Car Shipping Company from the UAE to Spain 0552803439 | RoRo & Containers from Jebel Ali to Barcelona & Valencia, Air Freight

If you are looking for a car shipping company from the UAE to Spain, Home Safe arranges the whole journey: from the parking space at your home in Dubai or Abu Dhabi to the door of your home in Madrid, Barcelona or Marbella. The car sails from Jebel Ali Port or Khalifa Port on a RoRo vessel or inside a container and arrives in 35 to 50 days door to door, while an urgent car flies in 4 to 7 days. A saloon by sea as far as the Spanish port starts from SAR 5,820, about AED 5,700, and the other prices are set on request. To book: 0552803439.

In this guide44ShowHide

1. Who ships a car from the UAE to Spain?
2. How does Home Safe work on the UAE route as a Saudi establishment?
3. Will your UAE car enter Spain free of charges?
4. Shipping cars by sea from Jebel Ali and Khalifa ports in the UAE to Barcelona and Valencia
5. Choosing the route and fixing the timing: Barcelona or Valencia?
6. Price of shipping a car from the UAE to Spain
7. Collecting cars from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates
8. RoRo or container: how does your car sail?
9. Shipping classic cars and motorcycles from the UAE to Spain inside a container
10. Sports and luxury cars, and shipping more than one car in a single voyage
11. Wrapping and securing according to the type of car and its mechanical condition
12. Preparing the car before the recovery truck arrives
13. Tourism certificate or export certificate: the exit papers from the UAE
14. Documents for shipping the car, and what is not loaded with it
15. Customs clearance in Spain: duties, taxes and transfer-of-residence relief
16. Approval and registration of a Gulf-specification car after arrival
17. Comprehensive insurance on the car and tracking until delivery
18. Delivering cars from the UAE in Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella
19. Sea emits less than air, and is there a land route?
20. Air freight for cars from the UAE to Spain
21. Steps for shipping your car from the UAE to Spain
22. Shipping cars from Spain to the UAE
23. Home Safe’s advice before shipping your car to Spain
24. How do you choose a car shipping company from the UAE to Spain?
25. Common mistakes when shipping cars from the UAE to Spain
26. Why Home Safe for shipping your car from the UAE to Spain?
27. Related articles and pages
28. Tags
29. Frequently asked questions about shipping cars from the UAE to Spain
30. What marks out a car shipping company from the UAE to Spain you can rely on?
31. How much does it cost to ship a car from Dubai to Spain?
32. How many days does a car need from Jebel Ali to Barcelona or Valencia?
33. What is the best way to ship a large car from the UAE to Spain?
34. Do I pay customs if my car spends the summer in Marbella and then comes back?
35. Which paper do I obtain in the UAE: a tourism certificate or an export certificate?
36. My car is financed by a UAE bank. Can it be shipped?
37. How is a classic car shipped from the UAE to Spain?
38. And how does a motorcycle travel?
39. Can a Gulf-specification car be registered in Spain?
40. What is the difference between sea and air freight on this route?
41. How much does insurance on the car cost during shipping?
42. How do I follow my car while it is at sea?
43. Do you bring the car back from Spain to the UAE after the holiday?
44. What is the best time to ship to keep the cost down?

Sea route: your front door in Dubai or Abu Dhabi → Jebel Ali or Khalifa → Hormuz, then the Arabian Sea → Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea → the Suez Canal → Barcelona or Valencia → your Spanish city · Time: 35–50 days by sea and 4–7 days by air.

Who ships a car from the UAE to Spain?

The UAE–Spain route carries two kinds of car that have nothing in common. The first are cars that go in order to come back: Emirati and Gulf families who spend the summer on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain and want their own car there. The second are cars that go in order to stay: Spanish and European residents who have finished working in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and European buyers of classic cars kept in a dry climate. Alongside them are the companies, government bodies and embassies moving their official vehicles. Each group has its method and its paper:

Owner	What they usually send	The method we suggest	Status of the car in Spain
A family holidaying in Marbella or Malaga	A family 4×4 or a luxury car	A container to Valencia, or air if time is short	Temporary admission on UAE plates
A European resident going home	The daily car, sometimes with the household goods	RoRo, or a 40ft container for the car and belongings	Transfer-of-residence relief if its conditions are met
An enthusiast or buyer of a classic car	An old car or a motorcycle	A private container	Import, possibly treated as a collector’s item
A company or showroom	Several cars in one shipment	Containers under one booking, or RoRo	Commercial import with its charges
An embassy or government body	Official cars	A sealed private container	According to the body’s letters and privilege

How does Home Safe work on the UAE route as a Saudi establishment?

Clarity first: Home Safe is an establishment registered in the Kingdom and based in Jeddah, with no office or warehouse in the UAE or in Spain. The car is collected by an Emirati shipping agent we work with, who takes it into the port and files its customs declaration. A Spanish customs broker receives it in Barcelona or Valencia. What lies between the two is our work: we choose the method and the port, book the vessel, check the papers before their fees are paid, and remain the party you ask and hold to account. The service covers:

• Inspection before shipping: a written report on the car’s condition and photographs from every side at your front door.
• Transport to the port: a recovery truck from your address to the loading yard, so the car is not driven on the road.
• Exit papers: a check of the tourism or export certificate, and filing of the UAE customs declaration.
• Clearance in Spain: the temporary admission or import declaration, or the relief application, filed by the broker in your name.
• Delivery: a transporter from the port to your address, then inspection and handover of the key.

This article is about vehicles only. Anyone shipping furniture or parcels to Spain should read the article on international shipping to Spain, and the vehicle service from the Gulf states in general is on the car shipping from the Gulf page.

Will your UAE car enter Spain free of charges?

The answer follows how long the car stays, not what kind it is. Spain sets no maximum age for an imported car, so no model is refused for being old. It does, however, distinguish sharply between three cases, and the difference between them can reach a third of the car’s price. That is why we ask about your plan before we ask about the model.

Case	Plates	What is paid at the port	Approval and registration
A visitor returning with the car within six months	UAE plates as they are	Nothing, under the rules in force	Not required
Someone moving residence with a car owned for six months	Export plates, then Spanish	Relieved, subject to conditions	Required before plates
A buyer, seller or trader	Export plates, then Spanish	Customs duty and value added tax	Required, along with registration tax

The first case is the commonest among our customers from the UAE. A shipped car is not driven across the border by its owner, so a temporary admission declaration is filed for it at the port customs office, which may ask for a guarantee or proof of its departure date. We clarify that with the broker in Barcelona or Valencia while the car is still in the UAE. Anyone who will tour beyond Spain with it should see the carnet page.

Shipping cars by sea from Jebel Ali and Khalifa ports in the UAE to Barcelona and Valencia

The UAE has two sea gateways for cars. Jebel Ali in Dubai has the container terminals and a quay for roll-on roll-off vessels, and most bookings leave from it. Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi has a car terminal of about 300,000 square metres, run in partnership with the operator of the car terminal at the Port of Barcelona itself, so we book from it for cars from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain whenever its schedule suits. On the Spanish side there are two ports: Barcelona, one of the largest in the Mediterranean for vehicle handling, and Valencia, the nearest port to Madrid.

Stage	What happens	Approximate time
Collection from your home in the UAE	Inspection, condition report and loading on a recovery truck	1 day
Tourism or export certificate and customs declaration	The licensing authority’s procedure, then port customs	2–5 days
Port yard and waiting for the vessel	Handover to the RoRo quay, or lashing in the container and sealing it	2–5 days
Sailing to Barcelona or Valencia	Direct on some schedules, with a change of vessel at a hub port on others	About 23–32 days
Release at the Spanish port	Matching of the chassis number and filing of the declaration	3–6 days
Transport to the address	Car transporter, then inspection and handover	1–3 days

Matching the car on arrival is two steps, not one. Customs matches the chassis number stamped on the car against the number written on the bill of lading and the UAE certificate. Then we match its condition against the loading report and photographs before you sign. The times above are estimates: if the lines divert their vessels round the Cape of Good Hope, the sailing grows by about two weeks, and we tell you the actual routing on the day of booking. The gateways we work through are on the ports and gateways page.

Choosing the route and fixing the timing: Barcelona or Valencia?

We do not pick the port out of habit, or by the nearest sailing alone. We set three numbers side by side: the sailing date, the days at sea and the length of the road leg after the port. Then we choose the shortest and cheapest total as far as your address, and write you a schedule giving the port cut-off, the sailing date and the week of delivery.

Method and port	Door to door	For those living in
Container to Valencia	35–45 days	Madrid, Valencia, Alicante and Andalusia
Container to Barcelona	35–46 days	Catalonia, Zaragoza and the north
RoRo to Barcelona or Valencia	38–50 days	Those in no hurry who want the lowest fare
Air freight to Madrid or Barcelona	4–7 days	The owner of a luxury car or a fixed date

What lengthens the time?

• Unpaid Salik tolls or parking charges that surface on the day the certificate is requested, so the booked vessel is missed.
• The month of August, when offices and brokers in Spain work at half pace.
• A car that arrives before its owner’s papers and waits in the port yard on a daily storage charge.

Times for our other routes are on the transit times page.

Price of shipping a car from the UAE to Spain

We write the price in Saudi riyals because that is our establishment’s currency, and put its dirham equivalent beside it. The figure given here covers collection from the main cities of the UAE and sea freight as far as the Spanish port. It does not cover Spain’s duties and taxes, or the transporter from the port to your city, as those two are worked out from the car’s status and its address.

Vehicle or service	Price	Note
Saloon or hatchback by sea	Starts from SAR 5,820, about AED 5,700	As far as Barcelona or Valencia
4×4 or pickup	Set on request	By the actual length and height
Private 20ft container for one car	Set on request	By the shipping line and the week of sailing
Two cars in a 40ft container	Set on request	The fare is split between the owners
Motorcycle inside a container	Set on request	Alone or with a car
Transporter from the port to the Spanish city	Set on request	By the distance and the type of transporter
Air freight for the car	Set on request	By weight, dimensions and fuel type

Prices quoted in the market: what is published in the UAE market for shipping a car by sea to Spain starts from AED 6,200 to 7,300 without duties and taxes, and in other listings runs between AED 10,000 and 15,000. Higher figures that include wrapping and basic clearance also circulate: AED 8,500 to 12,500 for a small car, 11,000 to 15,000 for a mid-size 4×4 and 14,000 to 18,000 for a large or luxury car. For the opposite direction, from Spanish ports to the UAE, USD 1,875 to 3,590 is published for the sea freight. So ask whoever gives you a figure: where does it end, and what is in it?

Factor	Its effect on the price
Size of the vehicle	RoRo is charged by space, and a tall car may need a higher container
Shipping method	RoRo is lowest, then half a container, then a private container, with air several times more
Emirate of collection	Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah are further from the port than Dubai and Abu Dhabi
The Spanish city	Marbella is more than 600 km from Valencia, and Madrid about 360 km
Season	Before and after the summer are two peaks in which vessel fares rise

How do you cut the cost?

• Send the car by sea ten weeks before you travel, rather than waiting until only air is left.
• Share a 40ft container with a relative or friend heading for the same coast.
• Collect the car from the port yard if you live in Barcelona or Valencia, and save the transporter fare.

What goes into the pricing is explained on the pricing factors page.

Collecting cars from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates

The agent rings you a day before the appointment, and the driver arrives with a low-angle recovery truck. The emirate furthest from Jebel Ali is no more than two hours away by road, so collection from anywhere in the country is done in a day. The difference between one emirate and another lies in the licensing authority that issues the certificate, not in the truck.

Emirate	Areas we collect from	Usual port of exit
Dubai	Business Bay, Emirates Hills, Arabian Ranches, Nad Al Sheba, Al Quoz, Al Warqa	Jebel Ali
Abu Dhabi	Al Khalidiyah, Al Bateen, Yas Island, Al Raha Beach, Mohamed Bin Zayed City	Khalifa, or Jebel Ali depending on the vessel
Al Ain	Al Towayya, Al Mutaredh, Al Khabisi, Falaj Hazza	Khalifa or Jebel Ali
Sharjah and Ajman	Al Rahmaniya, Al Qarain, Al Tala’a, Al Nuaimiya, Al Hamidiya	Jebel Ali
Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain	Al Dhait, Khuzam, Julphar, Al Salama	Jebel Ali
Fujairah and the east coast	Fujairah city, Mirbah, Khor Fakkan, Dibba	Jebel Ali, after a mountain road

RoRo or container: how does your car sail?

On a roll-on roll-off vessel a port worker drives the car up a ramp to an inner deck and lashes it to the floor among rows of cars. It travels uncovered, with no wrapping, because it is driven on and off and because its chassis number is checked. In a container the car enters the box once, at the agent’s yard, and is locked in under a numbered seal that is opened in front of Spanish customs.

Criterion	RoRo	Private container	Half of a 40ft container
Who touches the car	Drivers at both ports	The loading team only	The loading team only
A non-running car	Refused	Accepted and winched in	Accepted if it goes in first
Belongings beside it	Not allowed	Allowed with a declared list	Within limits, with a list per owner
Fare	Lowest	Highest by sea	In between
Suits	A modern everyday car	A classic, a luxury car or a motorcycle	Two families bound for one city

Each method is detailed on the RoRo car shipping and container car shipping pages.

Shipping classic cars and motorcycles from the UAE to Spain inside a container

A classic car from the UAE is sought after in Europe for a simple reason: a dry climate has kept its body free of rust. That value is what we guard on the way. A car like this does not board a RoRo vessel: its brakes are old, it may not start on the day required, and its paint does not tolerate strangers’ hands. We book it a private container, which it enters over long ramps or on an electric winch, and it stays there alone as far as Spain. A motorcycle takes a container too, alone or in front of its owner’s car.

Vehicle	How it is protected	How it is secured	What we prepare before closing
Classic car	A breathable fabric cover and moisture-absorbing bags	Fabric straps on all four wheels, and wooden chocks in front of and behind the tyres	A tray under the engine, the battery disconnected and a full video
Motorcycle	Padded blankets around the tank, the lamps and the sides	A chock gripping the front wheel, and straps from the frame to the container floor	Fuel nearly drained, battery disconnected and mirrors folded
A car that does not run	As for others, according to its value	Winched in, then lashed by all four wheels	A written note to the broker to arrange unloading

Lashing by the wheels rather than the body is a rule with us: the car’s springs stay free to absorb the ship’s movement, and no metal is pulled against metal. There is a customs point that matters to the buyer: the practice in the European Union is that a car more than thirty years old, kept in its original state and of a model no longer in production, may be classed as a collector’s item, in which case the customs duty falls away and a reduced rate of value added tax is charged on it. The classification is customs’ decision, not ours, so we put the file to the broker before shipping. A motorcycle’s duty, under the rules in force, is lower than a car’s.

Sports and luxury cars, and shipping more than one car in a single voyage

A low sports car’s first problem is its approach angle, and a luxury car’s is its value. Both are shipped in a container or by air, and loaded over long ramps that keep the slope gentle, with the engine off as far as possible. The exposed parts, such as the front bumper, the sills and the mirrors, are covered with protective foam before any strap is tightened.

Anyone sending more than one car, whether a family or a showroom, finds in a 40ft container a way of sharing the fare:

• Capacity: two mid-size cars one behind the other, and three small ones if one is raised on an inclined rack in a high-cube container.
• Separation: a timber barrier and a safety gap between each pair of cars, with separate lashing for each one.
• Paperwork: one bill of lading for the container, and a customs file and insurance for each car under its chassis number.
• Delivery: the container is unloaded at the port, then each car goes to its city on its own appointment.

Container lengths and what they hold are on the container sizes page, and vehicles too big for a container are on the heavy equipment shipping page.

Wrapping and securing according to the type of car and its mechanical condition

Not every car is wrapped, and not every wrapping helps. A RoRo car is not covered at all, because it is driven. A container car is protected as far as it needs: a full cover on an everyday car inside a closed box can trap more moisture than it is worth. We decide after the inspection and write what we will do in the condition report.

Type of car or its condition	Protection	Securing
Saloon and hatchback	Guards for the mirrors and door edges	Wheel straps and chocks
4×4 and pickup	Roof rack and aerial removed, mirrors folded	Wider straps, and chains for the heaviest
Low sports car	Foam on the bumper and sills	Nets that surround the tyre without touching the rim
Electric or hybrid	Battery charge level as the shipping line requires	As for an ordinary car, with transport mode where fitted
Car with air suspension	Set to the right ride height before it is switched off	Extra chocks in case the suspension settles

After lashing, the car is rocked by hand from each corner to make sure it does not move, then the interior is photographed and the seal fitted. Our methods are detailed on the packing and lashing page.

Preparing the car before the recovery truck arrives

What you do at home before collection decides how many questions customs will put to you later. The car will be opened at a European port that looks closely at clinging soil, food and undeclared belongings.

• Wash it thoroughly, including the underbody and wheel arches, as clinging sand holds up the inspection.
• Bring the fuel down to a quarter of a tank or less.
• Empty the cabin and the boot, and remove the Salik tag and any private tracking device.
• Photograph the car in daylight, with a shot of the odometer and close-ups of any old scratch.
• Hand over one key, with the locking wheel nut key if there is one, and keep the spare with you.

The rest of the guidance is in the car shipping guide.

Tourism certificate or export certificate: the exit papers from the UAE

Vehicle licensing in the UAE is a matter for each emirate: the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai, and the local licensing authority in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other emirates. A car leaves on one of two papers: the tourism certificate for one that returns, and the export certificate for one that does not. The table sets out the practice in force, and we confirm what applies in your emirate before shipping, as the online services are updated.

Item	Tourism certificate	Export certificate
Purpose	Temporary travel, then return	Final removal from the register
Plates and registration	Both stay, and the registration must remain valid	Plates are handed in and export plates issued
Period	Six months, as practised in Dubai	None, as the file is closed
Fines and charges	Settled before applying	Settled before applying
A financed car	No-objection certificate from the bank	Full release of the mortgage
Insurance	A policy covering Spain, bought for the trip	Short-term export insurance requested with the certificate

The tourism period in the UAE and the temporary admission period in Spain are roughly equal, so count both from the day the car leaves, not from the day you travel. After the certificate, the agent files the customs declaration at the port or airport and the car is stamped out.

Documents for shipping the car, and what is not loaded with it

We gather the file as images on WhatsApp first, and read it before anything is booked. Anything in Arabic alone has a translation attached, because its last reader is an officer at Barcelona or Valencia customs. The originals travel with you, not in the car’s glovebox.

Document	Source	Required at
Vehicle registration card	The emirate’s licensing authority	Booking and customs in both countries
Tourism or export certificate	The emirate’s licensing authority	Port of exit, then Spanish customs
Emirates ID and passport	The owner	Every stage
Purchase invoice or valuation	The showroom or a valuer	Calculating the charges and the insured sum
Bank letter	The finance provider	The UAE certificate
Bill of lading or air waybill	The shipping line or the air carrier	Collecting the car in Spain
Foreigner’s identification number and municipal registration certificate	The person moving residence	The relief application and registration

And these are taken out of the car or dealt with before loading:

Case	Action
Belongings in a RoRo car	All removed, or the car is moved to a container
Meat, dairy and home-made food	Not allowed in belongings entering the European Union
Weapons, ammunition and fireworks	Not loaded with the car
Radar detector or jammer	Removed, as it is banned on Spanish roads
Oil or fuel leak	Repaired before collection

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

Customs clearance in Spain: duties, taxes and transfer-of-residence relief

Three amounts are worked out on a car that stays in Spain: the European Union’s customs duty and value added tax at the port, then Spain’s registration tax before plates. The base for the first two is the car’s price plus the freight and insurance. The broker files the declaration electronically before the vessel arrives whenever the file is complete, so the car is released within days.

Item	In force	Base
Customs duty on a passenger car	10%	Value with freight and insurance
Value added tax	21%	Value and duty together
Registration tax up to 120 g/km of carbon dioxide	Exempt	The car’s value in the official tables
Registration tax for the middle bands	4.75%, then 9.75%	The car’s value in the official tables
Registration tax from 200 g/km upwards	14.75%	The car’s value in the official tables

A worked example: a car worth SAR 100,000 with freight of SAR 5,820. The base is SAR 105,820, so the customs duty is SAR 10,582. Value added tax on the total comes to SAR 24,444. What is paid at the port is therefore SAR 35,026, before registration tax and the cost of approval are counted.

Anyone moving their residence to Spain is relieved of all that if four conditions are met; these are the rules in force, and we check which apply to your case:

• They have lived outside the European Union for at least twelve continuous months, proved by the UAE residence and a consular certificate.
• The car has been registered in their name and in use for six months or more before the move.
• The car arrives within twelve months of the start of their residence in Spain.
• It is not sold, hired out or lent for a year after it enters.

The release service is explained on the customs clearance page.

Approval and registration of a Gulf-specification car after arrival

Cars for the UAE market are built to Gulf specifications: stronger air conditioning and a larger radiator, but without the European certificate of conformity that the Spanish traffic authority asks for. Anyone wanting Spanish plates follows a path of four stops, taking from a few weeks to three months:

• Individual approval: an approved laboratory examines the car and issues its technical card.
• Modifications: the recurring ones are the headlight beam pattern, a rear fog lamp, removal of the front glass tinting and a document proving the engine’s emissions.
• Import inspection: a technical inspection at an approved station, booked before the vessel arrives where possible.
• Registration: the traffic authority, once the taxes are paid or the relief is established, then the annual municipal tax.

A visiting car on its UAE plates needs none of this, and insurance valid for Spain is enough for it.

Comprehensive insurance on the car and tracking until delivery

Your UAE policy stops at the edge of its geographical cover, and the shipping line’s liability for damage is a limited sum that does not equal the price of some cars’ tyres. What actually covers the car’s value is transit insurance, and we write it from the door in the UAE to the door in Spain.

• Risks covered: road and sea transport accidents, fire, theft, loading and unloading damage, and storm damage.
• Extension: temporary storage before the vessel and after arrival, and minor scratches, are two items added on request.
• Premium: the figure quoted is between 1% and 3% of the insured value, and we write the rate in the quotation.
• Claim: a note on the delivery report before signing, with the photographs, after which we take on the claim file.

As for tracking, it is not an app we lay claim to. It is the container or bill of lading number that you open on the shipping line’s website from your phone, WhatsApp messages from us at every stage, and a same-day notice if the arrival date changes. Types of cover are on the cargo insurance page, and how to follow a shipment is on the tracking page.

Delivering cars from the UAE in Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella

Three cities and three routes. Barcelona has the port, so its cars go from the quay to the house the same day. Madrid is in the middle of the country with no sea, and the nearest quay to it is Valencia. Marbella is in the far south, a long way from both ports, so we work out its route with care. We move the car on an enclosed or open transporter according to its value, to the house, the hotel or the company’s premises.

City	Best port	Approximate road leg	Note
Madrid	Valencia	About 360 km	Its centre is a low-emission zone, so an allowed drop-off point is agreed
Barcelona	Barcelona	Within the city	A foreign car is registered in advance to enter the emission zone
Marbella and Puerto Banus	Valencia, or a southern port if it has a sailing	More than 600 km from Valencia	An enclosed single-car transporter arrives in two days
Valencia	Valencia	Within the city	Collection from the port yard is possible
Seville	Valencia	About 650 km	The transporter cannot enter the old quarter, so a nearby spot is fixed
Malaga	Valencia, or Malaga’s container port if there is a sailing	About 620 km from Valencia	Grouped with the Marbella cars on one transporter
Zaragoza	Barcelona or Valencia	About 300 km from either	Delivery to individuals and companies by appointment

The key is handed over after the inspection, not before it. Walk round the car with the driver, compare what you see with the loading photographs, start the engine and read the odometer. Anything you find is written on the delivery note, and then you sign. With the key you receive a copy of the customs declaration, so keep it in the car for as long as it is on UAE plates. The service to the address is on the door to door page.

Sea emits less than air, and is there a land route?

Anyone concerned about the shipment’s effect on the environment need only know that a ship burns far less fuel per car than an aircraft. So the sea is both the lowest-emission option and the cheapest, and we do not sell it as a “green plan” for an extra charge. What we do on our side is practical: we fill the shared container so that it does not sail half empty, and use straps and chocks that are recovered instead of materials thrown away after one voyage.

As for land, we do not offer it from the UAE to Spain. The route crosses Saudi Arabia, then Jordan or Iraq, then Turkey and the whole of Europe, and no regular car transporters run on it. The methods are compared on the shipping methods comparison page.

Air freight for cars from the UAE to Spain

The UAE has three large cargo airports: Dubai International, Al Maktoum in the south of Dubai and Zayed International in Abu Dhabi. Regular flights run from them to Madrid and Barcelona, some of them pure freighters. The car is handed over in the cargo area, where it is weighed, measured and strapped by its tyres to a metal pallet, then loaded on a freighter or in the hold of a wide-body passenger aircraft if its height allows. After release at the Spanish airport it is moved on an enclosed transporter to your address in Madrid, Barcelona or elsewhere. The total is 4 to 7 days.

• For whom: a luxury car or supercar, a show or race car with a date that cannot slip, and anyone who decided to travel two weeks ahead.
• Classification: aviation treats every vehicle with fuel and a battery as dangerous goods, so a declaration signed by a specialist is drawn up for it.
• Conditions: fuel at no more than a quarter of a tank under the rules in force, no leaks, and for electric cars restrictions set by the carrier.
• Price: quoted per car on request; the airline bills the greater of real and volumetric weight, so expect a multiple of what the sea leg costs.

The car does not leave your home before its place is confirmed on a specific flight. Air freight for goods other than cars is on the air freight page.

Steps for shipping your car from the UAE to Spain

Eight steps from the first message to the key, and at each one we write to you what is done and what remains:

1. You send to 0552803439 the car’s model and model year and a picture of its registration card, your emirate, your Spanish city and how long the car will stay there.
2. We establish its status: visiting, moving or imported, and suggest RoRo, a container or air.
3. You receive the quotation with its items, its duration and the chosen port, along with an estimate of what is paid in Spain, if anything.
4. You settle the fines and obtain the bank’s paper, and the tourism or export certificate is issued.
5. The agent collects the car from your home and signs its condition report with you.
6. It is lashed and its container sealed, or it is handed to the RoRo quay, and its UAE declaration is filed.
7. Once the vessel has left, the tracking number and a copy of the bill of lading reach you, and the broker in Barcelona or Valencia gets it released on arrival.
8. The transporter reaches your address, and you inspect the car, sign and take the key.

Shipping cars from Spain to the UAE

We serve the opposite direction by the same two methods. A summer car going home is loaded at Valencia or Barcelona for Jebel Ali, its temporary declaration is closed when it leaves the Union, and it returns to its UAE file on the return-from-tourism certificate with no charges. A car bought in Spain enters as an import: the rules in force are customs duty of 5% on the value with freight and insurance, value added tax of 5%, and left-hand drive. It is reported that Dubai and Abu Dhabi do not register a used car more than ten years from its manufacture, with an exception for classics. We confirm what applies before you pay for the car. The destination page is shipping to the UAE.

Home Safe’s advice before shipping your car to Spain

We give this advice in the first call, and following it costs nothing:

• Check the validity of the registration: if it expires while you are in Spain, renew it before travelling, as the tourism certificate is tied to it.
• Do not put your car in the hands of a relative who lives in Europe, even for a short errand, as that forfeits the temporary admission.
• Ask for two prices, to the port and to the door, so that you can compare us with others on the same basis.
• Buy Spanish road insurance before the day of delivery, as the car comes off the transporter and passes into your charge.
• Keep digital copies of every paper, as the broker sometimes asks for them outside your working hours.

For storage before the vessel or after arrival, see the storage page.

How do you choose a car shipping company from the UAE to Spain?

Promises of speed and safety are written in every advertisement. What reveals a company is what it asks you, and what it writes to you before you pay. These are signs by which we suggest you measure us and others:

Sign	What it shows
It asks how long the car will stay before quoting a price	It knows the difference between temporary admission and import
It chooses Barcelona or Valencia according to your city	It costs the whole route, not the sea fare alone
It says who acts for it in the UAE and in Spain	It does not claim branches that do not exist
It writes where the price ends and what it leaves out	No surprises at the port
It gives you a condition report and photographs before loading	It accepts being held to account for what it received

Common mistakes when shipping cars from the UAE to Spain

Seven mistakes we see every season, most of them made before the car moves:

• Applying for an export certificate for a holiday car, then importing it afresh on its return.
• Booking three weeks before travel on a sea voyage that needs six or seven.
• Landing the car at Barcelona when the house is in Marbella, so it covers a thousand kilometres on the transporter.
• Putting suitcases in a car booked on RoRo.
• Leaving the car in Spain after the six months have run out, in the hope that nobody notices.
• Shipping an eight-cylinder car for registration without costing the top emissions band.
• Accepting a RoRo price for a classic because it is the cheapest.

Why Home Safe for shipping your car from the UAE to Spain?

We do not promise a round-the-clock service or a fleet of our own in Dubai. We promise what we write down: who collects, which vessel, which port, how many days and how many riyals. And we answer our phone from seven in the morning until eleven at night.

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

Related articles and pages

• Car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Spain
• Car shipping company from the UAE to France
• Car shipping company from the UAE to Switzerland
• Car shipping company from the UAE to the UK
• Car shipping company from Kuwait to Spain
• Car shipping service

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Frequently asked questions about shipping cars from the UAE to Spain

What marks out a car shipping company from the UAE to Spain you can rely on?

It settles three things with you before quoting a figure: whether the car comes back after the summer or stays, whether it lands at Barcelona or Valencia, and who clears it there. Home Safe is a registered Saudi establishment that carries out UAE shipments through Emirati agents for collection and clearance and through a broker at the Spanish port, with its own team following the file on 0552803439.

How much does it cost to ship a car from Dubai to Spain?

A saloon or hatchback by sea as far as the Spanish port starts from SAR 5,820, about AED 5,700. A 4×4, a private container, a motorcycle, transport inside Spain and air freight are priced on request once the size and the city are known. Spanish duties and taxes are outside that figure.

How many days does a car need from Jebel Ali to Barcelona or Valencia?

The sailing alone is about 23 to 32 days, depending on the line and on whether the container changes vessel on the way. Add the days for collection and paperwork in the UAE and then release and delivery in Spain, and the door-to-door time becomes 35 to 50 days. Air takes 4 to 7 days.

What is the best way to ship a large car from the UAE to Spain?

By sea in a dedicated container. A long 4×4 or a lifted vehicle goes into a 40ft high-cube container, so the car travels protected with room beside it for declared belongings, at far less than the cost of air. RoRo is a cheaper alternative if the car runs and you do not mind it standing uncovered on the vessel’s deck.

Do I pay customs if my car spends the summer in Marbella and then comes back?

Not under the rules in force. European Union rules allow a non-resident to bring in a private car registered outside the Union on temporary admission for up to six months in any twelve, free of duty and tax. The conditions are that it keeps its UAE plates, is not driven by an EU resident and leaves before the period ends.

Which paper do I obtain in the UAE: a tourism certificate or an export certificate?

The tourism certificate if the car is coming back: it keeps its plates and registration, and the period in force in Dubai is six months. The export certificate if it is staying in Spain: the plates are handed in, export plates are issued and the car’s file is closed. A wrong choice here can only be put right after sailing at a cost.

My car is financed by a UAE bank. Can it be shipped?

It can travel temporarily if the bank issues a no-objection certificate, since the tourism certificate is granted to a mortgaged car on that condition. A final export, though, cannot go through while the mortgage stands, and needs the release letter once the finance is settled. Start with the bank’s paper, as it takes longest in the file.

How is a classic car shipped from the UAE to Spain?

In a container of its own. It is taken in over long, shallow ramps, or winched in if it does not run, strapped by all four wheels with fabric straps that do not touch the body, and a drip tray is placed under its engine. We send you a video before the door is sealed.

And how does a motorcycle travel?

It is stood in a chock that grips the front wheel, its tank, lamps and sides are wrapped in padded blankets, and it is strapped from points on its frame rather than from the handlebars alone. It goes into the container alone or in front of its owner’s car, with its fuel nearly drained and its battery disconnected. Its price is set on request.

Can a Gulf-specification car be registered in Spain?

It can, after individual approval, as it carries no European certificate of conformity. An approved laboratory examines it and lists the changes, the most common being the headlight beam pattern, a rear fog lamp and removal of the front glass tinting, and it then passes a technical inspection for imported vehicles before plates are issued. Send the chassis number so that we can ask about your model before shipping.

What is the difference between sea and air freight on this route?

Sea costs less and takes longer: roughly a month and a half door to door, and it suits every car. Air is faster and several times dearer: less than a week from Dubai, Al Maktoum or Zayed airport to Madrid or Barcelona. Those with time choose the sea, and those with a fixed date or a valuable car choose air.

How much does insurance on the car cost during shipping?

The figure quoted for a transit insurance premium is between 1% and 3% of the insured value, and it follows the type of car, the shipping method and the breadth of the cover. We write the rate and the amount in the quotation before you agree, along with the excess you bear on any claim.

How do I follow my car while it is at sea?

By the container or bill of lading number on the shipping line’s website, and by messages from us at every stage: entry to the port, sailing, passage through the Suez Canal, arrival and release. You need not ring to ask where the car is, and if the vessel’s date changes you know the same day.

Do you bring the car back from Spain to the UAE after the holiday?

Yes, and booking both directions together is preferable. It is collected from your address in Marbella or Madrid and loaded at Valencia or Barcelona for Jebel Ali, or it returns by air. Because it left on a tourism certificate, it goes back to its file with no import charges, as long as the certificate is still valid.

What is the best time to ship to keep the cost down?

Outside the peak. Demand for vessels from the Gulf to the Mediterranean rises between May and July, and again in September with the return. Anyone who books sea freight nine or ten weeks before travelling finds a cheaper space and a better-suited vessel, and avoids falling back on air at the last moment.