If you are looking for a shipping company from UAE to Tunisia, here is the direct answer: shipments to Tunisia go one of two ways. By sea, in a full or shared container from Jebel Ali, Khalifa Port, Sharjah or Fujairah to the port of Rades near Tunis, or to Sfax, Sousse or Bizerte; and by air to Tunis–Carthage Airport for urgent shipments. There is no practical road route from the UAE to Tunisia. The sea voyage usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks port to port, followed by clearance and trucking to your governorate, while air freight normally arrives in 3 to 5 days door to door. At Al Basmah International Shipping we collect from your home or warehouse in any emirate, pack, load and prepare the papers, and keep you updated on WhatsApp until the shipment reaches your door in Tunisia.
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Before shipping to Tunisia
- Homes, cars and commercial goods go by sea; air is only for urgent parcels and documents.
- Sea time is approximate: 4 to 6 weeks port to port, plus a few days for clearance and delivery.
- Tunisians living abroad who return for good can usually bring their used household goods in duty-free once, under conditions, with a detailed inventory.
- A car is never booked until we have checked whether it qualifies for the definitive-return (FCR) regime or a regular import.
- The price depends on volume, method, port and governorate: send the details on WhatsApp and you will get the price.
What do we ship from the UAE to Tunisia?
We ship almost anything you need to move from the UAE to Tunisia, and the type of shipment matters because it decides the method and the papers. Most of our Tunisia bookings come from Tunisian families who have finished working in the Gulf and are going home to settle, followed by traders importing goods from the Dubai and Sharjah markets, and then people sending things to relatives.
- Complete household moves: bedrooms, majlis sets, kitchens, appliances, carpets, books and clothes, with dismantling, packing and reassembly.
- Small personal shipments: boxes, suitcases and appliances, consolidated in a shared container to Rades.
- Car shipping: the family car or a car bought in the UAE, by RoRo or inside a container, after an eligibility check.
- Commercial goods: clothing and fabrics, permitted electronics, spare parts, perfumes (by sea, not air), restaurant supplies and equipment.
- Urgent air freight: documents, samples, small parcels and permitted personal medicines with their prescription.
Used goods from your own home are treated one way; new goods in commercial quantities are treated another. If you buy ten of the same appliance before leaving to sell them in Tunisia, that is merchandise, not personal effects, and it needs commercial papers. We ask about this at the start so the right file is prepared.
Where do we collect from in the UAE?
We collect from all seven emirates and consolidate shipments at our two branches in Dubai (Deira, Port Saeed Street) and Sharjah (Industrial Area 18) before they go to the port. Each emirate has its own guide, such as shipping from Dubai to Tunisia, shipping from Abu Dhabi to Tunisia and shipping from Sharjah to Tunisia.
Dubai
Deira, Al Qusais, Al Nahda, Mirdif, Al Barsha, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai Marina, Al Quoz and the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
Abu Dhabi and Al Ain
Khalifa City, Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Al Reem Island, Mussafah, Al Shamkha, and Al Ain districts such as Al Jimi and Al Towayya.
Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain
Al Nahda, Al Majaz, Al Khan, the industrial areas, Al Nuaimiya and Al Rashidiya in Ajman, and central Umm Al Quwain.
Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah
Al Nakheel, Al Dhait and Al Hamra, plus Fujairah city, Dibba and Khor Fakkan near the east-coast port.
How does sea freight reach Tunisia from the UAE?
Sea freight is the natural route to Tunisia. The container leaves Jebel Ali in Dubai, Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, or the ports of Sharjah, Khor Fakkan and Fujairah, crosses the Arabian Sea, then the Red Sea and the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, and is often transferred at a Mediterranean hub to a smaller feeder vessel for the last leg to Tunisia. It usually arrives at Rades, the main container port just south of Tunis, or at Sfax for the centre and south, and sometimes Sousse or Bizerte depending on the shipping line.
After berthing, the container is discharged, the customs broker files the declaration electronically, and inspection follows; the container may be opened. Once released, the cargo goes by truck to your governorate. So do not count the time from the sailing date alone; count it from the day we collect from your home to the day we unload at your home in Tunisia.
Transhipment is less about risk to your goods than about extra time: a sealed container moves from one ship to another without being opened, but waiting for the second vessel can add days. That is why we always give the time as an approximate range and tell you on WhatsApp if the feeder schedule changes.
Full container, shared container or air? A quick comparison
| Method | Approximate time | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea — full container FCL (20 ft or 40 ft) | 4 to 6 weeks port to port + clearance | A full home, a villa, large commercial loads | The container is yours alone, sealed at your home or our warehouse, and inspection covers only your goods. |
| Sea — shared container LCL | Usually a week or more longer than FCL | A small flat, boxes, appliances, limited goods | You pay per cubic metre and wait for the container to fill and be unpacked at a port warehouse. |
| Air | About 3 to 5 days door to door | Documents, samples, urgent parcels | Not suitable for furniture; charged on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher. |
20 ft or 40 ft container?
The working rule we use: a 20 ft container holds roughly 28 to 30 cubic metres of packed goods, which usually covers a two- or three-bedroom flat with ordinary furniture. A 40 ft container holds close to double that and suits a villa or a house with a large majlis and many rooms, or a house plus a small car. If your volume sits between the two, a shared container may cost less, but it is slower and your goods are handled again at the port warehouse. We survey the home by photos or a visit and suggest the size before booking, because booking a bigger container than you need is wasted money, and booking a smaller one means leaving things behind or paying for a second shipment.
Tunisian governorates and the usual arrival port
Tunisia is relatively compact and the roads between its coastal cities are good, so your container may land at Rades and reach Sousse or Nabeul by truck within hours. We choose the port based on the available vessel and the delivery address.
| Area | Usual arrival port | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Tunis, Ariana and Ben Arous (La Marsa, Carthage, Lac 1 & 2, El Menzah, Ennasr) | Rades | Closest point; delivery is usually a day or two after release. |
| Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia | Sousse or Rades | Some lines call at Sousse directly; otherwise by truck from Rades. |
| Sfax | Sfax | A good port for central and southern shipments. |
| Nabeul and Hammamet | Rades | Fairly close to the capital; we agree a time with the neighbourhood. |
| Bizerte | Bizerte or Rades | Depends on the available sea service. |
| Djerba and Gabes | Usually Sfax | A longer road leg; Djerba needs the crossing onto the island. |
| Kairouan | Sousse or Rades | Inland, delivered by truck from the coast. |
Air freight from the UAE to Tunisia
Air freight is for urgency, not for moving house. We send from Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah airports to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, and Monastir, Djerba or Enfidha are also possible depending on the flight. The usual time is 3 to 5 days door to door including clearance. It suits university files and official papers, trader samples, or a spare part a factory is waiting for. It does not suit furniture, because the price jumps with volume.
The charge is based on actual weight or volumetric weight, whichever is higher, where volumetric weight = length × width × height in centimetres ÷ 6000. Example: a 60 × 50 × 50 cm box has a volumetric weight of 25 kg even if it actually weighs 10 kg, which is why we recommend boxes sized to their contents.
- Loose lithium batteries and power banks are restricted on aircraft and need special handling or are left out.
- Liquids, perfumes and cosmetics are restricted on aircraft; commercial perfume goes by sea.
- Personal medicines travel with a prescription and in a reasonable quantity.
Many families split the move: the whole house by sea in a container, and two or three cartons by air with what the children need in the first month, such as school clothes, a laptop and official papers. That way you do not wait for the container to start life in Tunisia, and you do not pay air rates for furniture. Small air parcels also clear customs at the airport, so they too need a list of contents and values.
Car shipping from the UAE to Tunisia
Before any booking we check the car and its owner, because Tunisia draws a clear line between the car of a Tunisian returning for good and a regular import, where duties are very high. Tunisians living abroad can usually use the FCR regime (the change-of-residence tax privilege). Its usual conditions are continuous residence abroad for at least two years, no more than 183 days a year spent in Tunisia during that period, and a genuine return to settle. The privilege is either a full exemption from duties, with restrictions on selling the car, or a partial exemption under which the owner pays roughly a quarter of the applicable duties and taxes and registers the car normally.
The privilege is personal: it cannot be used for someone else’s car, and lending a passport for that purpose is a customs offence treated strictly. Detailed conditions such as the car’s age and engine specifications are reviewed on each file because the rules get amended, which is why the team checks your case before booking.
- RoRo vessel: the car is driven up the ramp into the ship and lashed on deck, usually the cheaper option for a single car. It must be empty of personal items.
- Inside a container: the car is secured with straps and wooden chocks, and it can share a 40 ft container with household goods where the procedure allows.
- Papers: UAE ownership, deregistration and export certificate, passport, and proof of residence abroad.
Packing and loading
The voyage to Tunisia is long and involves transhipment, so the container is lifted and set down more than once. Our packing therefore comes in layers: paper and bubble wrap for glass and ornaments, double-wall cartons for the kitchen, thick blankets and covers for wood, and corner protectors for mirrors and paintings. Large appliances have their doors secured and washing-machine drums are locked with transit bolts where available.
The kitchen takes the longest to pack because it is full of small pieces and glass, and electronics are best packed in their original boxes when you still have them. Large screens get a rigid cardboard frame, and dismantled air conditioners are emptied of gas before shipping. We inventory everything while packing, not afterwards, so the list matches what is really in the container.
- Heavy items at the bottom and towards the back, lighter items on top.
- Gaps filled with mattresses and soft cartons so nothing shifts.
- Every carton numbered and labelled by room, with the same number on the inventory.
- Any wood used in crates or packing is treated to the ISPM-15 standard.
- A full container is closed with a numbered seal recorded on the bill of lading, and we send you a photo of it on WhatsApp.
Documents needed to ship to Tunisia
Personal effects and household goods of returning residents
A Tunisian living abroad who returns for good can usually bring in used household goods duty-free once, provided they meet a minimum period of residence abroad with limited days spent in Tunisia during it, stay within a value ceiling set by customs, and neither they nor their spouse has used the exemption before. Foreign residents in Tunisia follow different procedures. Either way, the team reviews your situation before loading.
- Passport and national identity card.
- Proof of residence in the UAE and its duration, plus definitive-return papers from the Tunisian consulate or embassy in the UAE.
- A detailed inventory in Arabic or French: each carton, its contents and an estimated value.
- The sea bill of lading and the customs declaration prepared by the broker.
Commercial goods
- A registered importer in Tunisia (a company or trader with a tax ID).
- A commercial invoice and a packing list that match the load.
- A certificate of origin; goods of Arab origin may benefit from the Greater Arab Free Trade Area agreement.
- Technical or health certificates for some product types such as food, cosmetics and appliances.
Commercial goods pay customs duties and value added tax, which has a standard rate of 19% with reduced rates for some products. The declaration is filed electronically through a licensed broker before or on arrival of the container.
Service options for traders
Traders choose based on what they already have in Tunisia. If you have a broker you work with, we deliver the goods to the port of arrival and they take over from there; if not, we arrange clearance and trucking to your warehouse. What must be agreed from the start is who pays what: ocean freight, port charges in Tunisia, duties and VAT, and inland transport. Clarity here prevents storage charges piling up on a container waiting for someone to pay. And a frequent piece of advice: never declare a lower value than the real one, because customs compares against reference prices and a correction after arrival costs time and penalties.
Cars
Ownership papers, UAE export certificate and plate cancellation, passport, and proof of residence abroad if the car goes in under FCR. We do not accept a car booking until this review is complete.
Prohibited and restricted items
Some things cannot be shipped at all and some need a permit in advance. It is better to ask before packing than after.
- Prohibited: narcotics, weapons and ammunition, counterfeit goods.
- Permit required: drones, some communication devices and electronics, some medicines.
- Not for sea: flammable materials, gas cylinders, damaged batteries.
- Not for air: perfumes, liquids and loose lithium batteries.
Warning: Do not pack cash, gold or original documents you will need on arrival inside the furniture cartons. Carry them with you on the plane and give us copies of the documents for clearance.
Shipping prices from the UAE to Tunisia
We do not publish a fixed figure, because shipping to Tunisia varies a great deal from one booking to the next: a two-bedroom flat in a shared container to Rades is not a full villa in a 40 ft container to Sousse. What we need from you is a list or photos of the items, the emirate we collect from and the governorate in Tunisia. Send the details on WhatsApp and you will get the price, with what it includes and what it does not.
Shared containers usually have a minimum chargeable volume, so a single cubic metre may be billed at that minimum. With a full container the price is for the container itself, so the more tightly you fill it, the lower the cost per item. That is why we ask about everything you plan to ship at once, not in instalments.
What decides the price?
| Factor | How it affects the price |
|---|---|
| Shipping method | A full container has a fixed price per box, a shared container is per cubic metre, and air is per kilo of actual or volumetric weight. |
| Container size | 20 ft usually fits a two- or three-bedroom flat; 40 ft is for a villa or large house. |
| Volume in cubic metres | The basis of shared-container pricing; leaving behind what you do not need really does cut the cost. |
| Loading and arrival port | Jebel Ali, Khalifa or Sharjah, and arrival at Rades, Sfax or Sousse. |
| Governorate in Tunisia | Distance from the port to the house, and the street and floor. |
| Packing, dismantling and assembly | Materials and crew time, especially for glass, ornaments and kitchens. |
| Papers and clearance | A definitive-return file differs from a commercial file, plus broker and port charges. |
| Car | RoRo or container, car size, and the customs regime it enters under. |
Watch out for storage charges at the arrival port as well: if the papers are late after the container lands, storage and demurrage days start counting. Getting the file ready before sailing is the cheapest saving there is.
How to ship from the UAE to Tunisia, step by step
- Message us on WhatsApp with a list or photos of the items, the emirate and the governorate in Tunisia.
- We agree the right method with you (full, shared, air, car) and send you the price.
- We review the papers: the definitive-return file, the importer documents or the car file.
- We set a collection date and the crew comes to dismantle, pack and inventory.
- We load and seal the container and send you a photo of the seal and the bill of lading number.
- The container sails, and we update you on WhatsApp at each stage: sailing, transhipment, arrival.
- Clearance takes place at the Tunisian port, then we arrange the delivery and unloading time at your home.
What happens at the Tunisian port on arrival?
When the ship berths at Rades or Sfax, the container is moved to the port yard and the broker files the declaration with the bill of lading and the inventory or invoice. Customs then decides the level of control: release on documents, partial inspection, or opening and searching the container. Returning residents’ goods are often opened to check them against the inventory, which is why we number every carton. Once any amounts due and the port charges are paid, the container leaves on a truck to your home, or it is unpacked at the port and the goods go on a covered truck.
Public holidays in Tunisia, such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Independence Day, slow down port and office work for days, so if your arrival date falls close to one, allow a margin. We message you on WhatsApp on release day so you are ready for the truck.
Delivery inside Tunisia
Delivery is by truck from the port after release. In Tunis we reach La Marsa, Carthage, Lac, El Menzah, Ennasr, Ariana and Ben Arous; on the Sahel coast Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia; and also Sfax, Nabeul, Hammamet, Bizerte, Djerba, Gabes and Kairouan.
Old medinas need their own plan. In the medina of Tunis, Sousse, Sfax or Kairouan the lanes are narrow and trucks cannot enter, so we transfer the load to a small vehicle at the edge of the quarter or carry it by hand for the last stretch. Tell us in advance if your home is inside a medina or on an upper floor without a lift, so we can arrange the crew and the time.
Tips before shipping to Tunisia
- Prepare the definitive-return papers before loading, not after the container arrives.
- Write the inventory accurately in French or Arabic; “miscellaneous items” slows inspection down.
- Do not mix commercial goods with return-home effects; it can cost the shipment its exemption.
- Photograph appliances and valuable furniture before packing, and ask the team about optional insurance.
- Leave a margin in your travel plans; sea freight usually arrives weeks after you.
- Empty and dry the fridge and washing machine two days before packing to avoid damp and smells in a closed container.
- Keep your Tunisian address and an active Tunisian phone number with the team; the inland carrier calls it on delivery day.
If you are flying before the shipment, leave an official power of attorney, signed at the consulate, for someone in Tunisia to receive it on your behalf, so the container is not held at the port waiting for you.
Frequently asked questions about shipping from the UAE to Tunisia
How long does sea freight from the UAE to Tunisia take?
Roughly 4 to 6 weeks port to port, plus the days for clearance at Rades or Sfax and delivery. A shared container usually takes longer than a full one.
Is there road freight from the UAE to Tunisia?
No. Shipping to Tunisia is by sea or air only, and sea is the standard for furniture, cars and goods.
Do I pay customs on my used furniture?
A Tunisian living abroad who returns for good is usually exempt once, if they meet the residence conditions and provide the inventory and papers. Otherwise duties may apply, and the team checks your case before booking.
Can I ship my car to Tunisia?
Yes, by RoRo or in a container, after confirming whether it qualifies for FCR or a regular import. FCR usually requires continuous residence abroad for at least two years.
What is the difference between Rades and Sfax?
Rades is near the capital and serves the north and the Sahel; Sfax is closer to the centre and south, such as Sfax, Gabes and Djerba. We choose based on your governorate and the available vessel.
How do I know where my shipment is?
The team sends you a WhatsApp update at each stage: loading, sailing, transhipment, arrival, clearance and the delivery time.
Can perfume be shipped to Tunisia?
Not by air, as it is restricted on aircraft. By sea it can go as commercial goods with its papers, or as a limited personal quantity within your effects.
How do I get a price?
Send the details on WhatsApp and you will get the price: a list or photos of the items, the emirate and the governorate in Tunisia. You can also use our quote request page.
Ready to ship from the UAE to Tunisia?
Send photos of your items and your governorate in Tunisia, and we will reply with the method and the price.
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