Removals to the UAE
Planning removals to the UAE? Whether you’re relocating to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah for work, the Emirates is one of the world’s most popular expat destinations — and one of the more tightly regulated to import into. From export packing in Surrey to clearing customs at the far end, we handle the documentation, the physical inspections and the restricted-item rules so your household arrives intact and on schedule.
What's Included in Our UAE Removals Service
- Inspection-ready packing - books, media, and personal items packed in clearly marked cartons to speed up the mandatory physical checks
- Fast transit times: sole use containers in just 6-8 weeks, groupage in 11-12 weeks, with weekly departures
- Full documentation support including Emirates ID and residence visa coordination with our UAE agents
- Door-to-door delivery by established Britannia agents in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and across the Emirates
- Export-grade wrapping built for the climate — furniture padded and shrink-protected, electronics and moisture-sensitive items sealed for a long sea voyage and a Gulf-summer arrival. See our packing services.
- Containerised storage before shipping — if your dates or residence visa aren't ready, your packed goods wait securely at our Godstone depot on flexible terms and load onto the container when you are.
How Your Move to the UAE Works
A tried-and-tested process, run by our own team in Surrey and our Britannia agents in the Emirates.
Survey & Restrictions Briefing
We survey your Surrey home, in person or by video, and brief you on the UAE’s import rules — flagging anything fine in the UK but restricted there: certain medicines, religious or printed material, some artwork.
Packing for Inspection
Our own crew export-wraps everything and groups books, media, documents and photographs into clearly labelled cartons — so when UAE customs runs its physical inspection, officers can check quickly without unpacking the lot.
Shipping & Documentation
We load and dispatch your container and prepare all UK export paperwork, while our Emirates agents handle import clearance using your Emirates ID and residence visa. Realistic timings are confirmed at your survey.
UAE Delivery
Our Britannia partner in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or across the Emirates delivers to your door — apartment or villa — positions everything as directed, unpacks if booked, and clears away the packing waste.
Why Britannia Sandersteads for the UAE
Britannia Sandersteads is a family-run Surrey firm, established 1972 and part of the Britannia Cooperative, the UK’s largest network of independent movers. We’re BAR members, we won National Quality Awards in 2023 and 2024, and every UAE move is packed and loaded by our own full-time crew. It’s one strand of our wider international removals from Surrey.
- Knowledge of the UAE's extended prohibited items list - which includes medicines (even with prescription), religious and political literature, and certain artwork that wouldn't cause issues elsewhere
- Strategic packing for physical inspection - we group media and documents separately so customs officers can review them quickly without unpacking your entire shipment
- Long-standing Britannia agents in the Emirates who understand the local clearance process and manage everything from port to your front door
- Some of the fastest sole use transit times in our international range - 6-8 weeks door to door
Don't Take Our Word for It
Request Your Free Quote
Send us the details. We aim get back to you within 2 hours during business hours.
01883 741000
info@sandersteads.co.uk
Mon-Fri 7:30am – 5:30pm
Why does the UAE physically inspect shipments?
Can I ship prescription medicine to the UAE?
I've bought new furniture for my UAE home - can I ship it?
Can you store our belongings before the container ships to the UAE?
Yes. UAE moves often hinge on visa timing and a new tenancy, and the dates rarely line up. If your Surrey home completes first, your packed and inventoried goods can wait in our containerised storage at Godstone — flexible terms, weeks or months, no long-term lock-in — and load onto the container once your dates firm up.
How do you pack for the UAE's heat and humidity?
We export-wrap for both the journey and the climate: furniture is padded and shrink-protected, electronics and anything moisture-sensitive are sealed, and fragile or high-value pieces get the same specialist wrapping we use for artwork and antiques. It protects your things through a long sea voyage and the Gulf heat at the other end.
What affects the cost of removals to the UAE?
It comes down to how much you’re shipping, whether you want a sole-use container or a cheaper shared (groupage) one, your packing level, any brand-new items that attract UAE duty and VAT, and whether you need storage before the container sails. Every UAE quote is built from a survey of your actual home, so you’re not paying off a generic estimate.