Car Shipping Company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland 0552803439 | RoRo, Private Container & Air to Zurich, Geneva, Basel

Home Safe is a car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland that collects your car from your city in the Kingdom, sails it from Jeddah Islamic Port to a European port, then carries it on a covered transporter to Zurich, Geneva or Basel. Switzerland has no coast, which is why the journey has three stages: the sea, then a transit inside Europe, then Swiss customs, which are separate from the European Union. Door to door it takes 28–40 days by sea and 5–7 days by air. A saloon by RoRo to the European port starts from SAR 2,800, and the private container and air freight are priced on request. To book: 0552803439.

In this guide45ShowHide

1. Who ships a car from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?
2. Services of a car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland
3. From Saudi Arabia by sea to a European port, then on to Switzerland by covered transporter
4. How long car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland takes
5. Car shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland
6. How does the car get from Saudi cities to the port?
7. RoRo or container: which for your car bound for Switzerland?
8. Shipping luxury and sports cars from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland in a private container
9. Types of vehicle we ship to Switzerland
10. Preparing the car before loading
11. Exporting the car from the Kingdom
12. Customs on the car in Switzerland: the two taxes and the relocation relief
13. Technical inspection and registration in the canton
14. Car shipping documents and what is not accepted
15. A temporary visit on Saudi plates, or a permanent import?
16. Insurance and protection while the car is in transit
17. Delivering cars from Saudi Arabia in Zurich, Geneva and Basel
18. Services for individuals, companies, government bodies and embassies
19. Can the car be shipped overland from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?
20. Air freight for cars from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland
21. Steps for shipping a car from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland
22. Tracking the car and follow-up after delivery
23. Car shipping from Switzerland to Saudi Arabia
24. Home Safe’s tips before shipping your car to Switzerland
25. How do you choose a car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?
26. Common mistakes when shipping a car to Switzerland
27. Why choose Home Safe as your car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?
28. Related articles and pages
29. Tags
30. Frequently asked questions about car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland
31. How much does it cost to ship a car from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?
32. How long does the car take to reach Switzerland?
33. Switzerland has no sea, so where does the car leave the ship?
34. Do I pay customs at the European port and then again in Switzerland?
35. How much tax does the car pay on entering Switzerland?
36. When does my car enter Switzerland tax-free?
37. Does a Gulf-specification car pass the Swiss technical inspection?
38. What does the Saudi traffic department require before the car leaves?
39. My car is still on a finance instalment. Can it travel?
40. Can I put my suitcases inside the car to travel with it?
41. Can the car be shipped by air to Switzerland, and how long does it take?
42. Do you ship electric and hybrid cars?
43. Which Swiss cities do you deliver the car to?
44. How do I know where my car is during the journey?
45. Do I need insurance when the car is inside a locked container?

Mode: RoRo or container by sea, and a freighter aircraft for urgent cars · Port of loading: Jeddah Islamic Port · Time: 28–40 days by sea, 5–7 days by air.

Who ships a car from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?

This is a low-volume, high-value route. Nobody sends an old economy car to a country where car prices are moderate and the technical inspection is exacting. Those who do ship have a clear reason: a new residence that makes the car tax-exempt, a long summer on Lake Geneva, or a rare car with a buyer or an exhibition waiting there.

The owner	What they usually ship	Best method	What decides the file
Someone moving to live or work in Switzerland	The car they have driven for years	A 40ft container with the household furniture, or RoRo	Proof of six months of ownership before the move
A family spending the summer in Geneva or Montreux	A luxury 4×4 or a family car	Private container, or air if time is short	Whether it enters temporarily or is imported for good
The owner of a sports or classic car	A collector’s car or a car for auction	Private container with low-angle ramps	A valuation and an insurance policy for that value
An embassy, mission or international organisation	Official cars	Sealed private container	The body’s letters and its diplomatic status
A dealer or exhibitor	A show car or a car sold to a Swiss buyer	Private container or air	The sales invoice and who bears the two taxes

Services of a car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland

Shipping a car to Switzerland is not booking a space on a ship. At least five parties are involved: the Saudi traffic department, Jeddah port, a shipping line, transit customs at a European port, and Swiss customs. Our role is for the owner to deal with one party, which is us.

• Acceptance review before booking: we match your model and its year against the tax and inspection conditions in Switzerland before you pay anything.
• Collection from your city: a covered flatbed moves the car from Riyadh, Dammam or any city to the port yard in Jeddah.
• The export file: following up the export certificate with the traffic department, and the export declaration at the port.
• The European transit: the customs transit document, and the covered transporter or train to the border.
• Swiss clearance: the import declaration, the relief form if the car qualifies, and the customs inspection report needed for registration.
• Delivery: setting the car down at the address, with a joint inspection with the recipient.

This article is about cars alone. Anyone moving furniture, cartons or goods with the car will find the details in the article shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland, and the general service on the car shipping page.

From Saudi Arabia by sea to a European port, then on to Switzerland by covered transporter

Switzerland has no seaport, so no ship reaches it. The car sails north from Jeddah up the Red Sea, passes through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, and is discharged at a European port chosen by the shipping method and your address. From that port begins the stage that sets this route apart from others: hundreds of kilometres inside Italy, Germany or France, which the car covers carried rather than driven, under a customs transit document, until it reaches the Swiss customs office.

Stage	What happens	Usual time
From your city to Jeddah port	Covered flatbed, with a condition report and photographs before it moves	Hours from the western region, one to two days from elsewhere
Export and waiting for the vessel	Matching the chassis number, the export declaration, and entry to the RoRo yard or loading of the container	3–6 days
Sailing to the European port	The Red Sea, then Suez, then the Mediterranean, and on to the North Sea via Gibraltar	8–12 days to the Mediterranean, longer to the North Sea
The European port	Discharge of the car or container and opening of the transit document	2–4 days
Transit to Switzerland	Covered car transporter, or the container by train or Rhine barge to Basel	One to 4 days
Swiss customs	Closing the transit, the declaration, and payment of the two taxes or acceptance of the relief	One to 3 days
Delivery to the address	A local flatbed from the clearance yard to your home	One day

And why a covered transporter rather than an open one? Because the road from the northern ports runs through hundreds of kilometres of German or French motorway, and from Genoa it climbs the Alps with their tunnels, their rain and their road salt in winter. A car that has crossed the sea unmarked should not reach Basel carrying road spray and grit. Details of the ports are on the ports and gateways page.

How long car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland takes

The shortest complete sea journey is close to four weeks, and the longest about six. The difference is not made by the sea alone, but by the port where the car lands and the way it completes the road.

Method	Usual port of discharge	Door-to-door time	Suits
Private container via the Mediterranean	Genoa	28–34 days	Lugano, Zurich, Lucerne and central Switzerland
Private container via the North Sea	Rotterdam or Antwerp, then Basel	32–40 days	Basel, Bern and the north
RoRo, then covered transporter	Zeebrugge, Bremerhaven or Antwerp	30–40 days	Running cars that are not low-slung
Air freight	Zurich or Geneva airport	5–7 days	Luxury and urgent cars

What lengthens the time?

• Transhipment at an intermediate port, as some lines change vessel before the final European port.
• The ban on heavy lorries in Switzerland at night and on Sundays and public holidays, which includes car transporters.
• A low water level in the Rhine in dry seasons, when Basel containers shift from the river to the train.
• A difference between the chassis number on the car and the number on the export certificate or the bill of lading.
• An incomplete relief form sent back to its owner by the Swiss customs office.

Times for other destinations are on the transit times page.

Car shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland

The price of this journey is built from four items, and anyone comparing two quotes should compare them item by item. The first is moving the car inside the Kingdom to Jeddah port. The second is the sea rate. The third is the transit from the European port to Switzerland. The fourth is clearance and delivery inside the country. These are our starting prices:

Item	Price starts from	What it covers
Saloon or hatchback by RoRo	SAR 2,800	From Jeddah port to the European port
4×4 or van by RoRo	Set on request	Calculated on length, width and height
Private 20ft container for one car	Set on request	According to the European port and the canton
40ft container for two cars, or a car and furniture	Set on request	The rate is spread over what is in it
Covered transporter from the European port to Switzerland	Set on request	According to the distance to your address
Moving the car from your city to Jeddah port	Set on request	According to the city and the type of flatbed
Air freight for the car	Set on request	By weight, dimensions and aircraft type

Prices quoted in the market: companies do not publish a price for a car to the door in Switzerland, and what circulates is general figures. For sea shipping of a car from the Kingdom to distant destinations, between SAR 5,000 and 10,000 is mentioned, for port charges between SAR 500 and 1,000, and for the export certificate about SAR 100. On this route specifically, figures have circulated starting from SAR 7,500 for a family car by sea and SAR 10,000 for a commercial one, and from SAR 12,000 for a small car by air and SAR 18,000 for a luxury one. In international guides, RoRo is offered at between 900 and 2,000 dollars, a private container at between 1,800 and 3,500 dollars, air from 5,000 dollars upwards, and the insurance premium at between 1.5% and 2.5% of the value of the car.

What changes the price	How it affects it
The dimensions of the car	RoRo is priced by volume, so a long 4×4 costs more than a saloon
The shipping method	The private container is higher than RoRo, and air is several times higher than both
The European port	Genoa is a shorter sailing and nearer the south, and the northern ports are nearer Basel
The canton	Lugano is a short distance from Genoa, and Geneva is in the far west
The collection city in the Kingdom	The further from Jeddah, the higher the inland transport item
The condition of the car	A car that does not run is not accepted for RoRo and needs a winch at every loading
The value of the car	It raises the insurance premium, and raises the two taxes if the car is not exempt

How do you bring the cost down?

• Ship the car with your furniture in a 40ft container if you are relocating: one file and one rate.
• Choose the port from your Swiss address, as the cheapest sailing may end in the longest road.
• Prove the six months of use before shipping, as the relief saves more than any discount on the rate.
• Share a container with another car heading for Switzerland or northern Italy if you are not in a hurry.

The items are explained on the pricing factors page.

How does the car get from Saudi cities to the port?

Every car bound for Switzerland sails from Jeddah Islamic Port, whatever its owner’s city, because a ship from there enters the Suez Canal without rounding the Arabian Peninsula. King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam is an alternative for the Eastern Province when a suitable sailing is available, but its voyage is usually about a week longer, so we choose it only when time does not matter. The car covers the distance to Jeddah on a flatbed, not on its own wheels, so that its odometer does not change and the validity of the export plates is not used up on the road.

Collection city	Distance to Jeddah port	How the car gets there	Air freight airport
Jeddah	Inside the city	Flatbed to the port yard the same day	King Abdulaziz International
Makkah and Taif	About 80 km and 170 km	Covered flatbed, timed outside the lorry-ban hours in the seasons	Jeddah airport
Madinah and Yanbu	About 420 km from Madinah	Covered flatbed on the Hijrah road	Jeddah airport
Riyadh and Al-Kharj	About 950 km	Enclosed car carrier or single-car flatbed, one day	King Khalid International
Dammam, Khobar and Jubail	About 1,350 km	Enclosed carrier to Jeddah, or Dammam port on a longer voyage	King Fahd International
Abha, Khamis Mushait and Jazan	About 700 km from Abha	Covered flatbed, one to two days	Via Jeddah

This is the only overland part meant by anyone asking about “land freight” on this route: a move inside the Kingdom that brings the car to the quay or to the cargo village at the airport. The list of cities we collect from is on the cities page.

RoRo or container: which for your car bound for Switzerland?

With RoRo, a port worker drives the car up the vessel’s ramp to an enclosed deck in its hold, where it is lashed to the floor, and it is driven off at the port of arrival. There is no cover on it and no box around it, so it travels the way new dealership cars travel. In a container, the car enters a steel box that is locked and sealed in Jeddah and opened only in front of customs. On this route the choice between them is settled by what follows the sea more than by the sea itself.

Point of comparison	RoRo	Private container	Shared container
The car at sea	Uncovered inside an enclosed deck of the vessel	Alone inside a sealed box	With another car, on a rack or beside it
After the European port	Loaded onto a covered transporter	Continues in its container by train or lorry	Unpacked at the warehouse, then loaded onto a transporter
Belongings with the car	Not allowed	Possible beside it, on a declared list	Not practical
A car that does not run	Not accepted	Accepted, with a winch	Accepted by special arrangement
Cost	Lowest	Highest	Between the two
Suits	Saloons and 4x4s in daily use	Luxury, sports and classic cars, and the car of someone relocating with furniture	Those who put the saving ahead of the date

On the Switzerland route we lean towards the private container whenever the budget allows, for a practical reason: the car is loaded once in Jeddah and unloaded once in Switzerland, and the container protects it at sea and on the train alike. RoRo remains the sensible choice for an ordinary car, and it has its own page: RoRo car shipping, while the container has the container car shipping page.

Shipping luxury and sports cars from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland in a private container

Switzerland is among the European countries that receive the most luxury cars, and their owners send them for a Geneva summer, an exhibition or the Alpine roads. These cars are not handed to a port worker to drive up a steel ramp. Each goes into a 20ft container of its own, from an equipped yard rather than the quay, and the container is locked with a seal number that is written on the bill of lading and sent to the owner within the hour.

• Ramps for low cars: long, shallow boards laid from the ground to the container sill, so that neither the nose nor the underbody touches steel.
• Lashing by all four wheels: webbing straps passed round the tyres and tensioned to the floor rings, with wooden chocks in front of and behind every wheel. Nothing is tied to the body or the suspension arms.
• Battery and fuel: a quarter of a tank or less, and a battery terminal disconnected for a car that will stand for five weeks.
• Moisture absorber: bags hung inside the container, as the gap between Jeddah’s heat and Alpine cold condenses vapour on metal.
• Opening: the seal is broken only in front of Swiss customs, or at the delivery yard with the recipient present.

Types of vehicle we ship to Switzerland

We accept any vehicle that has a valid registration card and can be exported, then choose its route by its dimensions and condition. The question that comes before the route here is: will it be registered in Switzerland?

Vehicle	How it is shipped	What we point out
Saloons and hatchbacks	RoRo, or a 20ft container	The easiest class at sea, and the Swiss inspection is decided by the model
4x4s and large family cars	RoRo at the dimensional rate, or a container after the height is measured	A roof rack and modified tyres may prevent entry to a standard container
Sports and luxury cars	Private container with low-angle ramps, or air	Ground clearance and insurance for the value
Classic cars	Private container	The registration scheme for old cars and the originality of parts
Electric and hybrid cars	According to the shipping line’s conditions	The battery’s state of charge and the dangerous goods declaration
Motorcycles	A wooden crate as part-load, or air	Draining the fuel and disconnecting the battery
A car that does not run	Container only	That its wheels turn and its steering and brakes work

Preparing the car before loading

Preparing for a long sea voyage is not the same as preparing for a two-day move by road. The car will stand closed for more than a month, will pass the customs of two countries and the transit of a third, and will be inspected in Switzerland by an eye that makes no allowances.

• Clean it outside, inside and underneath, as mud and soil may stop it at inspection.
• Empty the cabin, the boot and the pockets completely if it is travelling by RoRo.
• Leave a quarter of a tank or less, and put in no cans of fuel or oil.
• Check the oil, the coolant and the brakes, and repair any leak, however small.
• Photograph it from every side, and photograph the odometer and the chassis number, and keep the photographs until registration.
• Hand over one key, and keep the second, the original registration card and the service book with you to be sent by courier.

A longer explanation is in the car shipping guide.

Exporting the car from the Kingdom

No car enters the export yard at Jeddah port on its ordinary plates. The traffic department first takes it off its register: it receives the plates and issues an export certificate with the details of the car and its owner, together with temporary plates whose validity is long enough to reach the port. The request is made by the owner or an agent; part of it is available online and part requires a visit to the traffic department, and what is offered by each route shifts, so we confirm the method in force on the day you ask.

Step	What is required	A note for this route
Clearing the record	Payment of the fines on the car and its owner	Start with it before booking the vessel, not after
Releasing the lien	A settlement or a no-objection letter from the finance provider	The longest wait of all the steps
The export request	A valid registration card, and the owner’s ID or residence permit	And for an agent, a power of attorney that mentions export
Handing in the plates	The two original plates	Temporary export plates are issued
The export certificate	Payment of the traffic department fee, about SAR 100 as commonly quoted	The original travels to Switzerland, where it is the title document
The export declaration at the port	The certificate, a copy of the ID and the clearing agent’s authorisation	The chassis number is matched on the car itself

Keep the original Saudi registration card and do not destroy it after the export. Swiss customs take the date the car was registered in your name as evidence of how long you have used it, and that date is what the relief is built on.

Customs on the car in Switzerland: the two taxes and the relocation relief

Switzerland is outside the European Union and has its own customs, so the European rules you read about Germany and France do not apply here. The rule in force is that no customs duty is collected on an imported car today, following the abolition of duties on industrial goods, but two taxes are charged on it: an automobile tax of 4% and value added tax of 8.1%. Anyone transferring residence is exempt from both if the conditions are met.

Item	The rule in force	What we do before shipping
Customs duty	Not collected on cars since the abolition of industrial duties	We confirm that the position for your model has not changed
Automobile tax	4% of the value of the car	We work out an approximate amount with you
Value added tax	8.1% on the value with the costs of reaching Switzerland	We include the freight in the calculation
Relocation relief	A car its owner has used for at least six months and goes on using, on form 18.44	We review the date on the registration card and the proof of the new residence
Customs inspection report	Form 13.20 A is issued at clearance and is a condition of registration	We hand you the original with the car
Emissions penalty	May be charged on a recently registered car; under the rule in force, one registered abroad for more than a year is exempt	We ask about the date of first registration

The relief is not granted to someone who buys a car in order to ship it, nor to a visitor, nor to the owner of a summer home who has not transferred residence. The rule in force is that selling the exempted car shortly after it enters may cancel the relief and make both taxes due. These rates and forms are issued by the Swiss authorities and amended by them, so what is in the table is the rule in force, and we confirm what currently applies before shipping. Clearance in general is explained on the customs clearance page.

Technical inspection and registration in the canton

Clearance brings the car into the country; it does not put it on the road. The plates are issued by the road traffic office of the canton where you live, after a technical inspection known for its rigour. This is where the difference shows between a car built for the European market and a Gulf-specification car: the first carries a European certificate of conformity that is accepted as it stands, and for the second something is required in place of the certificate.

• Documents usually required: the original form 13.20 A, the original foreign vehicle documents, the residence permit, and notice of Swiss third-party insurance.
• Certificate of conformity: if there is none, proof of the technical specification, emissions and noise is requested, which is a longer and dearer road.
• Possible modifications: the headlights, the rear fog light and a speedometer in kilometres, as the inspector decides.
• Deadline: the rule in force is that someone relocating has twelve months from entry to register the car, and the details differ between cantons.
• Steering: Switzerland drives on the right with the wheel on the left, as in the Kingdom, so nothing changes there.

That is why we tell some customers frankly that selling the car in the Kingdom and buying another there is cheaper for them. The car worth shipping is the exempt one, the rare one, or the one whose value to its owner cannot be bought.

Car shipping documents and what is not accepted

The file for a Switzerland car is a little heavier than for a car going to the Gulf, because it holds papers that prove the owner’s status, not just ownership. We ask for clear copies first and review them with our clearing agent in Switzerland, then the originals travel by courier, not inside the car.

Document	From where	Where it is required
Original export certificate	The traffic department	Jeddah port and Swiss customs
Original Saudi registration card	The owner	Proof of the period of use, then the cantonal road traffic office
The owner’s passport and ID or residence permit	The owner	Both sides
Swiss residence permit, or the employment and tenancy contracts	The owner	The relief request on form 18.44
Purchase invoice or valuation	The seller or a valuer	Calculating the two taxes
Bill of lading	The shipping line, through us	Collecting the car at the European port
No-objection letter	The finance provider	The traffic department, for a financed car

And these are cases in which the car is refused, or held back until they are dealt with:

Case	What happens
Fines or a lien not released	The export certificate is not issued, so the car does not enter the port
Belongings inside a RoRo car	They are emptied before it enters the yard, and what remains is not covered
An oil or fuel leak	It is repaired first, as both vessel and container reject it
Soil, plants and seeds stuck to the car	It is cleaned, as these prompt an agricultural inspection
Weapons, ammunition or prohibited substances in the car	Strictly banned in both countries

The general lists are on the shipping documents and prohibited items pages.

A temporary visit on Saudi plates, or a permanent import?

Someone sending a car for a single summer does not want to register it in Switzerland or pay its two taxes. That is possible: a visitor resident outside Switzerland brings the car in temporarily for personal use, and it goes back with them. But here the car is not exported from the Kingdom for good, so it stays on its plates and registration card, and its file differs completely from that of someone relocating.

Point of comparison	Temporary entry for a visitor	Permanent import
Plates	Valid Saudi plates	Surrendered in the Kingdom, and Swiss plates issued
The two taxes	Not collected as long as the car will leave	Paid, or the relief is requested
Swiss technical inspection	Not required	A condition for the plates
Insurance	A policy covering Switzerland and the transit countries, or border insurance	A Swiss policy
Who it suits	The summer visitor, a patient’s companion and the touring traveller	Someone relocating, and someone who has sold the car to a Swiss buyer

Whether driving on Saudi plates is accepted, for how long, and what insurance and transit documents are required are matters decided by the Swiss and European authorities, and they change, so we confirm what applies to your case before booking. Anyone planning a trip by car through more than one country can read about the customs carnet on the triptik page.

Insurance and protection while the car is in transit

On the journey to Switzerland the car changes hands more often than on any Gulf route: a flatbed, then a port, then a vessel, then a second port, then a transporter or train, then a last flatbed. Every change is a point at which the condition of the car must be recorded, so that if a scratch appears it is known at which stage it happened and who answers for it.

• A report at every handover: at your home, on entry to the port, on discharge in Europe, and at your Swiss door.
• Dated photographs: of the sides, the roof, the rims, the cabin and the odometer, with a copy sent to you on the day of loading.
• The carrier’s liability: limited to what the bill of lading states, a limit that does not cover the value of a car.
• All-risks marine insurance: for the agreed value of the car, door to door, including the European overland leg.

The types of cover are on the cargo insurance page.

Delivering cars from Saudi Arabia in Zurich, Geneva and Basel

Three cities receive most of what we ship. Basel is the gateway of the north on the Rhine and has the container terminal, so a car coming from Rotterdam or from the RoRo ports enters Switzerland through it. Zurich is the largest city and is about 85 km from Basel. Geneva is in the far west, about 280 km from Zurich, and the car reaches it from Basel or from Genoa. In every case delivery is at the address, on a small flatbed that goes where the long transporter cannot.

City	Location	How the car reaches it	Delivery note
Zurich	The north	From Basel, or from Genoa along the Gotthard axis	Building car parks are underground, so the car is set down in the street
Geneva	The far west	From Basel via Bern and Lausanne, or by air to its airport	A stopping place for the flatbed is reserved in advance
Basel	The north-west, on the Rhine	The first city after the border for arrivals from the north	Mostly delivered on the day of clearance
Bern	The centre	About 100 km from Basel	The capital and seat of the embassies, with timed access to the old town
Lausanne and Montreux	Lake Geneva	Served with Geneva	Sloping streets, and a short flatbed
Lugano	The south	The nearest to Genoa, and the car enters through the Chiasso crossing	The fastest destination for a Mediterranean container
Lucerne and St Gallen	The centre and the east	Served from Zurich	A day is usually added
Mountain resorts	The Alps	By flatbed to the last road open to cars	Some are car-free, so the car is delivered at the valley car parks

The joint inspection on receipt is not a quick signature on a sheet of paper. The driver sets the car down and walks round it with the recipient, with the Jeddah report and its photographs in hand, and they compare the sides, the rims, the glass and the odometer item by item. What matches is signed for, and what differs is written into the report before the driver leaves, because a written remark is what the insurer accepts. Details of the service are on the door to door page.

Services for individuals, companies, government bodies and embassies

Geneva and Bern are home to diplomatic missions and international organisations, so a steady share of the cars on this route do not belong to individuals.

• Individuals: a free review of the car’s acceptance and relief, then shipping by the method the owner chooses, with follow-up by message.
• Companies: moving the cars of seconded staff, or show cars for an exhibition, with a contract, a tax invoice and a condition report for every car.
• Government bodies: coordination by official letters, a sealed private container, and a timetable notified in advance.
• Embassies, missions and organisations: a customs route according to diplomatic status and its forms, and we confirm what is required with the receiving body before shipping.

Can the car be shipped overland from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?

We do not offer an overland route on this line. Between the Kingdom and Switzerland lie many borders and a distance of around five thousand kilometres or more, and the state of the crossings along this route does not allow a date that can be kept for a private car. The sea is surer and cheaper, and the air is faster. Road transport in this journey is confined to its two ends: from your city to Jeddah port or the airport, and from the European port to your address. Sea services are on the sea freight page.

Air freight for cars from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland

The aircraft cuts five weeks to one. It is chosen by someone who has bought a luxury car and wants it outside a Geneva hotel at the start of summer, by someone with a stand at an exhibition, and by someone who put off the decision until time ran out for the sea. The car is handed over at the cargo village of King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz in Jeddah or King Fahd in Dammam, and reaches Zurich or Geneva airport direct or through an intermediate hub, depending on the freighter schedule in force, then it is cleared there and taken to its owner on a covered flatbed.

• Loading: the car is secured by its wheels on a flat metal pallet, and the pallet is raised to the aircraft door by the airport loader.
• Classification: under aviation rules a car is dangerous goods because of its fuel and battery, so a declaration signed by a certified specialist is prepared for it.
• Fuel and battery: the rule in force is that the tank does not exceed a quarter, the battery terminals are protected, and an electric car has conditions that are reviewed with the carrier.
• Paperwork: the same export certificate, the two taxes or the relief as by sea, and clearance at the arrival airport.
• Time and price: 5–7 days with the formalities, and the price is set on request by weight and dimensions.

Air services for goods other than cars are on the air freight page.

Steps for shipping a car from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland

Eight steps, the first of which matters most: do not surrender the plates before we know together how the car will be treated in Switzerland.

1. You send the model, the year of manufacture, a photograph of the registration card, your Swiss address and your residence status to 0552803439.
2. We review the relief, the two taxes and the technical inspection, propose the method and the port, and give you the price item by item.
3. The fines and the lien are cleared, and the export certificate and its plates are obtained.
4. We collect the car from your city with a report and photographs, and it is moved to Jeddah port.
5. It is loaded into the container and sealed, or enters the RoRo yard, and the export declaration and bill of lading are issued.
6. The vessel sails, the originals are sent by courier, and the transit and clearance file is prepared.
7. The car is discharged at the European port and crosses to the border, and it is cleared by Swiss customs.
8. It is delivered at your address with a joint inspection, together with form 13.20 A so that you can begin registration.

Tracking the car and follow-up after delivery

Five weeks is a long time for someone waiting for a car, and silence during it is worse than delay. So we name one member of staff for each car to follow it, who sends news of it without being asked and answers the owner’s question in Arabic, even if the owner is in Zurich.

• At sea: the name of the vessel, the voyage number and the container number, with which you follow the vessel’s position yourself.
• In Europe: a notice of discharge, another when the transporter or train moves, and a third on crossing the border.
• After delivery: we stay with you until the technical inspection appointment, and send whatever copies the road traffic office asks for.

How follow-up works is on the shipment tracking page.

Car shipping from Switzerland to Saudi Arabia

The opposite direction is asked for by people buying a car on the Swiss market or returning from a scholarship. We collect the car from its address, complete its deregistration and export, and it sails from a European port to Jeddah in a container or by RoRo. The Saudi conditions are what must be reviewed first: the rule in force is that an imported light car is no more than five years old, that it meets the specifications approved in the Kingdom, and that it is left-hand drive, with customs duty of 5% and value added tax of 15%. We confirm what currently applies before you pay for it.

Home Safe’s tips before shipping your car to Switzerland

What follows is a digest of questions that should have been asked before shipping and were asked after it:

• Ask about the Swiss technical inspection for your model before you ask about the sea rate.
• Do not transfer the car into your name shortly before shipping, as the period of use is counted from the date it was registered in your name.
• Gather what proves your new residence: the employment contract, the tenancy contract and the residence permit.
• Send the original registration card and export certificate by courier, and do not leave them in the glovebox.
• Match the arrival of the car to your own, as clearance with relief needs the owner or an agent.
• Keep a second key with you, as losing the only key at a European port stops everything.

How do you choose a car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?

Any company can put a car on a ship. The real test is what it knows about what comes after the ship, because half of this journey takes place on European soil and under customs that are nothing like those of the Gulf. These signs separate those who have actually shipped to Switzerland from those who promise to:

The sign	What it shows
Asks about your residence status before the price	Knows that the relief changes the whole calculation
Names the European port and explains why it was chosen	Has planned the road to your address, not to the quay
Mentions the customs transit document	You will not be surprised by a European tax demand
Separates the sea rate from transit and clearance	Its price can be compared item by item
Warns you about the Swiss technical inspection	Cares that the car is registered, not just that it arrives
Does not promise twenty days to the door	Knows that after the sea come a transit and a clearance

Common mistakes when shipping a car to Switzerland

Seven mistakes whose effect we have seen, most of them made before the car moves:

• Surrendering the Saudi plates, then discovering that the model is hard to license in Switzerland.
• Assuming that European Union rules apply to Switzerland, and building the budget on them.
• Comparing a price that ends at the European port with one that ends at the door.
• Shipping a recently bought car as though it were part of the removal goods.
• Leaving personal belongings in a RoRo car.
• The car arriving weeks before its owner, so that storage charges build up on it.
• Relying on the carrier’s liability, with no insurance on a high-value car.

Why choose Home Safe as your car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?

Because we start from the end of the road. Before we price the sea we ask: is this car exempt? Can it be registered? And which port is nearest its owner’s home? Then we build the journey on the answers, and hold to quality and safety at every handover from one hand to the next.

To book: 0552803439 by call or WhatsApp, from 7 am to 11 pm. Or through the request a quote page.

Related articles and pages

• Shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland
• Car shipping from Saudi Arabia
• Car shipping company from Qatar to Switzerland
• Car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to France
• Sea car shipping from Jeddah
• Container sizes

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Frequently asked questions about car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland

How much does it cost to ship a car from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland?

The sea rate for a saloon by RoRo starts from SAR 2,800, and it covers only the leg from the Jeddah quay to the European quay. On top of it come three items that cannot be priced until your address is known: bringing the car from your city to Jeddah port, the covered transporter from the European port to the canton, and Swiss clearance. The private container and air freight are priced on request.

How long does the car take to reach Switzerland?

By sea, between 28 and 40 days from the day it is collected in the Kingdom to the day it is set down outside your Swiss home. The sailing itself to a Mediterranean port is about 8–12 days, and longer to the North Sea ports, and the rest goes on waiting for the vessel, discharge, the overland transit and clearance. By air it arrives in 5–7 days, including the formalities at both airports.

Switzerland has no sea, so where does the car leave the ship?

At a European port outside Switzerland. RoRo vessels berth at the vehicle ports of the North Sea such as Zeebrugge, Bremerhaven and Antwerp, and containers are discharged at Genoa for an address in the south and centre, or at Rotterdam and Antwerp for an address near Basel.

Do I pay customs at the European port and then again in Switzerland?

No. The car is not imported into the European Union; it only crosses it, so a customs transit document is opened for it at the port, travels with it to the Swiss border and is closed there. No European duty and no European tax is collected, and the whole account is settled with Swiss customs alone.

How much tax does the car pay on entering Switzerland?

The rule in force is two taxes: an automobile tax of 4% of the value of the car, then value added tax of 8.1% calculated on the value plus the freight as far as the border. The customs duty on cars, however, was abolished along with the duties on industrial goods. The Swiss authorities amend these rates, so we confirm what currently applies before your car moves.

When does my car enter Switzerland tax-free?

When you are genuinely transferring your residence there and the car has been in your use for at least six months before the move, and you go on using it yourself afterwards. It is then declared among the removal goods on form 18.44 and exempted from both taxes. A tourist, the owner of a summer home and someone buying a car in the Kingdom are not covered by this relief.

Does a Gulf-specification car pass the Swiss technical inspection?

Many cars pass it, but with more effort than a car built for Europe. The road traffic office of the canton asks for the European certificate of conformity, and Gulf cars mostly do not carry one, so proof of the technical specification, the emissions and the noise level is requested in its place, and changes to the lighting may be required.

What does the Saudi traffic department require before the car leaves?

A clean record first: no unpaid fines, no lien, and a valid registration card in the name of the person requesting the export. Then the plates are handed in and the export certificate is issued, with temporary plates that take the car to the port. The way the request is submitted shifts between online and in person, so we tell you what is available on the day you ask.

My car is still on a finance instalment. Can it travel?

Not before the finance provider agrees in writing. An export certificate is not issued for a car with a standing lien, so either the debt is settled and the lien released, or the bank issues a letter of no objection to the export.

Can I put my suitcases inside the car to travel with it?

With RoRo, no: the car is handed to the port empty and its key stays with the ship’s crew. In a private container, belongings can be shipped beside the car, not inside it, provided they are itemised on a list and declared to Swiss customs.

Can the car be shipped by air to Switzerland, and how long does it take?

Yes, from the airports of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to Zurich or Geneva airport, on a freighter aircraft flying direct or through an intermediate hub, depending on the schedule. The time is 5 to 7 days with the formalities. The cost is several times that of the sea, so the price is set on request once the weight and dimensions of the car are known.

Do you ship electric and hybrid cars?

We ship them after reviewing the carrier’s conditions, which change from one shipping line to another. Some RoRo lines set a limit on the battery’s state of charge and ask for extra data, a container needs a special declaration with some lines, and aviation is stricter still.

Which Swiss cities do you deliver the car to?

To every canton. The most requested are Zurich, Geneva and Basel, then Bern, Lausanne and Lugano, and we also reach Lucerne, Montreux and St Gallen. For mountain resorts closed to cars, the car is delivered at the valley car parks.

How do I know where my car is during the journey?

You receive at least five messages: when it enters the yard at Jeddah port, when the vessel sails, with its name and voyage number, when it berths in Europe, when it crosses the Swiss border, and one day before delivery.

Do I need insurance when the car is inside a locked container?

The container protects against scratches and handling, not against sinking, fire or a rail accident. The sea carrier’s liability is limited to what is in the bill of lading, a sum nowhere near the value of a car. That is why we advise a marine insurance policy for the value of the car, covering the journey from your door in the Kingdom to your door in Switzerland.