Shipping Company from UAE to Germany +971557643821 – Staff and Family Relocation plus Car Shipping to Frankfurt and Berlin

Got a job contract in Frankfurt, Berlin or Munich and need a shipping company from UAE to Germany to move your and your family’s belongings from the UAE to your new flat? Al Basmah International Shipping collects from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Al Ain, ships by sea in a full or shared container to Hamburg or Bremerhaven, or by air to Frankfurt, Munich and Leipzig for urgent shipments, and ships cars by RoRo or container once their eligibility is confirmed. Sea usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks port to port, and air roughly 3 to 7 days. Send the details on WhatsApp and you will receive the price.

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Who this guide is for

Most people shipping from the UAE to Germany are employees: engineers, doctors, nurses and tech specialists with new job contracts, along with their families. They usually arrive to temporary or furnished accommodation for a few weeks, then rent an unfurnished flat and wait there for the container. Two things matter to them: the goods arriving in reasonable time, and getting through customs without duty. We also ship commercial goods for traders to German importers, and cars and parcels for individuals.

• Complete or partial household furniture, with dismantling, packing and reassembly.
• Children’s things, books, clothes and portable work tools.
• Electrical appliances: the voltage in Germany is the same as the UAE, but the plug is different (two round pins), so you need adapters or new plugs.
• Commercial goods by full container or per cubic metre.
• Cars by RoRo or container.
• Urgent documents and parcels by air.

A suggested timeline for the employee and family

Timing is what matters most in a job move, because temporary accommodation in Germany is expensive and the job contract has a fixed start date. This is the order we see working for most families:

If finding a flat takes longer, which happens often in Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin where rental demand is high, the container can wait in a warehouse after clearance instead of sitting at the port building up delay charges. Tell us early about any delay so we can change the plan before the vessel arrives.

German customs and address registration: how your furniture is relieved

Germany applies the EU rules on relief for goods moved with a change of residence, which German customs calls removal goods. The relief covers customs duty and the 19% import VAT and is requested in writing on form 0350. The usual conditions:

• Your normal residence was outside the EU for at least 12 months. Customs sometimes accepts less if your job contract shows you intended to stay more than 12 months.
• You genuinely move your normal residence to Germany.
• The goods belong to you and you used them for at least 6 months before the move; invoices help prove it.
• They are cleared within 12 months of your move, in one or several consignments.
• You do not lend, pledge, rent out or transfer them within 12 months of acceptance, or the relief is cancelled.

Why the Anmeldung matters

Anyone living in Germany registers their address at the citizens’ office in their city within about two weeks of moving into the flat, bringing their passport and a landlord confirmation of residence (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung). They then receive a registration certificate. Customs wants proof that your new home is in Germany, and the registration certificate is one of the clearest, alongside your job contract and rental contract. So we suggest this order: get the flat, register your address, then clear your furniture. The container spends 4 to 6 weeks at sea, which is usually enough time to finish registration.

If you need your goods to arrive before you are formally settled, customs usually allows advance import if you undertake to move your residence within 6 months and provide a financial security. This is a case we review with you in detail before shipping.

Usual documents

• Signed form 0350.
• Passport and German residence permit or work visa.
• Proof of residence in the UAE: residence visa and tenancy contract or an employer letter.
• Proof of residence in Germany: registration certificate, job contract, rental contract.
• A detailed inventory, preferably in German or English, numbered to match the cartons.

Collection from every emirate

Sea freight to Hamburg and Bremerhaven

Hamburg is Germany’s largest port, and containers are distributed from there to Berlin, the north, the centre and the south. Bremerhaven is nearby and handles many containers and cars. For people living in western Germany, such as Cologne and Düsseldorf, arriving at Rotterdam in the Netherlands or Antwerp in Belgium and then driving can be shorter, which we compare case by case. Details are in the Netherlands shipping guide.

What size of container do you need?

Rented German flats are often smaller than UAE apartments and villas, and many are let without a fitted kitchen or with a basic one. So before packing we ask: how many rooms does the new flat have? Is there a kitchen? Is there a cellar storage room? A 20 ft container usually fits a two- or three-room flat, and a 40 ft a larger home. Someone bringing only essentials may need just a shared shipment, priced per cubic metre.

Shipping time from the UAE to Germany

Times are approximate and depend on the sailing schedule, the number of port calls and clearance days. Plan your temporary accommodation accordingly.

Air freight from the UAE to Germany

An employee starting work next week cannot wait for the container. We fly out what they need first: certified degree documents, a work laptop, winter clothes and the children’s essentials. Shipments leave Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah for Frankfurt, Munich, Leipzig/Halle or Cologne Bonn, then go by road to the address.

• Air cargo is charged on the higher of actual and volumetric weight (L × W × H in cm ÷ 6000).
• Furniture does not suit air.
• Lithium batteries, liquids and perfumes are restricted, and the team checks them before booking.
• List the air shipment in your removal goods inventory so it gets the same relief.

Packing for a German winter

A container arriving in Hamburg in January may stand for days below freezing. Liquids freeze, cold glass breaks easily, and appliances gather condensation if switched on as soon as they enter a warm flat.

• Do not ship liquids in glass bottles, or open cleaning products and oils.
• Electronics stay in their cartons for some hours after delivery before being switched on.
• Wood is wrapped in paper or blankets first, then plastic, with moisture absorbers.
• The washing machine is secured with its transit bolts, and the fridge emptied and dried.
• Wooden crates are made from treated timber stamped ISPM 15.
• Every carton is numbered and labelled by room, since customs may ask to open a particular one.

Delivery in Frankfurt, Berlin and German cities

Apartment buildings, lifts and the no-parking zone

Most families in German cities live in flats in buildings of four or five storeys. Older buildings often have no lift, and where there is one it fits four people and will not take a bed or wardrobe. That is why Germany uses the external furniture lift, a powered ladder mounted on a small truck that raises pieces from the street to a balcony or window. For the truck to stop outside, the municipality issues a temporary no-parking zone permit, and its signs go up days before the appointment. Some cities want the application a week or two ahead, so we give you the delivery date early.

Every German building has house rules the residents follow, with quiet hours at midday and in the evening and rules on using the stairs, lift and cellar. We schedule delivery within permitted daytime hours, protect the stairwell walls and floor with covers, and take the empty cartons and packing materials away after unpacking, because dumping large amounts of cardboard in the building’s bins annoys neighbours and breaks the recycling rules.

Commercial goods to Germany

The importer in Germany needs an EORI number issued by German customs. Duty is charged under the EU tariff code, then 19% import VAT on most goods, with a reduced rate for some items such as food and books. Documents: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and a certificate of origin when needed. Products that carry the CE mark or fall under European safety standards need to comply before sale, so check this before shipping, not after.

Car shipping from the UAE to Germany

The car goes by RoRo or inside a container, and Bremerhaven is one of Europe’s busiest car ports. In the UAE you need an export certificate from the traffic authority and a bank clearance letter if it is financed. In Germany the car may enter without duty as part of your removal goods if you owned and used it for 6 months and lived 12 months outside the EU, with its UAE registration in your name. After clearance it is registered at the vehicle registration office, but before that it needs a technical inspection and often an individual approval of its specification, because a GCC car was not built for the European market, plus compulsory insurance and annual vehicle tax. X-ray scanning at the port is common for cars. We review your car’s specification before booking and do not ship it until we know registration is possible.

Prohibited and restricted items for Germany

• Weapons and ammunition, and some knives and combat tools.
• Meat, dairy and their products from outside the EU.
• Plants and soil without a phytosanitary certificate.
• Products of protected species such as ivory, coral and some skins without permits.
• Counterfeit goods, and medicines without a prescription.
• By air: loose lithium batteries, flammable liquids and perfumes.

Shipping prices from the UAE to Germany

• Full container to Hamburg or Bremerhaven: send the details on WhatsApp and you will receive the price.
• Shared container per cubic metre: send the details on WhatsApp and you will receive the price.
• Air freight: send the details on WhatsApp and you will receive the price.
• Car shipping: send the details on WhatsApp and you will receive the price.

What decides the cost of shipping to Germany?

You can also request a price on our quote page.

How to ship from the UAE to Germany, step by step

1. Send your emirate, German city, job start date and photos of your items on WhatsApp +971557643821.
2. We suggest the method (container or shared, with a small air shipment for essentials if needed), and you receive the price.
3. We go through form 0350 and the required documents with you.
4. Collection day: dismantling, winter-proof packing, numbering and a detailed inventory.
5. Loading and UAE export clearance, then sailing to Hamburg or Bremerhaven.
6. You receive updates on WhatsApp at every stage, and meanwhile you register your address in your city.
7. German clearance, then the no-parking zone permit, delivery and reassembly.

Tips for employees relocating to Germany

• Do not set the delivery date before you have the keys to the unfurnished flat.
• Keep your job contract and your UAE employer’s letter showing your end-of-service date; they are among the most important papers.
• Photograph valuable appliances and keep their receipts to prove how long you have used them.
• Ask your landlord about the building’s quiet hours and where the truck can stop.
• Ask the team about optional insurance on the shipment.

For neighbouring countries, see the UAE to Europe shipping guide, or shipping to Switzerland and shipping to Poland.

Frequently asked questions about shipping from the UAE to Germany

How long does shipping from the UAE to Germany take?

By sea about 4 to 6 weeks port to port to Hamburg or Bremerhaven, then clearance and road transport. By air roughly 3 to 7 days door to door.

Do I need to register my address before my furniture is cleared?

Customs asks for proof that your normal residence is now in Germany, and the registration certificate is one of the clearest, along with your job and rental contracts, so we suggest finishing registration before clearance.

Do I pay duty on my used furniture in Germany?

Usually not if you lived 12 months outside the EU, used the items for 6 months and submit form 0350 with the documents. The final call rests with German customs, so nobody can promise it beforehand.

What is form 0350?

It is the German customs application for relief of removal goods from duty and import VAT, submitted with the inventory and proof of residence.

Can I ship my car from Dubai to Germany?

Yes, by RoRo or container, but registering it there needs a technical inspection and often an approval of its specification, so we check eligibility before booking.

Does the container go straight to Berlin?

Berlin is not a seaport, so the container lands in Hamburg and is trucked to Berlin after clearance.

How do I know where my shipment is?

You get a WhatsApp message at each milestone, from loading in the UAE to booking the delivery slot in Germany.

Do you collect from every emirate?

Yes, from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Al Ain.

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