Car Shipping Company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey 0552803439 | RoRo and Containers to Mersin and Istanbul for Residents

Home Safe is a car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey that collects your car in any city of the Kingdom and takes it by sea to Mersin or Istanbul, then on to your Turkish city if you ask for that. The vessel sails from Jeddah Islamic Port and passes through the Suez Canal, spending 7 to 12 days at sea, and the whole trip comes to 15 to 25 days from the day of collection. A saloon on a RoRo vessel starts from SAR 2,800, a car in a 20ft container of its own starts from SAR 4,600, and air freight is set on request. To book: 0552803439.

In this guide45ShowHide

1. Who ships a car from Saudi Arabia to Turkey?
2. Services of a car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
3. Temporary entry or permanent import? The difference that decides everything
4. Shipping residents’ and students’ cars from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
5. The sea route and transit time for a car to Turkey
6. RoRo car shipping from Jeddah to the port of Mersin
7. Shipping the car inside a container: private or shared
8. Car shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
9. How does your car reach the port from the Kingdom’s cities?
10. Types of cars we ship to Turkey
11. Preparing the car before handing it over for shipping
12. Saudi traffic department procedure: final export or temporary exit?
13. Documents required at the two ports
14. Clearance at the Turkish port and motor insurance
15. Ports of arrival in Turkey
16. Delivering cars in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and the other cities
17. Shipping cars for companies, government bodies and embassies
18. Insuring the car during shipping
19. Air freight for cars from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
20. Is the car shipped overland to Turkey? And is it better to drive it?
21. Steps for shipping your car from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
22. Tracking the car and customer service
23. Bringing the car back from Turkey to Saudi Arabia
24. Tips before shipping your car to Turkey
25. Common mistakes when shipping cars to Turkey
26. How do you choose a car shipping company to Turkey?
27. Why Home Safe for shipping your car to Turkey?
28. Related articles and pages
29. Tags
30. Frequently asked questions about car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
31. How much does it cost to ship a car from Saudi Arabia to Turkey?
32. How many days does it take to ship a car from Saudi Arabia to Turkey?
33. Does Turkey allow a car on Saudi plates to enter?
34. How long can a Saudi car stay in Turkey?
35. Can I sell my car or register it on Turkish plates?
36. Which suits my car better: RoRo or a container?
37. Which documents are needed to ship a car to Turkey?
38. Do I need an export certificate from the traffic department to ship my car to Turkey?
39. Do you ship cars from Riyadh, Dammam and the other cities?
40. Which Turkish ports and cities does the car reach?
41. Do I have to be there when the car arrives at the Turkish port?
42. Can I put my belongings inside the car?
43. Can a car be flown from Saudi Arabia to Turkey?
44. Do you ship a car that does not run, or a motorcycle?
45. How do I bring my car back from Turkey to Saudi Arabia?

Route: a carrier from your city to Jeddah Islamic Port, then the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and the eastern Mediterranean, then the port of Mersin or Ambarli · Transit time: 15–25 days by sea from collection to the Turkish port, and 3–6 days by air to Istanbul.

Who ships a car from Saudi Arabia to Turkey?

Demand on this line comes from people who will stay in Turkey long enough for renting a car there to cost more than moving their own. Most are the cars of residents and families: a Turkish national working in the Kingdom, a Saudi family with a home in Istanbul or Trabzon, or a scholarship student. Each of them brings the car in under a different status, so we ask about the owner before the car.

Car owner	Their position in Turkey	What we suggest
A Turkish national who works in the Kingdom and spends leave at home	Resident abroad, so entitled to bring the car in temporarily	RoRo to Mersin, with the return booked before the period ends
A Saudi family that owns a flat or villa and spends the summer there	Visitor, with the car tied to the length of their stay	RoRo three weeks before travelling, and a return at the end of summer
A resident who has obtained a Turkish residence permit and is moving there	A longer period tied to the permit	A container that takes the car and the household effects together
A student or an employee seconded to Turkey	Needs the temporary-entry carnet from the Turkish automobile association	RoRo, with the carnet papers prepared before arrival
The owner of a luxury or classic car	A visit or taking part in an event	A private container, or air freight to Istanbul
A company, an official body or a diplomatic mission	Work cars or the cars of relocating staff	A batch in 40ft containers under one file

Services of a car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey

Moving a car across two seas and a canal is more than booking a slot on a ship. Between your front door in the Kingdom and the yard of the Turkish port there is a chain of linked steps, and the car stops at any link left without someone in charge. We handle all of them, or whichever ones you choose.

• Entry eligibility check: we ask about your residence and the days you spent in Turkey over the past year, so we know whether the car will be accepted and how long it may stay.
• Collection from the address: a carrier or flatbed from your home or showroom in any city to the assembly yard near Jeddah port.
• Sea freight: a slot booked on a RoRo vessel, or a 20ft or 40ft container with lashing and sealing.
• Exit papers: the export declaration at port customs, and going with you through the traffic department procedure if the export is final.
• Clearance in Turkey: an agent in Mersin or Istanbul who presents the file to customs and arranges the date of your attendance.
• Delivery and insurance: a Turkish carrier from the port to your province, and a transit policy for the car’s value.

What we write here concerns vehicles and nothing else. Anyone sending a bedroom set, cartons or commercial goods to Turkey will find what they need in the article shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey, and the car shipping page presents our vehicle service to every destination.

Temporary entry or permanent import? The difference that decides everything

Turkey opens one easy door for your car, temporary entry, and all but closes the other. Under temporary entry the car keeps its Saudi plates, no duty is collected on it, and you undertake to take it out before its period ends. Under permanent import it is treated as goods entering the Turkish market, so it faces a permit and heavy taxes.

Point of comparison	Temporary entry	Permanent import
Plates	The Saudi ones, unchanged	Turkish plates after registration
Who is entitled	Anyone who lives outside Turkey and spent 185 days of the past year outside it	Limited cases with a permit from the Turkish Ministry of Trade
Taxes	No import duty	Customs duty, a special consumption tax that climbs with engine size, and VAT
Period	From 90 days to 730 days depending on the owner’s status	No limit
Sale and rental	Not allowed	Allowed after registration

The practical upshot: we ship your car for you to use in Turkey and then bring back, or to stay with you for as long as your permit is valid. Anyone who wants to sell it there or register it for good is told plainly that this is not available in most cases. These rules are issued by the Turkish Ministry of Trade and amended from time to time, so we confirm the ones in force before shipping.

Shipping residents’ and students’ cars from Saudi Arabia to Turkey

The holder of a Turkish residence permit, the student and the employee do not bring their cars in the way a tourist does. Someone who actually lives in Turkey does not meet the condition of residence abroad, so the car enters on a special carnet issued by the Touring and Automobile Association of Turkey, known as the temporary-entry carnet for foreign vehicles. We go through the temporary-entry conditions for your case before booking, and arrange your papers to match what the association and customs ask for.

Owner’s status	Length of stay in force for the car	What is asked of them
A Saudi visitor without a Turkish residence permit	As long as the visitor’s own stay: 90 days in every 180	Passport, registration card in their name, licence and Turkish insurance
A Turkish national who works and lives in the Kingdom	Up to 730 days in total	Proof of residence abroad and of 185 days spent outside Turkey in the past year
A foreigner who holds a Turkish residence permit and lives abroad most of the year	Up to 730 days, and no longer than the permit’s validity	The Turkish residence permit with proof of the days outside Turkey
A student at a Turkish university	One or two years on the association’s carnet, within the permit	Residence permit, certificate of enrolment from the university and a financial guarantee for the association
An employee with a Turkish work permit	One or two years on the association’s carnet, within the work permit	Residence permit, work permit and a financial guarantee for the association
A retired person living in Turkey	One or two years on the association’s carnet	Residence permit and a retirement document, certified and translated into Turkish

The association’s carnet is applied for at its offices in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Mersin. In return it takes a guarantee that it sets by the car’s make, year of manufacture and engine size, in cash or as a bank letter of guarantee, refunded when the car leaves Turkey for good. The carnet is not granted to anyone who holds Turkish nationality alongside another.

In every case the car is recorded against its owner’s passport. If the owner needs to fly out while the car remains in Turkey, they first leave it in the customs yard or obtain written permission from customs, otherwise they are fined on departure.

The sea route and transit time for a car to Turkey

The car covers about 1,100 nautical miles between Jeddah and Mersin: it heads north up the Red Sea, waits its turn in the Suez Canal convoy, then crosses the eastern Mediterranean to Turkey’s southern coast. The sailing itself is short, and most of the days go on waiting for the vessel’s date and in the port yard:

Stage	What happens in it	Usual time
Collection and haul to Jeddah	Loading the car onto a carrier in your city and handing it to the assembly yard	One day from the west, and up to 3 days from the east and the north
Preparation and export	Condition report, export declaration and entry to the port yard before the cut-off	2–5 days
Sailing	The Red Sea, then the Suez Canal, then the eastern Mediterranean	7–12 days to Mersin
Unloading, clearance and handover	Bringing the car ashore, recording it against the owner’s passport, and motor insurance	2–5 days

Method	Port or airport of arrival	Time from collection	Suits
RoRo	Mersin	15–22 days	A car that runs under its own power
Private container	Mersin	18–25 days	Luxury, classic and non-running cars
Private container	Ambarli in Istanbul, or Izmir	20–28 days	Those living in the north or west of Turkey
Air	Istanbul Airport	3–6 days	Luxury and urgent cars

What lengthens the time?

• Missing the cut-off: a car that reaches the port after the vessel’s list has closed waits for the next sailing, which may be a week or two later.
• A vessel that calls at an intermediate port: some lines move the cargo to another ship at a Mediterranean port, which brings the sailing close to three weeks.
• The summer rush: from May to July everyone travels in the same direction, so the decks fill early.
• The owner’s absence: a car that has arrived before its owner stays in the yard until they turn up with their passport.

Times for the other destinations are on the transit times page.

RoRo car shipping from Jeddah to the port of Mersin

A RoRo vessel is built as a floating multi-storey car park. The car enters it on its own wheels for the trip from Jeddah to Mersin, with no crane to lift it and no box around it. It is driven aboard uncovered over a wide stern ramp, the port driver parks it in its place, and its four wheels are then lashed to rings in the deck floor.

Before any of that, an inspection and photographs before loading take place in our yard: pictures of the body from eight angles, of the roof, the cabin and the odometer, and a report listing every old scratch. The car is checked against it when it is handed to you in Turkey.

• Condition for acceptance: the engine must turn and the brakes and steering must work, because the car is driven at least four times between the two yards.
• An empty cabin: no bags and no devices, as the deck is open to the crews of the ship and both ports.
• Fuel: roughly a quarter of a tank, enough to move the car without breaching safety instructions.
• Sailings: according to the shipping line’s schedule, and when no RoRo sailing is close we suggest a container instead of waiting.

How these vessels work is explained on the RoRo car shipping page.

Shipping the car inside a container: private or shared

A container cuts the car off from everything around it, from the moment it is sealed in Jeddah to the moment the seal is broken in Turkey. The car goes into a 20ft container alone, or into a 40ft container with a second car or with household furniture. It is secured by its wheels with straps and wooden chocks nailed to the floor, and nothing is tied to the body.

Point of comparison	RoRo	20ft container	40ft container
What it carries	A car that moves on its own wheels	One car	Two cars, or a car and furniture
Protection	Inside a covered deck, exposed to those around it	A sealed steel box	A sealed steel box
A car that does not run	Not accepted	Accepted and winched in	Accepted and winched in
Ports of arrival	Mostly Mersin	Mersin, Ambarli and Izmir	Mersin, Ambarli and Izmir
Best suited to	A family car of mid-range value	A luxury, classic or low sports car	A family moving with two cars or its whole home
Price starts from	SAR 2,800	SAR 4,600	Set on request

Anyone shipping furniture with the car in one container presents two files to Turkish customs: the vehicle file and the personal effects file, each with its own conditions. Lashing and size details are on the container car shipping page.

Car shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Turkey

The price on this line has two parts: the sea freight from Jeddah port, whose starting point is fixed whatever your city, and the road haul from your city to the port, which changes with distance. The figures below are our starting prices for the sea freight with loading and lashing, and they leave out the Turkish port charges because those are paid there.

Item	Method	Price starts from
A saloon from Jeddah to Mersin	RoRo	SAR 2,800
A four-wheel drive, van or pickup	RoRo, by size	Set on request
One car in a private container	20ft container	SAR 4,600
Two cars, or a car with furniture	40ft container	Set on request
The haul from your city to Jeddah port	Car carrier or flatbed	Set on request
Delivery from the port to your Turkish city	Turkish carrier	Set on request
A motorcycle	A crate in a shared container	Set on request
A car to Istanbul Airport	Air freight	Set on request

Prices quoted in the market: few publish a specific figure for this line, and what is published is far apart. On travellers’ forums a quote of about SAR 7,000 per car is mentioned, and general guides put the cost of moving a car from the Kingdom to Turkey with the temporary-entry formalities at about USD 3,000. Our previous article gave sea freight from SAR 5,500, air from SAR 8,500 and additional services from SAR 500. The gap between them comes from what each figure includes: the sea alone, or the road to the port, clearance and delivery as well.

Factor	Its effect on the price
The car’s length and height	RoRo charges for the area the car takes up on the deck
RoRo or container	A private container is paid for in full even with a single car inside
Collection city	Jeddah and Makkah are the closest cities to the quay, Dammam and Tabuk the farthest
The Turkish port	Mersin usually costs less than Ambarli and Izmir
Scope of service	Handover on the port quay, or delivery to the front door

How do you cut the cost?

• Choose RoRo as long as your car runs and is not the kind that suffers from being seen.
• Share a 40ft container with a relative or colleague travelling to the same city.
• Collect from the Mersin port yard yourself if you are heading for Adana or Antalya, as the road from there is short.
• Book before May, because anyone who books at the height of summer pays the season’s rate.

The pricing items are set out on the pricing factors page.

How does your car reach the port from the Kingdom’s cities?

The quay the car leaves from is in Jeddah, but collection covers every region of the Kingdom. The car is never driven to the port, however far it is; it is loaded onto a carrier so that its odometer does not change and it meets no road accident before its voyage begins. The distances below are approximate, to Jeddah Islamic Port:

Collection city	Distance to Jeddah port	Inland haul time	Note
Jeddah	Within the city	Hours	Details in the article car shipping from Jeddah to Turkey
Makkah and Taif	80–170 km	The same day	A single flatbed from the hillside districts
Madinah and Yanbu	330–420 km	One day	A carrier on the Hijrah expressway
Riyadh and Qassim	900–950 km	1–2 days	Carriers run almost daily between Riyadh and Jeddah
Dammam, Khobar and Al-Ahsa	1,250–1,350 km	2–3 days	Via Riyadh, or from Dammam port when a sailing is available
Abha, Khamis Mushait and Jazan	650–720 km	1–2 days	Their cars are grouped on one carrier
Tabuk	About 1,000 km	Two days	Joined to the Madinah carrier

Riyadh and the central region: most requests from outside Jeddah come from Riyadh, home to the largest working Turkish community and to most of the families that own property in Turkey. The carrier leaves in the evening and reaches Jeddah the next day.

Dammam and the Eastern Province: the road to Jeddah crosses the Kingdom from side to side. So we first ask about a sailing from King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, which saves one thousand three hundred kilometres overland, although the vessel from there sails round the peninsula and the days at sea grow longer. We compare the two options and tell you which is shorter overall.

The other cities we serve are on the service cities page, and the port services are in the article sea car shipping from Jeddah.

Types of cars we ship to Turkey

Any private vehicle registered in its owner’s name can be shipped, but the shipping method follows its size, value and condition. Turkey also allows one vehicle per person under temporary entry.

Vehicle	Best method	What is particular to it
Saloon and hatchback	RoRo	The lowest price band, accepted on every sailing
Four-wheel drive and seven-seat family car	RoRo	Priced on length and height, and a roof rack must be declared if fitted
Luxury and low sports car	Private container or air	A long ramp on the way in so the bumper does not scrape
Classic car	Private container	Its battery is disconnected and it is covered with soft cloth inside the container
Motorcycle	Wooden crate in a container	Drained of fuel and tied down on four sides
A car that does not run	Container only	Its wheels must turn and its steering must work

The sizes of each class and what suits it are in the car shipping guide.

Preparing the car before handing it over for shipping

The car will spend two or three weeks out of its owner’s sight and pass through the customs of two countries. This is what we ask of you before you hand it over:

• Empty it completely: the cabin, the boot and the pockets, down to the phone charger and the gate pass.
• Wash it well outside and underneath: clean paintwork shows its true condition in the report photographs.
• Leave a quarter of a tank of fuel: more than that breaches the safety instructions on board.
• Fix any leak: a single drop of oil on the deck floor is reason enough to refuse the car on RoRo.
• Switch off the alarm and tracking devices: an alarm sounding in the hold for a week finishes the battery before Mersin.
• Hand over one key: and carry the second with you to Turkey, as you may need it if the first goes missing between two ports.

Saudi traffic department procedure: final export or temporary exit?

Before the car moves, one question is settled: will it come back to the Kingdom? The answer decides what you do at the traffic department. A car that is not coming back is struck off the register and an export certificate is issued for it by the traffic department. One that will return after a summer or an academic year stays on your record with its plates, and leaves the port as a temporary exit.

Item	Final export	Temporary exit
Who it suits	Someone moving to Turkey with no intention of bringing the car back	The summer visitor, the student and the Turkish national on leave
Saudi plates	Handed in to the traffic department	Stay on the car
Document issued	An export certificate with the owner’s name and the chassis number	The valid registration card and a temporary-exit declaration at customs
On return	Treated as an imported car	Goes back onto its register with no duty

Bear in mind that for temporary entry Turkey accepts a car registered in its owner’s country of residence. The owner of a car struck off the Saudi register for good may therefore be asked about its registration on arrival. That is why we advise final export only for those who have arranged its entry in advance. The traffic department procedure and its fees change, so we confirm what is in force in your city before you go there.

Documents required at the two ports

The car’s file is opened twice: once before Saudi customs in Jeddah so that it can leave, and once before Turkish customs so that it can enter. A paper missing in Mersin keeps the car in a yard whose storage is charged by the day. We gather the whole file before we book the slot on the vessel.

Document	Who provides it	Where it is asked for
The valid registration card in the shipper’s name	The owner	Both ports
Passport, and Saudi ID or residence permit	The owner	Both ports
Driving licence	The owner	Turkish customs and the insurer
Export certificate from the traffic department, or proof of temporary exit	The traffic department and Saudi customs	Jeddah port
Authorisation for the customs broker	The owner	Both ports
Turkish residence permit, or proof of residence abroad	The owner	Turkish customs
Motor insurance valid in Turkey	A Turkish insurer	Before the car leaves the port
A notarised and translated power of attorney if the consignee is not the owner	The owner	Turkish customs
Bill of lading and condition report	Home Safe	Collection in Turkey

As for the customs passage booklet known as the triptik: Turkey does not usually require it for a private car that its owner brings in temporarily, yet some brokers ask for it for Middle Eastern cars shipped by sea. We ask the broker at the port of arrival about your case, and if it is needed it is explained on the triptik and carnet page. The remaining papers are on the shipping documents page.

Clearance at the Turkish port and motor insurance

When the car comes ashore at Mersin it does not go straight out of the gate. It is moved to a customs yard, our agent presents the bill of lading and the owner’s file, and a customs officer then inspects the chassis number and matches it to the registration card. After that the car is recorded against its owner’s passport together with the date by which it must leave.

• The owner’s attendance: usually required with the original passport, so arrange your arrival for the vessel’s arrival or a day before it.
• Motor insurance: Saudi insurance policies are not valid in Turkey, so a Turkish policy is bought for the period the car will stay, before it moves from the port.
• Port charges: handling, storage and the broker’s fee, paid in Turkey and estimated for you before shipping.
• Who drives after handover: you, your spouse, your parents and your children who live outside Turkey, and no resident of Turkey may drive it.

Anyone who overstays the period recorded against their passport faces a fine that grows with each month of delay, and after three months it is worked out as a share of the car’s taxes. Our service at both ends is explained on the customs clearance page.

Ports of arrival in Turkey

Turkey has a coastline on four seas, and the port where the car comes ashore is chosen from your address there, not from the vessel schedule alone. Mersin is the first major port a ship reaches after leaving the Suez Canal, which is why it has the shortest sailing and the most departures.

Port	Location	Method	Serves
Mersin	The southern coast on the Mediterranean	RoRo and containers	Adana, Antalya, Konya, Ankara and Gaziantep
Ambarli	West of Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara	Containers	Istanbul, Tekirdag and Edirne
Gemlik and Kocaeli	South and east of the Marmara	Containers	Bursa, Yalova and Sakarya
Izmir	The Aegean coast	Containers	Izmir, Manisa and Aydin

Our rule in choosing: we count sea and land together. A container to Ambarli costs more than Mersin and takes two or three days longer, but it spares an Istanbul car close to a thousand kilometres on a carrier. Port details are on the ports and gateways page.

Delivering cars in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and the other cities

We deliver cars from Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, in Bursa, Antalya and Trabzon, and in any other province you ask for. After clearance you either collect from the port and drive yourself, or the car is loaded onto a Turkish carrier to your address. Either way the key is handed over after inspection:

City	The car reaches it via	Worth knowing
Istanbul	Ambarli by container, or Mersin then about 940 km on a carrier	Say whether it is the European or the Asian side, as crossing between them takes time
Ankara	Mersin then about 490 km	A motorway through the Taurus Mountains, one day on the carrier
Izmir	The port of Izmir by container, or Mersin then about 900 km	A container to its own port suits it better than the long road
Bursa	Gemlik or Ambarli	Gemlik is a short distance from the city
Antalya	Mersin then about 480 km	A coastal road full of bends, for which we prefer the carrier
Trabzon	Mersin then about 900 km to the Black Sea	A destination for Gulf summer visitors, and we book its carrier before the vessel arrives
Adana, Gaziantep and Konya	Mersin directly	The closest to the port, and many collect from the yard themselves

If your trip falls a few days behind the vessel, we move the car from the port yard to a licensed yard outside it where customs allow that, on the terms given on the storage page. The destination page shipping to Turkey brings together what concerns the other provinces.

Shipping cars for companies, government bodies and embassies

Requests from organisations differ from individual ones on one basic point: a car registered in a company’s name does not get the individual’s period under temporary entry, and the rule in force gives it a shorter period with an authorisation for whoever drives it.

• Companies relocating their staff: we ship the cars of employees moving to a Turkish branch in 40ft containers, each car with a file in its owner’s name.
• Display and event cars: a car taking part in a show or a race enters under a temporary-admission procedure for events and leaves afterwards, and we arrange a private container or an aircraft for it.
• Government bodies: an official letter from the body naming the car, its destination and who receives it, with dates fixed in the contract.
• Embassies and consulates: diplomats’ cars follow a special channel through the foreign ministries of both countries, and we coordinate the shipping with the mission without touching the exemption papers.

Insuring the car during shipping

This trip involves two insurances, and neither replaces the other. The first is cargo insurance, which covers the car as carried goods from the Jeddah yard to the Mersin yard. The second is Turkish motor insurance, which covers it on the roads after handover. The shipping line’s liability for its cargo is limited and comes nowhere near the value of a modern car.

• What cargo insurance covers: damage and loss from an accident to the vessel, a fire or a fall during handling, as worded in the policy.
• What falls outside it: mechanical failure, anything left in the cabin, and the marks noted in the collection report.
• The value: the car’s market value is written in, and the premium and any compensation are worked out on it.
• Proof of damage: a note on the delivery report at the Turkish port before the car is moved, with photographs taken in the yard.

We advise cargo insurance for every car travelling by RoRo because it is exposed to handling, and we regard it as essential for luxury cars. The terms of cover are on the cargo insurance page.

Air freight for cars from Saudi Arabia to Turkey

An aircraft turns three weeks into less than one. It is an option for luxury and urgent cars whose deadline cannot bear the sea. Cars are flown from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and handed over in Istanbul.

Item	Air freight for the car
Loading airports	King Khalid in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz in Jeddah and King Fahd in Dammam
Arrival airport	Istanbul Airport
Loading	The car is strapped to a metal aircraft pallet and lifted into the hold of a wide-body freighter
Preparation	Fuel at its minimum and the battery secured, under the carrier’s instructions for vehicles
Time	About four hours of flying, and 3–6 days from collection to handover
Price	Set on request according to the car’s weight and dimensions

The conditions for entering Turkey do not change with the means of transport, so a car arriving by air is recorded against its owner’s passport at airport customs just as it is at the port. What goes by air other than vehicles is covered in the article air freight from Jeddah to Turkey and on the air freight page.

Is the car shipped overland to Turkey? And is it better to drive it?

We do not rely on a land route for moving cars to Turkey. The two countries share no border, and a carrier would have to cross Jordan and then Syria or Iraq under transit procedures that keep changing and with timings nobody can promise.

Anyone thinking of driving it themselves should reckon on more than three thousand kilometres between Riyadh and Istanbul, a visa and insurance for every country crossed, and wear on the tyres and engine before the holiday even starts. With shipping, the owner hands over the key in their own city, flies with the family in about four hours, and finds the car with its odometer just as they left it.

Steps for shipping your car from Saudi Arabia to Turkey

The request starts with a WhatsApp message and ends with a key in your hand at a Turkish port. The first three steps happen before you pay anything:

1. Tell us about yourself and the car: your nationality and Turkish residence permit if you have one, the car’s model, year and city, and the Turkish city you are heading for.
2. We check entry eligibility: we tell you whether the car can enter temporarily, how long it may stay, and whether you need the association’s carnet.
3. You receive the price: the sea freight, the inland haul and an estimate of the Turkish port charges, each item on its own.
4. You prepare the traffic department papers: an export certificate for a car that is not coming back, or a valid registration card and inspection for one that is.
5. We collect the car: a carrier to your address, and a photographed condition report that you sign with the driver.
6. Loading and sailing: the export declaration in Jeddah, then boarding the RoRo vessel or sealing the container, and you receive the bill of lading number.
7. You travel: you time your flight to the vessel’s arrival, and our agent meets you at the port.
8. Clearance and collection: recording the car against your passport, buying the Turkish insurance, then inspection and signature.

Tracking the car and customer service

The vessel drops out of sight for days, and the car’s owner wants news. We give you the bill of lading number and the vessel’s name, and with those you can see its position on ship-tracking websites whenever you like. From our side we send you five messages: when the car is collected, when it enters the port, when the vessel sails, when it passes through the Suez Canal, and when it berths in Turkey.

Each car has one coordinator who answers the phone and WhatsApp from 7 am to 11 pm and knows your file, so you do not explain your story afresh on every call. How follow-up works is on the shipment tracking page.

Bringing the car back from Turkey to Saudi Arabia

Most of the cars we ship to Turkey we also ship back, because temporary entry ends with an exit. The procedure is reversed: you hand the car to our agent in Mersin or Istanbul, its departure is stamped by Turkish customs, and the record against your passport is lifted. Without that stamp the record stands even if the car is in Jeddah.

In Jeddah, a car whose plates were never surrendered returns to its owner with no import duty, once the chassis number has been matched to the registration card. One that was exported for good is treated as an imported car: the rule in force is that a passenger car must be no more than five years old, with customs duty, VAT and a conformity certificate. We confirm the conditions in force before you book the return. The general rules are in the article car shipping from Saudi Arabia.

Tips before shipping your car to Turkey

This is the gist of what we tell every customer on this line in the first call, and most of it concerns timing, not the car:

• Count your days in Turkey over the past twelve months before anything else. If they exceed 180, tell us, because the entry condition may not apply.
• Book your ticket after the vessel’s date is confirmed, not before. A vessel running a few days late is to be expected, and a flexible ticket is cheaper than port storage.
• Register the car in the name of the person who will actually travel. A car in the father’s name with the son travelling needs a notarised power of attorney translated into Turkish.
• Renew the registration card and the periodic inspection if they are due to expire while you are in Turkey, as customs there look at the validity of the registration.
• Buy the electronic toll sticker for motorways and bridges at a Turkish post office before your first motorway, as unpaid tolls are claimed from a foreign car when it leaves.

Common mistakes when shipping cars to Turkey

We have seen these mistakes repeated, and most come to light in Mersin, where putting them right costs the most:

• Shipping with the aim of selling: the car arrives and then turns out to be unsellable and unregistrable, so it goes back at its owner’s expense.
• Surrendering the plates of a car that will return: the owner loses its Saudi registration, and its return becomes an import with all its conditions.
• Sending the car in a name other than the traveller’s: customs record it against the owner’s passport, not that of whoever turns up.
• Flying out with the car still on record: anyone who leaves Turkey without lodging it with customs or getting permission is fined at the airport.
• Forgetting the exit date: overstaying by weeks costs a fine, and by months a share of the car’s taxes.
• Lending the car to a relative living in Turkey: a plain breach of the temporary-entry conditions.
• Comparing two quotes with different scopes: a figure that ends at the Mersin quay cannot be set against one that includes clearance and delivery to Ankara.

How do you choose a car shipping company to Turkey?

A carrier that knows this line asks about your passport before your car. These are signs that set it apart from the rest:

Sign	What you hear from a serious carrier	What should worry you
Entry conditions	Asks about your residence and your days in Turkey	Says every car gets in
Scope of the price	Writes down where it ends: the quay or the front door	One figure with no items
Arrival agent	Names the broker in Mersin or Istanbul	Leaves clearance to you after shipping
The report	Photographs, a signed report and a copy for you	A verbal handover
Legal standing	A commercial registration and an establishment with an address	A phone number only

Why Home Safe for shipping your car to Turkey?

Because our work starts before the port and ends after it. We verify entry eligibility before you pay, move the car from your city, and hand it to you in Turkey through an agent who knows the customs of Mersin and Istanbul.

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

Related articles and pages

• Car shipping company from Jeddah to Turkey
• Shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
• Car shipping from Saudi Arabia
• Car shipping company from Riyadh
• Car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to the UK
• Car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Spain

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Frequently asked questions about car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Turkey

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

With us, the sea freight from Jeddah port to Mersin starts from SAR 2,800 for a saloon on a RoRo vessel, and from SAR 4,600 if the car travels alone in a 20ft container. For a four-wheel drive, a 40ft container for two cars, the haul from your city to the port and air freight, the price is set on request.

How many days does it take to ship a car from Saudi Arabia to Turkey?

The vessel covers the stretch between Jeddah and Mersin in 7 to 12 days. With collection, the wait for the sailing date and unloading, the total comes to 15 to 25 days for a car collected in Jeddah or Makkah, and one to three days more for Riyadh, Dammam, Tabuk and Abha because of the road to the port. Air freight to Istanbul takes 3 to 6 days.

Does Turkey allow a car on Saudi plates to enter?

Yes, as a temporary entry rather than an import. The rule in force is that the owner lives outside Turkey, has spent at least 185 days outside it in the year before the day of entry, and has the car registered in their own name. The car keeps its Saudi plates, no import duty is paid on it, and it leaves before its period runs out.

How long can a Saudi car stay in Turkey?

The period follows the owner’s status. For a Saudi visitor without a Turkish residence permit the car stays as long as the visitor is allowed to, that is 90 days in every 180. For a Turkish national living in the Kingdom, and for someone who holds a Turkish residence permit yet lives abroad, the total reaches 730 days. Anyone who works or studies in Turkey brings the car in on the carnet of the Touring and Automobile Association of Turkey for one or two years, within the limits of their permit.

Can I sell my car or register it on Turkish plates?

A car that entered temporarily cannot be sold or rented out, and a person living in Turkey may not drive it. Permanent import of a used car, for its part, depends on a special permit that is refused in most cases, and its taxes, made up of customs duty, special consumption tax and VAT, can reach the value of the car or go beyond it.

Which suits my car better: RoRo or a container?

RoRo is for a car that runs under its own power and has a mid-range value, as it costs the least and involves the simplest procedure. A container is for a luxury or classic car, for a car whose engine does not turn, and for anyone shipping two cars together or a car along with their household furniture.

Which documents are needed to ship a car to Turkey?

The valid registration card in the shipper’s name, the passport, the Saudi ID or residence permit, the driving licence, and an export certificate from the traffic department if the car is not coming back. For Turkey: the consignee’s details as in their passport, their Turkish residence permit if they have one, and motor insurance valid inside Turkey. A financed car needs a no-objection letter from the finance provider.

Do I need an export certificate from the traffic department to ship my car to Turkey?

If the car is leaving the Kingdom for good, yes: it is struck off the register, its plates are handed in and an export certificate is issued for it. If it is coming back with you after a holiday or a course of study, it is not struck off; it leaves the port on its plates and valid registration card, and its temporary exit is recorded in the customs declaration.

Do you ship cars from Riyadh, Dammam and the other cities?

Yes. We send a car carrier to your address in Riyadh, Qassim, Dammam, Tabuk or Abha, and the car is loaded onto it rather than driven to Jeddah. The road to the port adds one to three days depending on the city, and its charge is a separate item set on request.

Which Turkish ports and cities does the car reach?

RoRo vessels mostly berth at Mersin, while containers reach Mersin, Ambarli in Istanbul or Izmir. From the port we deliver in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Antalya and Trabzon, along with Adana, Gaziantep and Konya.

Do I have to be there when the car arrives at the Turkish port?

In most cases, yes. Turkish customs record the car against its owner’s passport and in their electronic system, so the owner is asked to attend with the original passport, or an agent with a notarised and translated power of attorney where customs accept one. So time your trip to the vessel’s arrival, to keep storage charges off the car.

Can I put my belongings inside the car?

No. RoRo lines require an empty cabin and boot, and nothing stays in the car except the spare wheel and its tools. Suitcases and cartons go as a separate shipment, or are arranged beside the car inside the container with a detailed packing list.

Can a car be flown from Saudi Arabia to Turkey?

It can, from the airports of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to Istanbul Airport. The car is strapped to a metal pallet and lifted into the hold of a freighter aircraft, arriving within 3 to 6 days of collection. This route is for luxury and urgent cars, and its price is set on request according to the car’s weight and dimensions.

Do you ship a car that does not run, or a motorcycle?

A car whose engine does not turn is not accepted on RoRo, so it is shipped in a container after being winched into it. A motorcycle is fixed to a wooden base inside a crate or a shared container. Its price is set on request.

How do I bring my car back from Turkey to Saudi Arabia?

By the same route in reverse. The car is handed to our agent in Mersin or Istanbul and its departure is stamped by Turkish customs so that the record against your passport is lifted, then it sails to Jeddah. A car whose plates were never surrendered returns to its register with no import duty. One that was exported for good is treated as an imported car under the Kingdom’s rules on age and conformity.