method: LCL, FCL or air | LCL per m³, FCL per container, air per kg |
| Volume in m³ | Every extra m³ adds to an LCL price, with a minimum charge |
| Container size if full | 20 ft, 40 ft or 40 ft HC |
| Packing | Double-wall cartons, a wooden crate for the TV, a bike carton |
| Collection in Ajman | Floor, service-lift booking, distance from the entrance to the truck |
| Arrival port and city | Ambarlı is close to Esenyurt; distant cities add trucking |
| Delivery in the complex | External furniture lift, floor, complex management permission |
| Documents and clearance | Broker fees, and any charges if personal-effects conditions do not apply |
| Car | RoRo or container, plus ÖTV and import charges where permitted |
Delivery to your flat in Esenyurt
Esenyurt is one of Istanbul’s most populous districts, and most of its housing is high-rise complexes run by a site management with security, a gate and rules for lift use. So delivery is not left to chance: the team agrees a time with the receiver that the management accepts and confirms where the truck can stop. Cartons and small items usually go up in the lift, while large pieces are often lifted to the balcony with an external furniture lift, for which management may want advance notice.
| City / area | Usual arrival port | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Istanbul – European side | Ambarlı | Esenyurt, Beylikdüzü, Bahçeşehir, Başakşehir, Küçükçekmece |
| Istanbul – Asian side | Ambarlı or Kocaeli ports | Ataşehir, Kadıköy, Üsküdar |
| Ankara | Ambarlı or Mersin | Then inland trucking |
| Bursa & Yalova | Ambarlı or Gemlik | And on to Sapanca |
| Trabzon | Ambarlı then trucking | North coast |
| Antalya & Izmir | Izmir or Mersin | Depends on the line |
| Mersin & Gaziantep | Mersin | South and south-east |
How to ship from Ajman to Turkey, in detail
- Send photos or a list of your belongings on WhatsApp, with your area and building in Ajman and the address in Turkey.
- The team estimates the volume in m³, recommends a part-load, full container or air, and sends the price.
- The team reviews your case: residence permit, tax number, rental contract; if there is a car, it checks eligibility.
- The inventory is written with serial numbers, and the collection time is agreed with the tower management.
- Collection, packing and final measurement at the warehouse; the confirmed volume is sent to you on WhatsApp.
- The load goes into the consolidation container and sails, with an update at each stage.
- Clearance in Turkey with your documents, then delivery to your flat and hand-over piece by piece against the list.
Tips before you ship your flat’s belongings
- Get your Turkish tax number early; it is a requirement in most clearance cases.
- Do not ship what you can buy in Turkey for a similar price; cheap, heavy furniture can cost more to ship than it is worth.
- Photograph each open carton before sealing it and keep the photos with the list.
- Carry original documents, jewellery, your phone and laptop with you on the plane.
- Ask the team about optional insurance if the load includes expensive devices.
- If you have relatives elsewhere and want to send part of your things to them, see shipping from Ajman to Syria.
For the full picture of ports and paperwork, see the UAE to Turkey shipping guide. If you are sending commercial goods rather than personal effects, the details are in shipping from Sharjah to Turkey, and for our neighbours in Umm Al Quwain see shipping from Umm Al Quwain to Turkey.
Frequently asked questions
What is the smallest load I can ship from Ajman to Turkey?
You can ship just a few cartons, but most consolidation services set a minimum charge of around one cubic metre. For very small, urgent loads, air freight may suit better.
How long does a part-load take to reach Esenyurt?
About four to six weeks to clearance, including the wait for the consolidation container to fill and the voyage to Ambarlı, then roughly a day or two for delivery. All times are approximate.
Do I need a Turkish residence permit to ship my belongings?
To clear used personal effects, customs usually asks for a valid residence or work permit, a Turkish tax number and a rental contract or title deed. The team checks your case before booking.
Why does the inventory need serial numbers?
Turkish customs usually asks for the brand and serial number of each electrical item, to confirm they are used personal appliances and not goods for sale.
Should I pack my old phone in the cartons?
Better not. A phone used in Turkey for more than 120 days needs IMEI registration with your passport, residence permit and a high fee, and phones inside a shipment may be treated as imports. Carry your phone with you and register it yourself.
Can I ship my sedan from Ajman to Turkey?
It depends on the car and your status; Turkey restricts used-car imports and charges ÖTV. The team first checks eligibility and cost, and the car then usually goes by RoRo.
Who carries things up to the flat in the complex?
The delivery crew in Turkey: cartons by lift, and large pieces usually by external furniture lift to the balcony, after notifying complex management.
How do I know where my shipment has got to?
The team messages you on WhatsApp at collection, measurement, sailing, arrival, clearance and delivery.
Are your Ajman flat’s belongings ready to travel?
Send photos or a list of your things and the address in Turkey, and you will get a volume estimate and price on WhatsApp.
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