Car Shipping Company from the UAE to Turkey 0552803439 | Private & Shared Containers, RoRo from Jebel Ali to Mersin, Air

If you are looking for a car shipping company from the UAE to Turkey, what you need is clear: your car is collected from your home in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah, and you find it in Istanbul, Ankara or Antalya when you arrive. Home Safe organises the journey by sea from Jebel Ali Port to the port of Mersin in 20 to 38 days door to door, or by air in 3 to 6 days. The price on this route is set on request; as a yardstick, RoRo on our line from Jeddah to Mersin starts from SAR 2,800 and a 20ft container from SAR 4,600. For bookings and enquiries: 0552803439.

In this guide45ShowHide

1. Who ships a car from the UAE to Turkey?
2. What does a car shipping company from the UAE to Turkey handle, and how do we work there?
3. Can your car enter Turkey? A temporary visit, not an import
4. Shipping cars by sea from Jebel Ali Port in the UAE to the port of Mersin
5. Transit time for a car from the UAE to Turkey, and coordinating the dates
6. Price of shipping a car from the UAE to Turkey
7. Collecting the car from your door in the UAE, and temporary storage before the vessel
8. RoRo or inside a container: how do you choose?
9. A shared container or a private container for shipping a car from the UAE to Turkey
10. Types of cars we ship from the UAE to Turkey
11. Shipping luxury and classic cars from the UAE to Turkey
12. Preparing the car before the driver arrives
13. Tourism certificate or export certificate in the UAE?
14. Car shipping documents and what prevents shipping
15. Clearance at the Turkish port and recording the car in the passport
16. Insuring the car from the UAE until delivery in Turkey
17. Delivering cars from the UAE in Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya
18. Shipping cars for companies, fleets, embassies and government bodies
19. Can the car be moved overland from the UAE to Turkey?
20. Air freight for cars from the UAE to Turkey
21. Steps for shipping your car from the UAE to Turkey
22. Following the car at sea and the notifications you receive
23. Bringing the car back from Turkey to the UAE
24. Home Safe’s tips before shipping your car to Turkey
25. Common mistakes when shipping cars from the UAE to Turkey
26. How do you choose a car shipping company from the UAE to Turkey?
27. Why Home Safe for shipping your car from the UAE to Turkey?
28. Related articles and pages
29. Tags
30. Frequently asked questions about car shipping from the UAE to Turkey
31. What should I ask a car shipping company from the UAE to Turkey before I book?
32. How much does it cost to ship a car from Dubai to Turkey?
33. How many days does the car need from Jebel Ali to Mersin?
34. Do I need an export certificate for a car I am taking to Turkey for the summer?
35. Can I sell my UAE car in Turkey?
36. How long can the car stay in Turkey on its UAE plates?
37. Do I have to be present in person to receive the car at the Turkish port?
38. What is the difference between a shared container and a private container?
39. Is there RoRo from the UAE to Turkey?
40. Can personal belongings be put inside the car?
41. Does my UAE insurance cover the car in Turkey?
42. Which airport is the car flown from?
43. Do you ship a car that is mortgaged to a bank in the UAE?
44. Do you bring the car back to the UAE after the holiday?
45. When should I book so that the car is in Turkey at the start of summer?

Sea route: the door of your home in Dubai or any emirate → the loading yard → the Jebel Ali quay → Hormuz, then Bab el-Mandeb → the Suez Canal → the Mersin quay → a transporter to your Turkish city · Expected time: 20–38 days by sea and 3–6 days by air.

Who ships a car from the UAE to Turkey?

Turkey is one of the most popular summer destinations for Emiratis and UAE residents, and the overland distance between the two countries crosses more than one border, so the sea has become the practical route for anyone who wants their own car with them. Most of the people who call us about this route are one of four types, and each has a method that suits them and a different UAE paper:

Car owner	Why they ship	What we suggest	The UAE paper
An Emirati family spending the summer in Trabzon, Bursa or Istanbul	A stay of many weeks and travel between cities	A private container six weeks ahead of travel	Vehicle tourism certificate
An Arab or foreign resident who owns a home in Turkey	Spends the annual leave there	A shared container or RoRo	Tourism certificate
A Turkish citizen working in the UAE	Visits family with the car, or returns for good	A private container, with belongings on a final return	Tourism for a visit, export for a final return
A company or an embassy	Official cars or work cars for a project	Successive containers on one manifest	According to the status of the car

What does a car shipping company from the UAE to Turkey handle, and how do we work there?

We say it plainly before anything else: Home Safe is an establishment registered in Saudi Arabia and based in Jeddah, and it has no branch and no yard in the UAE. Shipments on this route are carried out by the UAE freight and clearance agents we work with, and by clearance and transport partners at the Turkish ports. Our team is the one that draws up the plan, follows the file and answers your phone from the first call until after delivery. What we handle comes to six tasks:

• Advice before booking: we ask about the car, its value, your Turkish city and your travel date, then tell you which method fits best and why, even if the answer is not to ship.
• Collection inside the UAE: a recovery truck carries the car from your parking space to the loading yard, so it is not driven on the road.
• The UAE paper: we establish whether you need a tourism or an export certificate, and check fines and the mortgage before you pay a deposit.
• Securing and protection: lashing by the tyres inside the container, a paint cover where needed, and a numbered seal on the door.
• The Turkish port: a broker who receives the car and prepares its record in your passport and its Turkish insurance policy.
• Delivery: a transporter from the port to your city, and a joint inspection before you sign.

How we handle cars on every route is set out under car shipping, and for cars leaving a Gulf country there is the page on car shipping from the Gulf.

Can your car enter Turkey? A temporary visit, not an import

The short answer: yes, it can enter, on condition that it leaves. Turkey receives a private foreign car under the temporary entry regime, so it does not ask about its year of manufacture or its Gulf specification, and it takes no import duty on it. What it asks about is the owner: whether he or she really lives outside Turkey. Bringing in a used car to be registered on Turkish plates or sold is a very narrow door, and we do not ship a car on that hope.

Question	Temporary entry	Permanent import
Who benefits	A resident outside Turkey who has spent at least 185 days abroad in the last twelve months	Limited cases with permission from the Turkish Ministry of Trade
The car’s plates	UAE plates as they are	Turkish after registration
Duties and taxes	No import duty; traffic insurance and port charges are paid	Customs duty, special consumption tax and value added tax
Maximum period	730 days in total, and no longer than the owner’s own stay	Not limited
Selling, renting or lending to a resident of Turkey	Forbidden	Allowed after registration

An Emirati citizen enters Turkey as a visitor, so the car stays for as long as he or she is allowed to. A UAE resident of another nationality is treated in the same way as long as the UAE residence is valid and the car is in his or her name. And a Turk working in the UAE counts as a resident abroad, so the car enters temporarily during leave, and on a final return there is a special import regime with conditions relating to the length of residence abroad and the age of the car. These rules are set and amended by the Turkish Ministry of Trade, and we confirm those in force before shipping. Information on the destination is on the shipping to Turkey page.

Shipping cars by sea from Jebel Ali Port in the UAE to the port of Mersin

The journey starts at the largest port in the Gulf and ends at the major Turkish port closest to the Suez Canal. Jebel Ali brings container terminals and a quay for car carriers together in one place, so both RoRo and containers leave from it. The ship passes through the Strait of Hormuz, rounds the south of the Arabian Peninsula and sails up the Red Sea to the Suez Canal. After Port Said only a short passage across the eastern Mediterranean remains to Mersin, which is why we choose it as the first port for this route.

Stage	What happens	Approximate time
From your address to the loading yard	Inspection, photographs and a condition report, then a recovery truck	One day
Loading and Jebel Ali customs	Securing the car, sealing the container and the exit declaration	2–4 days
Sailing to Mersin	Hormuz, the Arabian Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal	About 12–18 days
The customs yard at Mersin	Unloading, matching the chassis number and recording the car	2–4 days
From Mersin to your city	A Turkish car transporter	1–3 days

Mersin is not the only port. Someone living in Istanbul, Bursa or Izmir may be better served by a container that lands close by, even if the sea leg is a few days longer. We add up sea and road together and offer you the lower total:

Turkish port	Location	What it receives	Nearest cities
Mersin	Southern Turkey on the Mediterranean	RoRo and containers	Adana, Antalya, Konya and Ankara
Iskenderun	Hatay province in the eastern Mediterranean	RoRo and containers	Gaziantep and Hatay
Ambarli	West of Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara	Containers	Istanbul and Tekirdag
Gemlik	South of the Sea of Marmara	Containers	Bursa and Yalova
Izmir	The Aegean coast	Containers	Izmir, Aydin and Manisa

The sailing days in the table are an estimate, not a commitment. If the shipping lines move their routing from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope, the voyage becomes two weeks longer or more, and we tell you the vessel’s actual route on the day of booking. The shipping gateways we work through are on the ports and gateways page, and sea services for cargo other than cars on the sea freight page.

Transit time for a car from the UAE to Turkey, and coordinating the dates

On this route we start the schedule from its end: when you yourself arrive in Turkey. The car does not leave the Turkish yard before you attend with your passport, so if it arrives a week before you it means storage charges for nothing, and if it arrives two weeks after you it means a holiday in a hire car. We choose the vessel that berths two to five days before your arrival, and write down all the dates of the journey for you.

Method	To where	Door to door	When it moves
Private 20ft container	Mersin	20–30 days	With the first vessel after the papers are complete
Private container	Ambarli, Gemlik or Izmir	24–34 days	With the first suitable vessel
Shared 40ft container	Mersin	28–38 days	When the cars for the container are complete
RoRo vessel	Mersin or Iskenderun	22–34 days	According to the car-carrier schedule available
Air freight	Istanbul Airport	3–6 days	As soon as the place on the aircraft is confirmed

What lengthens the time?

• A traffic fine or unpaid Salik and parking charges that appear when the UAE certificate is requested.
• A shared container that has not found its second car for the same Turkish port.
• The summer season, when the route fills with holidaymakers’ cars and vessels are full early.

If your travel date changes after booking, tell us some days before the vessel cut-off, as moving the car to the next sailing is possible as long as it has not entered the port. Transit times for other routes are on the transit times page.

Price of shipping a car from the UAE to Turkey

We do not set a fixed figure for this route, because the sea rate from Jebel Ali changes from month to month, and because no price has been published in the market that we could build on. What we commit to is a quotation with separate lines: collection in the UAE, securing, the sea or air rate, insurance, Turkish port charges and delivery to your city. At the end of the table are two figures from our Saudi line to the same port, for measuring and not for booking:

Service	Price	Depends on
Saloon on a RoRo vessel from Jebel Ali to Mersin	Set on request	The car-carrier schedule and the car’s size in cubic metres
A place for one car in a shared 40ft container	Set on request	The number of cars sharing the container
Private 20ft container for one car	Set on request	The shipping line’s rate on the day of booking and the Turkish port
Delivery from the port to the Turkish city	Set on request	The distance and the type of transporter
Air freight to Istanbul	Set on request	Weight, dimensions and aircraft type
For comparison: saloon by RoRo from Jeddah port to Mersin	Starts from SAR 2,800, about AED 2,740	The price of our line from Saudi Arabia, not a price for shipping from the UAE
For comparison: a car in a 20ft container from Jeddah port to Mersin	Starts from SAR 4,600, about AED 4,500	A reference for the sea rate from the nearest priced line we have

Prices quoted in the market: we found no company publishing a specific price for shipping a car from the UAE to Turkey. The figures quoted for this route are that open sea shipping starts from USD 950 and enclosed shipping from USD 1,350, that door-to-door service adds about USD 300, that clearance in Turkey starts from USD 150 and packing from USD 120. What is published in the UAE market for shipping a car to European destinations close to Turkey runs between AED 10,000 and 17,000 for the freight alone. The wide gap between the two sets of figures comes from what each includes, so ask anyone quoting: where does your price start and where does it end?

What changes the price	Its effect
The size of the car	A long 4×4 takes more space on RoRo and leaves less room for its partner in a shared container
The shipping method	RoRo and the shared container cost least, then the private container, and air is higher by a wide margin
The Turkish port	Mersin and Iskenderun are a shorter sea leg than Ambarli and Izmir
The season	From May to July the rate rises and space becomes scarce

How do you bring the cost down?

• Book in April, before the season of travel to Turkey begins.
• Choose the shared container if your date has a week or two of flexibility.

Each line is explained one by one on the pricing factors page.

Collecting the car from your door in the UAE, and temporary storage before the vessel

Door-to-door service means you see neither a port nor a yard. The agent calls you a day before the appointment, the driver arrives with a low recovery truck suited to a sports car, and the condition of the car is written in a report that you and the driver sign. From there it goes to the loading yard near Jebel Ali. The table shows what we know about each emirate:

Emirate	Usual collection areas	What we point out
Dubai	Al Barsha, Jumeirah, Dubai Hills, Business Bay, Nad Al Sheba, Al Qusais, Deira	The closest to Jebel Ali; collection and loading are usually on the same day
Abu Dhabi	Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Khalifa City, Yas Island, Al Reem, Al Khalidiyah	About 110 km to Jebel Ali, or Khalifa Port if it has a suitable sailing
Sharjah and Ajman	Muwaileh, Al Nahda, Al Taawun, Al Hamidiya, Al Nuaimiya	Collection first thing in the morning, before the Dubai road becomes congested
Fujairah, Khor Fakkan and Kalba	Fujairah city, Merbah, Dibba Al Fujairah	A mountain road that adds two hours to the transfer

Sometimes your travel day and the vessel’s day do not match. Someone leaving the UAE two weeks before the vessel cut-off hands the car to us before departure, and it stays in a closed, monitored yard until the loading date. And for someone arriving late in Turkey, the car waits in the partner’s warehouse there after clearance. The storage charge is a written line in the quotation, set per day. The details are on the storage and door to door pages.

RoRo or inside a container: how do you choose?

Both methods leave from the same port and reach the same port, and the difference lies in what happens to the car in between. On RoRo a port worker drives it up a ramp to a covered deck inside the ship, it is lashed in place, and it is driven a second time on the way off, which is why it is not covered. In a container it is put in once in the UAE, its wheels are tied down to the floor, and a sealed door is closed on it.

Point of comparison	RoRo vessel	Inside a container
State of the car	Running and driven, uncovered inside the ship	Secured by its wheels behind a sealed door
Belongings	Not allowed	Possible in a private container if declared
Sailings to Turkey	Fewer, and checked with every request	Regular to Mersin, Ambarli and Izmir
Cost	The lowest for an ordinary car	Shared is close to RoRo, and private is higher
Suits	A saloon or family car in good condition	Luxury, classic, low and non-running cars

Our practical advice on this route: ask about RoRo, and book the container if it has no sailing that serves your date. Each method is explained on the RoRo car shipping and container car shipping pages.

A shared container or a private container for shipping a car from the UAE to Turkey

Anyone who chooses the container still has a second decision to make: whether to pay for the whole box or share it. A shared 40ft container carries more than one car for more than one customer, with the cars arranged one behind the other, or on angled metal racks that raise the number. A private 20ft container is for your car alone: it is loaded in front of you if you wish, sealed with a number that reaches you in a message, and it waits for no one.

Item	Shared container	Private container
Who is in it	More than one car for different customers	Your car alone
When it moves	When the cars for the same port are complete	With the first vessel after your papers are complete
The rate	Divided between the cars	You pay it in full
Opening the container in Turkey	Unloaded at the port, and each car handed to its owner	Opened only in front of you or customs
Belongings beside the car	Not available	Available with a declared list
For whom	A family car whose owner is in no hurry	A luxury car, or a date that cannot bear waiting

Between the two options there is a third solution that many ask for: a private 40ft container that you share with a relative or friend travelling to the same city, which brings together the privacy of the first and the cost of the second.

As for combining the car with goods or belongings, that works in a private container only. A Turk returning for good puts the household furniture in a 40ft container with the car, and a company sends its project equipment along with the work car. The condition is that the belongings are separated from the car by a timber partition and written in a separate packing list, because Turkish customs treats the car under one regime and the goods under another. Nothing is placed inside the car’s cabin or boot. Container sizes and what they hold are on the container sizes page, and furniture shipping on the furniture shipping page.

Types of cars we ship from the UAE to Turkey

We do not turn a car away because of its type, but we change the method according to it. Before the quotation we ask about its model, height and value and whether it runs under its own power.

Vehicle	Usual method	A note specific to this route
Saloon and hatchback	RoRo or a shared container	The cheapest to ship, and it goes into a shared container easily
4×4 and seven-seat family car	A private container or RoRo	The most requested by UAE families; its height is measured before booking
Luxury and sports car	A private container or air	Ground clearance decides how it is put in
Classic car	A private container	Leaks and the state of the brakes are checked before loading
Electric and hybrid	Container or RoRo on the carrier’s terms	The shipping line is asked about the battery charge level required
Motorcycle	A timber crate inside a container	Drained of fuel, with its battery disconnected

Trucks and equipment have their own service on the heavy equipment shipping page.

Shipping luxury and classic cars from the UAE to Turkey

A car worth hundreds of thousands of dirhams is not treated as a number on a manifest. We give it a container that it shares with nothing, we do not allow it to be driven further than the few metres of loading, and we write every old scratch in the report before it moves. These are the arrangements we make for it:

• Entering the container: long, shallow ramps for a low car, and it is pushed by hand if the bumper angle does not allow it to be driven in.
• Securing: fabric straps that go round the tyres and are tightened to the floor rings, and timber chocks in front of and behind the wheels. Nothing touches the body or the rims.
• Paint and cabin: a soft fabric cover that lets air through, and covers for the seats, the steering wheel and the driver’s floor.
• Documentation: full photography before closing, a photograph of the seal, and a written valuation of the car attached to the insurance policy.

For a classic car we ask that it be run a week before shipping, and if a leak appears it is repaired first. Lashing methods in detail are on the packing and lashing page.

Preparing the car before the driver arrives

What you do at home shortens what happens at the two ports. The car will be opened in front of a Turkish customs officer who matches its chassis number and looks inside it, and then it will run on roads unlike those of the UAE. So prepare it for both:

• Wash the outside and clean the cabin, as scratches do not show in photographs of a dusty car.
• Take out everything that is not part of it: papers, glasses, chargers, the Salik tag and child seats that are not fixed.
• Leave a quarter of a tank or less.
• Have the tyres, brakes and wipers checked in the UAE, as the Black Sea roads are mountainous and wet even in summer.
• Photograph all four sides, the roof and the odometer, and send us the pictures before the driver arrives.

The rest of what is worth knowing is in the car shipping guide.

Tourism certificate or export certificate in the UAE?

Most cars on this route travel in order to come back, so their UAE paper is the vehicle tourism certificate, not the export certificate. The first keeps the car in the UAE register on its plates, and the second strikes it off. Both are issued by the vehicle licensing authority of the emirate where the car is registered: the Roads and Transport Authority for Dubai cars, and the competent authority in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other emirates. The table sets out the practice in force, and we confirm what applies in your emirate before shipping:

Item	Tourism certificate	Export certificate
For which car	Travelling temporarily and coming back	Leaving for good
Plates and ownership	Stay as they are	Plates are handed in and export plates issued
Period	Six months is the practice in Dubai	None, as the file is closed
A mortgaged car	Electronic approval from the financing bank	Full release of the mortgage
On return	A return-from-tourism certificate restores the car to its file	No return except through a new import

Note a difference in the periods: the tourism certificate is counted in months, while Turkish customs ties the car’s stay to its owner’s stay. So anyone intending to keep the car in Turkey for more than one season reviews both periods with us before shipping. As for the carnet de passages, Turkey does not normally require it for a private car that its owner brings in temporarily, though some brokers may ask for it for a car shipped by sea, so we ask in advance; it is explained on the triptik carnet page.

Car shipping documents and what prevents shipping

We start with pictures of the papers on WhatsApp, review them and tell you what is missing before a place is booked. The originals travel with you in your bag, not in the car, because Turkish customs asks for them from your hand on the day of the record.

Document	Who issues it	Where it is required
Vehicle registration card	The licensing authority in the emirate	Booking and customs in both countries
Tourism certificate or export certificate	The licensing authority in the emirate	Exit customs at Jebel Ali or the airport
Passport and Emirates ID	The car owner	Every stage, and the Turkish record is written in the passport
UAE residence visa for a non-citizen	The car owner	Proof of residence outside Turkey
Bank approval or mortgage release letter	The financing body	For a financed car only
Bill of lading or air waybill	The shipping line or the airline	Release of the car on arrival

And these are cases in which we postpone loading until they are resolved:

Case	Action
Unpaid fines, or a mortgage without the bank’s approval	The UAE certificate is not issued before they are settled
A car registered in the name of someone who will not travel to Turkey	We review the power of attorney with the Turkish broker before booking
A fuel or oil leak	Repaired first, as the carrier rejects the car
Weapons, ammunition or a drone in the car	Removed, as bringing them into Turkey may need special permits

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

Clearance at the Turkish port and recording the car in the passport

At Mersin the car is not handed over at the ship’s gangway. It is moved to a customs yard, our broker opens its file with the bill of lading and the owner’s papers, and the customs officer comes to match the chassis number against the registration card. The car is then recorded in its owner’s passport together with the last day it is allowed to stay. What follows is four things we remind every customer of:

• Attendance in person: normally required, so book your ticket around the vessel’s date and not the other way round.
• Turkish traffic insurance: bought for the whole period before the car passes the port gate, and UAE insurance does not take its place.
• Who drives: the car owner and close relatives who live outside Turkey. A resident of Turkey driving it is an offence.
• Leaving Turkey without the car: if you want to fly out while the car stays, it is deposited with customs or their permission is obtained first, otherwise the record stops you at the airport.

We also point out that port charges, storage and Turkish insurance are paid in Turkey in lira to the bodies concerned, so we write their estimate in the quotation separately from our own charge. Our service at both ends is explained on the customs clearance page.

Insuring the car from the UAE until delivery in Turkey

Three policies follow one another on the car during this journey, and none stands in for another. Your UAE policy stops being of use at the Jebel Ali gate. The cargo insurance policy covers the car while it is freight in a container or on a ship. And the Turkish traffic policy begins when the car moves on the road there. What we offer is the second:

• What it covers: damage in loading and unloading, road transport accidents in both countries, fire, theft, and what happens to the car in heavy seas.
• From where to where: from the signing of the collection report in the UAE to your signing of the delivery report in Turkey, including any days of storage.
• The insured value: an amount we agree on and write in the policy, supported for a rare car by an expert valuation.
• In case of damage: you write your remark on the delivery report before signing and photograph the damage, and we file the claim and follow it up.

The sea carrier is liable within narrow limits calculated by weight, not by the value of the car, so do not rely on it. The types of cover are on the cargo insurance page.

Delivering cars from the UAE in Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya

After the customs record comes the stage the customer sees with their own eyes. We load the car onto a licensed Turkish transporter, open for several cars or enclosed for one, and send you the driver’s name and number. Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya take most of the cars from the UAE, followed by Izmir, Bursa and Mersin itself. In every city the car is handed over together with its papers: the registration card, the bill of lading, the Turkish insurance policy and the customs record slip that you will need on the day of exit.

City	How the car reaches it	What we point out
Istanbul	A container to Ambarli, or a transporter from Mersin, about 940 km	Tell us whether it is the European or the Asian side, as crossing between them changes the delivery time
Ankara	A transporter from Mersin, about 490 km	It usually arrives the day after clearance
Antalya	A transporter from Mersin, about 480 km on the coast road	A road full of bends, and the transporter is safer than driving a car that has just arrived
Izmir	A container to the port of Izmir, or a transporter from Mersin, about 900 km	The direct container is shorter in total days
Bursa	A container to Gemlik, or with the Istanbul transporter	We also serve Yalova and Uludag from it
Mersin	Handover from the port yard or to your address in the city	The fastest delivery on the route, sometimes on the day of clearance itself

We also deliver to Trabzon, Rize and Uzungol on the Black Sea, and to Sapanca, Konya, Gaziantep and Adana, on a date agreed before the vessel berths.

Shipping cars for companies, fleets, embassies and government bodies

An individual ships one car once a year, so a flexible appointment and follow-up on WhatsApp are enough. An organisation ships several cars and wants to know where each of them is, so it has a different arrangement even when the vessel is the same:

• Companies and their fleets: one manifest of chassis numbers, 40ft containers moving in batches, and a condition report for each car at loading and on arrival. A car registered in a company’s name needs additional papers, such as an authorisation for whoever drives it, so we review its file with the Turkish broker before any booking.
• Embassies, consulates and government bodies: official correspondence, compliance with the body’s procedures for contracting and invoicing, and coordination with the Turkish body responsible for diplomatic privileges before the car arrives.

For anyone who ships repeatedly in a year we set a per-car price that is agreed with the first shipment, without promises of fixed discount percentages. And for those shipping commercial goods along with cars there is the commercial shipping page.

Can the car be moved overland from the UAE to Turkey?

We do not rely on the land route for moving cars on this line. Goods trucks do use it, through Saudi Arabia and then Jordan or Iraq to the Turkish border, but it crosses at least three borders, their procedures and timings change with the state of the crossings, and no car transporters run on it to regular schedules. So the sea from Jebel Ali and the air from the UAE’s airports remain the two routes on which we give a date. The comparison between methods is on the shipping methods comparison page.

Air freight for cars from the UAE to Turkey

The flight between Dubai and Istanbul is about four and a half hours, and flights between the two countries are daily, so air is a real option here for anyone who does not have a month to wait. It is for luxury and urgent cars: the car is handed over in the cargo area of one of the UAE’s airports, secured by its wheels on a metal pallet, and loaded onto a freighter or into the hold of a wide-body aircraft. It comes off at Istanbul Airport, where it is recorded in your passport at the airport customs just as it would be at the port. Delivery is in Istanbul and Ankara, and in Ankara it is made by enclosed transporter from Istanbul or by a flight to its airport where one is available. The whole time is between 3 and 6 days.

• The airports: Dubai International and Al Maktoum in Dubai, and Zayed International in Abu Dhabi, and we choose the one with an aircraft that accepts the size of your car.
• Aviation conditions: the car is classed as dangerous goods because of the fuel and the battery, so a declaration signed by a certified specialist is prepared for it, and the least possible fuel is left in its tank.
• Price: set on request by weight and dimensions, and it is several times the sea rate.

Air shipping for cargo other than cars is on the air freight page.

Steps for shipping your car from the UAE to Turkey

From the first message to the key in your hand there are eight steps, and after each one we write to tell you what has been done:

1. You send to 0552803439 the car’s model and year of manufacture and a picture of its registration, your emirate, your Turkish city and the date you arrive there.
2. We ask about your status in Turkey and whether the car will come back, then send an itemised quotation with two methods to compare.
3. You approve the quotation, and we book the vessel or the aircraft and send the list of papers.
4. You pay the fines, and the tourism or export certificate is issued by the licensing authority in your emirate.
5. The driver arrives, and the car is inspected and photographed and its condition report signed.
6. It is secured in the container or handed to the RoRo quay, the exit declaration is filed, and the bill of lading and tracking number reach you.
7. The vessel berths and you attend with your passport, so the car is recorded and its Turkish insurance policy is bought.
8. It is carried to your city, you inspect it with the driver, and you receive it together with its papers.

Following the car at sea and the notifications you receive

We do not promise you an app that shows the car as a moving dot around the clock, as a container on the open sea does not send its position every minute. What you actually get is three things: a container number to search with on the shipping line’s website, a vessel name whose position appears on marine traffic maps, and messages from us at every stop:

• On loading day: pictures of the car secured, the container and seal numbers, and the vessel’s name and sailing date.
• After passing the Suez Canal: confirmation of the berthing date at the Turkish port, so that you can book or fix your ticket.
• On berthing day: the time of your appointment at customs and what to bring with you.

If the vessel is delayed or changes its route, you hear it from us on the same day, along with what follows from the new date. The tracking method is on the shipment tracking page.

Bringing the car back from Turkey to the UAE

The return is half the journey, and whoever forgets it pays for it. A car that entered Turkey temporarily must be stamped out at Turkish customs before it goes into the container, as that stamp is what lifts its record from the owner’s passport. It then sails from Mersin or Ambarli to Jebel Ali, and returns to its traffic file with the return-from-tourism certificate free of import duties, provided the period of the tourism certificate has not run out. We collect it from your address in Turkey just as we delivered it.

A car bought in Turkey to be registered in the UAE, on the other hand, enters as an import. The practice there is customs duty of 5% on the value including freight and insurance, value added tax of 5%, left-hand drive, and a technical inspection before licensing. It is also said that Dubai and Abu Dhabi do not register a used car more than ten years past its manufacture, classics excepted. We confirm what is in force before you buy. The destination page is shipping to the UAE.

Home Safe’s tips before shipping your car to Turkey

This is the gist of what we repeat in the first call with UAE customers:

• Match the name on the car’s registration with the name in your passport letter for letter, as the Turkish record is written in the passport.
• Make sure the registration and the UAE insurance run until after the car comes back, as renewing them while the car is abroad is troublesome.
• Put the expiry date of the Turkish record in your phone calendar, and book the return three weeks before it.

Common mistakes when shipping cars from the UAE to Turkey

Seven mistakes we have seen repeated, each of which is avoided with one question before booking:

• Shipping a used car with the intention of selling it in Turkey, then discovering that the regime does not allow it.
• Asking for the export certificate when the car is only away for a holiday, which strips it of its UAE plates needlessly.
• The car arriving two weeks before its owner, and storage charges building up on it at the port.
• Comparing a quotation that ends at the Mersin quay with one that ends at the front door in Istanbul.
• Filling the car’s boot with undeclared bags and gifts.
• Flying out of Turkey while the car is still recorded in the passport, without depositing it.
• Putting off the return booking until the end of summer, when the vessels going back are full.

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

Quotations on this route are alike in their words and different in what lies behind them. Here are four signs that tell apart someone who knows the route from someone selling a place on a ship:

Sign	What it shows
They ask first: will the car come back?	They know the difference between temporary entry and import
They name the Turkish port and the broker there	They have a real partner receiving the car
They tie the vessel’s date to your arrival date	They know your attendance is a condition of release
They state their commercial registration and who acts for them in the UAE	They work in the open, not on promises

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

Because we begin with the hard question before the price: whether your car is entitled to enter, how long it stays and how it leaves. And because we tell you who collects in the UAE and who receives in Turkey, and write down the date and the lines before you pay.

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

Related articles and pages

• Car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey
• Car shipping company from Qatar to Turkey
• Car shipping company from Kuwait to Turkey
• Car shipping company from the UAE to Switzerland
• Car shipping company from the UAE to the UK
• Shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Turkey

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Frequently asked questions about car shipping from the UAE to Turkey

What should I ask a car shipping company from the UAE to Turkey before I book?

Three questions are enough: at which Turkish port the car comes off, who presents it to Turkish customs in your name, and whether the price ends at the quay or at your address. Home Safe is a registered Saudi establishment that runs this route with agents in the UAE and partners at the Turkish ports, and it answers all three in writing before payment on 0552803439.

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

The price is set on request, because it follows the size of the car, the method, the Turkish port and the sailing date. The figures quoted for this route start from USD 950 for open sea shipping and from USD 1,350 for enclosed shipping, without delivery and clearance. Purely for comparison, RoRo on our line from Jeddah port to Mersin starts from SAR 2,800.

How many days does the car need from Jebel Ali to Mersin?

The sailing itself is usually between 12 and 18 days through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. With collection and clearance in both countries, the door-to-door time becomes 20 to 30 days for a private container to Mersin, and a few days more if the destination is Ambarli or Izmir or if the container is shared.

Do I need an export certificate for a car I am taking to Turkey for the summer?

No. A car that will return to the UAE leaves on the vehicle tourism certificate, and its plates and ownership stay as they are. The export certificate cancels the car’s traffic file and is only required for a car leaving the UAE with no return.

Can I sell my UAE car in Turkey?

You should not plan on it. The car enters Turkey on temporary entry recorded in its owner’s passport, and selling it, renting it out or handing it to a resident of Turkey is forbidden. Permanent import of a used car is restricted to limited cases with permission from the Turkish Ministry of Trade.

How long can the car stay in Turkey on its UAE plates?

The rule in force is that it stays as long as its owner is allowed to stay, and that the total does not exceed 730 days for someone who lives outside Turkey. The owner must also have spent at least 185 days outside Turkey in the last twelve months. We confirm the rules in force before shipping.

Do I have to be present in person to receive the car at the Turkish port?

Normally yes, because the car is recorded in your own passport. That is why we set the sailing date around your arrival date, so the car does not sit in the yard for days of storage charges.

What is the difference between a shared container and a private container?

A shared container is a 40ft box carrying more than one car for more than one customer, so its rate is divided and it waits until it is full. A private container is for your car alone, sealed in the UAE and opened only in front of you or Turkish customs, and it moves with the first vessel.

Is there RoRo from the UAE to Turkey?

Car carriers berth at Jebel Ali on a quay of their own, but sailings bound for Turkish ports are fewer than container sailings and are not a fixed weekly service. So we check the RoRo schedule when you ask, and if it does not suit your date we suggest the shared container at a similar cost.

Can personal belongings be put inside the car?

On RoRo, no: the car is handed over empty apart from its original tools. In a private container, belongings can travel beside the car if they are written in a separate list and declared to Turkish customs.

Does my UAE insurance cover the car in Turkey?

In most cases, no. UAE policies cover the roads of the country and some extend to the Gulf states. In Turkey a Turkish traffic insurance policy is bought for the whole period before the car leaves the port.

Which airport is the car flown from?

From Dubai International Airport, Al Maktoum Airport or Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, depending on the aircraft that accepts the size of your car. It lands at Istanbul Airport and can be taken on to Ankara after clearance. The time is 3 to 6 days, and the price is set on request.

Do you ship a car that is mortgaged to a bank in the UAE?

For temporary travel, yes, if the financing bank approves its travel electronically, as the tourism certificate is issued for a mortgaged car on that condition. A final export, however, depends on settling the finance and releasing the mortgage first.

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

Yes, and we prefer the outbound and return journeys to be booked in one order. The car is stamped out at Turkish customs so that its record is lifted from your passport, then it sails from Mersin or Ambarli to Jebel Ali and returns to its traffic file with the return-from-tourism certificate.

When should I book so that the car is in Turkey at the start of summer?

About six weeks before your travel date for a private container, and eight for a shared container because it waits for a partner. For air freight, two weeks is enough.