Shipping Company from Riyadh to Switzerland 0552803439 | Furniture, Valuable Parcels and Car Shipping to Zurich and Bern

Home Safe is a shipping company from Riyadh to Switzerland that moves valuable parcels, documents, furniture, goods and cars in two ways. The first is by air from King Khalid Airport to Zurich and Geneva, and the aircraft covers about 4,200 km in roughly six and a half hours. The second is by sea to a European port, then along the Rhine or by train into Switzerland, which has no coast. An air parcel is delivered in 3 to 6 days, and a container in 27 to 40 days. An air kilogram starts from SAR 23, documents from SAR 83, and part-load furniture from SAR 5,500. To book: 0552803439.

In this guide43ShowHide

1. Who ships from Riyadh to Switzerland, and what do they ship?
2. Shipping methods from Riyadh to Switzerland: air and sea, and the transit time of each
3. From Riyadh to Switzerland along the Rhine
4. From your district in Riyadh to the sea: a truck to Jeddah or a train to Dammam?
5. Shipping price from Riyadh to Switzerland
6. Shipping household goods and furniture from Riyadh to Switzerland
7. Relief for the effects of anyone moving to live in Switzerland, through form 18.44
8. Shipping valuable parcels and documents from Riyadh to Switzerland
9. Shipping goods, small parcels and student baggage
10. Shipping electronic devices and equipment from Riyadh to Switzerland
11. Shipping commercial goods from Riyadh to Switzerland
12. Car shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland: everything you need to know
13. Swiss customs and the documents required
14. What cannot be shipped to Switzerland or needs a permit
15. Delivery in Zurich, Bern and Lucerne and the other cities
16. Home Safe’s role in serving individuals, institutions, and government and diplomatic bodies
17. Air freight from Riyadh to Switzerland
18. Collection from Riyadh’s districts and nearby governorates
19. Steps for shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland
20. How to track your shipment to Switzerland and insure it
21. Shipping from Switzerland to Riyadh
22. Home Safe’s tips for international shipping to Switzerland
23. How do you choose a shipping company from Riyadh to Switzerland?
24. Common mistakes when shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland
25. Why choose Home Safe to ship goods from Riyadh to Switzerland?
26. Related articles and pages
27. Tags
28. Frequently asked questions about shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland
29. How much does shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland cost?
30. How many days does a shipment need from Riyadh until it reaches Switzerland?
31. What is the cheapest way to ship goods from Riyadh to Switzerland?
32. Which is the best shipping company from Riyadh to Switzerland for safety and speed?
33. What documents are required to ship goods to Switzerland?
34. Riyadh is far from the sea and so is Switzerland; how does the container travel?
35. How long does a barge take on the Rhine from Rotterdam to Basel?
36. Do you send a valuable watch or jewellery from Riyadh to Zurich?
37. How are official documents and certificates shipped to Switzerland?
38. Does the consignee in Switzerland pay tax on my parcel?
39. Can I move my household furniture from Riyadh to Switzerland without customs?
40. Do you ship a car from Riyadh to Switzerland?
41. Do you deliver outside Zurich and Geneva?
42. Will my electrical appliances work in Switzerland?
43. Do you collect shipments from Switzerland to Riyadh?

The sea route: Riyadh → Jeddah Islamic Port → Suez Canal → Rotterdam, Antwerp or Genoa → the Rhine or the train → Basel → your address in Switzerland · Transit: 27–40 days by sea, and 3–6 days by air.

Who ships from Riyadh to Switzerland, and what do they ship?

The capital’s shipments to Switzerland have a character of their own: mostly small in size and high in value. They include watches going back to their maker for servicing, banking and legal files, medical reports for a patient being treated at a clinic on Lake Geneva, and the baggage of a student at a hospitality school near Lucerne. Alongside them are larger but fewer shipments: a Swiss expert who has finished a contract with a company in Riyadh, a family furnishing its summer home, and a mission moving its staff’s effects to Bern. Each of them has a method and a customs status:

The shipper in Riyadh	What they send	The suitable method	Status at Swiss customs
Owner of a watch or a valuable piece	A watch for servicing, jewellery or an art piece	Insured air freight with a signature on delivery	Temporary import for repair, or tax on the value
A company, law firm or bank	Contracts, original documents and samples	Express document service	Documents of no commercial value
A hospitality or university student	Books, winter clothes and room essentials	Cartons by air, or by sea if sent early	Used study belongings
A returning Swiss employee or a relocating Saudi	Household furniture, appliances and a car	A 20- or 40-foot container	Removal-goods relief through form 18.44
A trader or factory	Dates, perfumes, products and equipment	A container, with samples by air	Invoice, certificate of origin and import tax

Shipping methods from Riyadh to Switzerland: air and sea, and the transit time of each

A Riyadh shipment has only two ways to Switzerland: air and sea. Air is direct from the capital’s airport and suits whatever is light in weight and high in price, or short of time. Sea takes longer because it begins with a road journey to the port and ends with a river or rail journey inside Europe, yet it is the only sensible way for furniture and cars. Road freight by truck is not something we rely on for Europe. These are the times from your door in Riyadh to the consignee’s door:

Method	Route from Riyadh	Usual transit	Who it suits
Air freight	King Khalid Airport → Zurich or Geneva	3–6 days	Valuable parcels, documents, suitcases and samples
Full container via Genoa	Truck to Jeddah → Genoa → train or truck across the Alps	27–34 days	Anyone with a delivery date, and those living in central or southern Switzerland
Full container via the Rhine	Truck to Jeddah → Rotterdam or Antwerp → barge to Basel	32–40 days	Heavy, unhurried loads, and addresses in Basel and Bern
Sea freight part load	Consolidation in a warehouse, then a shared container sorted in Europe	34–47 days	Cartons, a few pieces and student baggage

“Two weeks by sea” are the vessel’s days alone. Before them come the Riyadh–Jeddah road and the export formalities, and after them the European port, the river and customs. This is the breakdown for a full container taking the Rhine:

Stage	What happens	Usual days
Loading in Riyadh	Dismantling, packing and inventory, then sealing the container	1–2 days
The road to Jeddah port	About 950 km west on the motorway	1–2 days
Export and waiting for the vessel	Export declaration and handing the container to the shipping line	3–5 days
Sailing to Rotterdam or Antwerp	The Red Sea, Suez, the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, then the North Sea	15–20 days
The European port	Discharging the container and opening the customs transit document	2–3 days
Up the Rhine	A river barge through the Netherlands and Germany as far as Basel	4–5 days
Swiss clearance	Import declaration and review of the relief form, or payment of tax	1–2 working days
Delivery	A distribution truck from Basel to the address	One day

What lengthens the transit?

• Missing the vessel: a truck one day late on the Riyadh–Jeddah road may miss the sailing cut-off, so the container waits a week for the next vessel.
• The Rhine water level: in a dry summer the water falls at certain stretches, so barges carry half their load or containers are moved to the train.
• Restricted days in Switzerland: in current practice heavy trucks do not run at night, on Sundays or on public holidays.

How long other countries take is listed under transit times, and if you are still torn between aircraft and vessel, the shipping methods comparison sets them side by side.

From Riyadh to Switzerland along the Rhine

Switzerland has no coast, so no ship berths there. It does have one water gateway: the river port of Basel on the Rhine, the last point reached by barges coming up from the North Sea. The container sealed in Riyadh comes off the vessel at Rotterdam or Antwerp and is lifted as it stands onto a river barge. It then travels more than 800 km up the river through the Netherlands and Germany, passing Duisburg, Cologne and Mannheim, until it berths at Basel after about five days.

Basel has three container basins: Kleinhüningen, Birsfelden and Muttenz. There the shipment is cleared through Swiss customs, then leaves on a distribution truck for Zurich, Bern or Lucerne. The Rhine is not the only option. For anyone wanting fewer days we land the container at Genoa in Italy, and a train takes it up through the Gotthard tunnel. The choice follows your address, your date and the weight of your load:

Route into Switzerland	Sailing from Jeddah	After the port	When we recommend it
Rotterdam or Antwerp, then the Rhine	14–21 days	A barge, about five days to Basel	Heavy goods, commercial containers and furniture its owner is in no hurry for
Genoa, then the Alps	8–12 days	A train or truck via Chiasso and the Gotthard	Lucerne, central Switzerland and Lugano, and anyone wanting the shortest time

The most important thing at this stage is a paper you never see: the customs transit document. It is opened at the European port and closed at Swiss customs, so the container crosses European Union territory without duty or tax. Were it cleared at Rotterdam by mistake, Dutch tax would be paid on it and then Swiss tax. The ports we work from are on the ports and gateways page.

From your district in Riyadh to the sea: a truck to Jeddah or a train to Dammam?

Before the Rhine there is another journey over land, and it is what sets a Riyadh shipment apart from that of any coastal city. The capital lies in the middle of the peninsula, and its nearest sea is the Arabian Gulf at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, which a container reaches by train from the dry port south of the city. The farther sea is the Red Sea at Jeddah Islamic Port, about 950 km away by truck. Even so, we choose Jeddah for most Switzerland shipments.

The reason lies in the vessel’s direction, not the length of the road. A Jeddah vessel heads north and reaches the Suez Canal in two or three days. A Dammam vessel leaves through the Strait of Hormuz, rounds Oman and Yemen, then passes Bab al-Mandab and sails past Jeddah itself after days at sea. So what the container saves on the railway it loses twice over at sea.

All of this is settled on the booking day without you having to deal with it. We arrange the truck and the vessel for one date, so your container does not stand in the port yard waiting and running up storage charges. The service is explained on the sea freight page.

Shipping price from Riyadh to Switzerland

The invoice on this route is longer than most, because it has five items: transport from Riyadh to the port or airport, the sea or air freight, transit from the European port to the Swiss border, clearance, and then delivery to the door. These are our starting prices, and the sea freight in them is counted from Jeddah port, so the road item from Riyadh is added:

What you ship	Method	Price starts from
Parcels, suitcases and samples	Air from King Khalid Airport	SAR 23 per kilogram
Documents	Express service	SAR 83
Furniture and baggage	Sea freight part load	SAR 5,500
A full household	A full 20- or 40-foot container	SAR 11,000
A saloon car	RoRo from Jeddah port to a European port	SAR 2,800
A car in a closed container as far as Switzerland	A dedicated 20-foot container	Set on request according to the canton
Transport from Riyadh to Jeddah port	A closed truck or container carrier	Set on request

The prices circulating in the market for this route are few and far apart. The earlier article on this page quoted between SAR 1,200 and 1,400 for an air parcel of up to 30 kilograms depending on the Swiss city, that is about SAR 40 to 47 a kilogram, and between SAR 4,500 and 4,900 for a cubic metre by sea. The other pages offering shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland publish no figures and settle for phrases such as “reduced prices” and “discounts for companies”. Some of them present road freight as the cheapest without naming a route. Because nobody publishes an all-in price to the door, we have kept our figures as they stand in our general Switzerland guide, and we break down the five items for you on the day you ask.

What changes the price	Its effect on a shipment leaving Riyadh
Chargeable weight or volume	A parcel by the kilogram, furniture by the cubic metre. Estimate your volume with the CBM calculator
The road to the port	An item Riyadh pays and Jeddah does not, and it falls when your shipment joins a scheduled run
The European port and the transit mode	A barge costs less than a train, and Genoa is a shorter sailing than Rotterdam
The canton and the address	Basel is at the river port, Lucerne and Bern are about an hour from it, and mountain villages are farther

How do you cut the cost?

• Ask for your furniture to join our scheduled run from Riyadh to Jeddah, so you share the road cost with others.
• Send only the valuable and the urgent by air, and leave the heavy to the sea. One kilogram by air equals the freight of many cubic metres in a container.
• Have the 18.44 file ready before the container is loaded; the 8.1% tax it spares a full home is worth more than any freight discount.

Each item is explained on the pricing factors page.

Shipping household goods and furniture from Riyadh to Switzerland

Household furniture ships by sea, from SAR 5,500 as a part load and from SAR 11,000 in a full container. Riyadh homes are spacious with large rooms, and a Swiss flat is not: measured floor areas, narrower doors and a lift that holds three people. So the first service we offer is not packing but sorting. We go through the rooms with you, ask about the plan of your new home, and rule out what will not fit before you pay to ship it.

• Survey and sorting: a visit or a video call, an estimate of the cubic metres, and a list of what ships and what stays.
• Dismantling: bedrooms, wardrobes and dining tables are taken apart, with each piece’s screws in a bag tied to it.
• Packing for two climates: the container leaves Riyadh in dry heat and reaches a cold, damp country, so we add desiccants to absorb condensation and wrap wood and leather in breathable material.
• Over there: our partner’s crew unloads, carries the pieces in, reassembles what was dismantled and takes the cardboard away.

A word of warning about the Arabic majlis, corner sofas and one-piece wardrobes: many of them will not go up the staircase of an old building in Bern or Lucerne. Send us the door and lift measurements and we will tell you. Service details are on the furniture shipping page, and how each piece is protected is in the packing guide.

A full container or a part load? The decision follows volume first and the date second. Under ten cubic metres, meaning a bedroom and some cartons, a part load is cheaper beyond question. Between ten and fifteen metres the two options draw close, so we look at your date and at how delicate your belongings are. Above that, a 20-foot container, which holds about 28 cubic metres, becomes cheaper per metre and safer for the furniture.

Item	Full container	Part load
Where it is loaded	Outside your home in Riyadh	At our warehouse, after the pieces are collected packed
Transit from Riyadh	27–40 days	34–47 days
Price starts from	SAR 11,000 for a full household	SAR 5,500 for furniture and baggage

A 40-foot container, which holds about 58 cubic metres, takes a large house, or furniture with a car behind a timber partition. Internal dimensions and what fits each container are on the container sizes page.

Relief for the effects of anyone moving to live in Switzerland, through form 18.44

Your furniture and effects enter Switzerland free of duty and tax if you are moving your place of residence there. That is current practice at Swiss customs, and it has two conditions: the belongings must have been in your use for at least six months, and you must go on using them after entry. The application is made on a form numbered 18.44 together with the contents list. We fill it in with you in Riyadh before the container is sealed, because correcting it after arrival costs days of waiting at Basel.

Item	What is required
Who qualifies	Anyone really moving residence: a transferred employee, an emigrating family, or a Swiss national returning from work in Riyadh
Proof of the move	The Swiss residence permit or confirmation that it is being issued, and a tenancy agreement or employment contract
The use condition	Six months before the move, so new appliances in their boxes fall outside the relief
Who is not covered	The owner of a holiday home, anyone sending furniture to a relative, and goods meant for sale

A student is treated separately: they bring in study items and used personal effects without moving residence. These rules are amended from time to time, so we check what is in force with Swiss customs before every shipment.

Shipping valuable parcels and documents from Riyadh to Switzerland

This is what we are asked for most on the Riyadh–Switzerland route: a small parcel of great value, or an envelope that cannot be allowed to go missing. A watch returning to its maker’s workshop, an original contract awaited by a bank in Zurich, attested certificates for a university, and a medical file for a clinic. These shipments are not handled like an ordinary parcel. They get packing that hides their value, documentation before sealing, and delivery into the hand rather than at the door.

• A box inside a box: the piece sits in its original box or in a padded one, then in a second, larger carton with filled space on every side. The outer carton carries no brand name and no tempting description.
• Rigid envelopes for documents: a stiffened envelope that does not bend, with a sleeve inside that keeps damp out, sealed with tape that reveals any opening.
• Documentation before sealing: photos of the piece, its serial number and the number of sheets in the file, with one copy for you and one in the shipment file.
• An honest declaration of value: insurance pays out on what was declared, and Swiss customs charges on it. An understated declaration harms you on both counts.
• Tracking until receipt: an air waybill number you follow yourself, a message from us at every stop, and the consignee’s signature and name on delivery.

Two items call for a warning. A watch strap of crocodile or snake leather falls under the endangered species convention, and in current practice a document is required for it, so we remove it or prepare its paper. A counterfeit piece, even a single gift, is seized in Switzerland and destroyed. Some airlines also set a ceiling on the value of a single parcel, so we confirm it before collection.

Shipping goods, small parcels and student baggage

An ordinary parcel is a simpler matter, and it ships by air from SAR 23 a kilogram, or by sea within a shared container if it is several cartons their owner is in no hurry for. People in Riyadh send their relatives in Switzerland coffee, cardamom, dates, incense and Eid clothes, and a student sends books and a coat ahead of term. We collect from the door, repack if the carton is weak, and write the customs declaration in English item by item.

• Chargeable weight: the greater of actual and volumetric weight is taken, so a light blanket is charged by its size.
• The Swiss address: the consignee’s name as on the doorbell, then the street and building number, then the four-digit postcode, and a local phone number.
• Student baggage: we gather the cartons of Riyadh students heading for hospitality schools and universities into one shipment before term begins.

Parcel types and how they are charged are on the parcel shipping page.

Shipping electronic devices and equipment from Riyadh to Switzerland

Devices on this route are of two kinds. A small, delicate kind travels by air: a laptop, a camera, a measuring instrument, and a medical device returning to its Swiss maker for calibration. A large kind travels by sea: servers, laboratory equipment and a factory machine. The danger to both is the same: vibration, damp and static charge. That is why the packing is tailored to the device and not the other way round.

• The original box first: if you kept it, it is the best packing; otherwise we make a foam mould to the device’s size.
• A treated timber crate: for medical and laboratory devices, bearing labels that change colour if the crate is tipped or dropped.
• Batteries: a lithium battery inside the device ships by air under conditions, and a loose one is more restricted. Tell us its type before collection.
• Heavy equipment: it is fixed to the container floor with beams and straps, and anything beyond its dimensions ships on a flat-rack container. Details are on the heavy equipment shipping page.

Shipping commercial goods from Riyadh to Switzerland

Riyadh’s factories, industrial cities and traders export limited quantities of good value to Switzerland. The Swiss buyer wants goods that match the description and paperwork without a mistake. In current practice Switzerland has abolished customs duties on industrial products and kept them on agricultural and food products, mostly calculated by weight. Value added tax, however, is collected on everything imported.

The goods	How we ship them from Riyadh	What we prepare with them
Packed dates from Qassim and Al-Kharj	A dry or refrigerated container, and cartons by air for specialist shops	Certificate of origin and a label in the canton’s language
Oriental perfumes and incense	By sea for quantities, as alcohol-based perfume is restricted on aircraft	Safety data sheet, and a document for oud in a commercial quantity
Samples and exhibition materials	Air from King Khalid Airport	A samples invoice of no commercial value, or a temporary import document

We consolidate the orders of more than one supplier in Riyadh into a single container, and issue the invoice and packing list before the goods leave their warehouse. A regular exporter gets a monthly schedule and an agreed price. Details are on the commercial shipping page.

Car shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland: everything you need to know

The car begins its journey on a car carrier from Riyadh to Jeddah port, then sails in one of two ways. RoRo starts from SAR 2,800 for a saloon from Jeddah port to a European port, followed by a road transporter to the Swiss border. A closed container stays sealed as far as Swiss customs, and it is what we recommend for a luxury or classic car. Cars are not shipped by air except in very rare cases and at a cost that does not suit most customers.

Method	How the car travels	What to watch for
A dedicated closed container	Secured by its wheels inside a 20-foot container, crossing Europe by train or barge without being opened	The chassis number is matched before sealing, and baggage may go with it
RoRo, then a transporter	Driven onto the vessel’s deck and landed at a European port such as Zeebrugge or Bremerhaven	Handed over empty of belongings, and transport inside Europe is a separate item

Before it leaves Riyadh the car needs an export certificate from the traffic department once its plates are surrendered, and we photograph it from every side and record its odometer. In Switzerland the real cost begins. In current practice a 4% automobile tax and 8.1% value added tax are paid, and a car its owner has used for six months while moving residence is exempt from both. Customs then issues inspection report 13.20 A, which is a condition of registration. After that comes the technical inspection in the canton, which is hard on a Gulf-specification car carrying no European certificate of conformity.

Send us the model and year of manufacture before you decide, as some cars cost more to bring into conformity than they are worth. Rates and forms change, so we confirm what is in force before loading. The two methods are compared on the container car shipping and RoRo car shipping pages, and the general explanation is in the car shipping guide.

Swiss customs and the documents required

Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, and that is the most important customs fact on the route. It has its own tariff, forms and tax, and clearance takes place with it once only: at Basel for what comes by river, at Chiasso for what comes from Genoa, and at Zurich or Geneva airport for an air parcel. The declaration is electronic, and what is attached to it varies with the shipment:

The shipment	Documents	What is paid
A personal parcel or gift	Declaration of contents and value, and the consignee’s details	8.1% or 2.6% tax above the exemption limit
Effects of someone moving residence	Form 18.44, contents list, passport and proof of residence	No duty and no tax when the conditions are met
Commercial goods	Commercial invoice, packing list, waybill and certificate of origin	Value added tax, and duty on food and agricultural goods
A car	Registration document, export certificate and purchase invoice	4% automobile tax and 8.1% tax unless exempt

We work out the expected amount for the consignee before shipping, so that they are not surprised by a message from the carrier asking for payment before delivery. Clearance fees in Switzerland differ from one broker to another, so we write them as a visible item. Each paper is explained on the shipping documents page, and the procedure on the customs clearance page.

What cannot be shipped to Switzerland or needs a permit

What is banned here differs from what someone used to shipping to the Gulf states expects. Switzerland is the home of watchmaking, so it shows no leniency towards counterfeits. It is strict on animal and plant products and on endangered species. This list gathers current practice, and we check what is in force before every shipment:

Item	Ruling
Counterfeit watches, bags and clothes	Seized and destroyed, even a single piece for your own use
Narcotics and psychotropic substances	Strictly prohibited
Weapons, ammunition, daggers and ornamental swords	With a prior licence from the competent Swiss authority, so never placed among the furniture
Meat, dairy and their derivatives	Not admitted in personal shipments from outside Europe
Oud oil and wood, ivory and reptile skins	With an endangered species convention certificate, and a small personal quantity of oud has an exception
Medicines	Enough for about a month of personal need, with the prescription
Perfumes, batteries and pressurised containers	Restricted on aircraft, and shipped by sea or in approved packing

The general list for all destinations is on the prohibited items page.

Delivery in Zurich, Bern and Lucerne and the other cities

After release the shipment goes out to the door, and delivery in Zurich, Bern and Lucerne takes the largest share of Riyadh’s shipments. Zurich is the city of banks and clinics and the leading cargo airport. Bern is the capital and the seat of the embassies. Lucerne and the lake towns around it draw summer visitors and hospitality students. The distances are short: from the port of Basel to Zurich is about 85 km, to Bern and Lucerne about 100 km, and between Zurich and Lucerne about 50 km.

City	What is mostly shipped to it from Riyadh	How the shipment reaches it
Zurich	Banking documents, watches, patients’ baggage and furniture	By air straight to its airport, and by sea from Basel or Genoa
Bern	Diplomats’ effects and official documents	From Basel by truck, or from Zurich airport by road
Lucerne and its surroundings	The baggage of students and summer visitors, and furniture for lakeside homes	On the Gotthard axis from Genoa, or from Basel
Geneva, Lausanne and Montreux	Family baggage, medical files and organisations’ shipments	By air to Geneva airport, and by sea then truck from Basel
Basel	Commercial goods, equipment and devices for servicing	The first stop for containers arriving by the Rhine

The order is fixed: clearance, then delivery. No distribution truck leaves before the release paper. There are three things we ask of you before delivery day: a truck parking permit from the municipality or the building management, the lift and staircase measurements, and a date that does not fall on a Sunday. The old quarters of Bern and Lucerne are narrow and admit vehicles at set hours, so we send a small vehicle there.

Home Safe’s role in serving individuals, institutions, and government and diplomatic bodies

Riyadh houses the headquarters of major companies, banks, hospitals and universities, and each ships to Switzerland in its own way. An individual wants someone to take the whole worry off their shoulders. An institution wants a system that repeats without surprises and a clear invoice for the finance department. We arrange the service on that basis:

• Individuals and families: collection from home, packing, shipping, clearance and delivery, at an itemised price and with one number to call.
• Companies and factories: a recurring shipping contract, one account manager, and a report after every shipment.
• Law firms and banks: daily collection of documents from the office, and proof of delivery with the signatory’s name and the time.

Riyadh is the capital where decisions are made, home to the ministries, the authorities and the Diplomatic Quarter. In Switzerland, Bern is the seat of the embassies, and Geneva the seat of international organisations and permanent missions. So an unbroken flow of official shipping runs between the three cities: documents, printed matter, materials for stands at exhibitions and conferences, and the effects of a diplomat posted to a new place of work.

• Documents and printed matter: express air freight in sealed packs, with a log showing who handed over, who received and when.
• Exhibition and conference materials: shipped under temporary import, arriving before the opening with a safe margin, then returning to Riyadh after the close.
• A diplomat’s effects: a container or air freight with the documents their employer requires, and the customs treatment there depends on their status and on what the Swiss foreign ministry decides.
• Privacy: a crew named in advance, packing in front of the entity’s representative, and numbered seals entered in a record.

The official diplomatic bag has its own channels between the authorities. What we provide is the shipping of effects, materials and equipment under the usual commercial procedure.

Air freight from Riyadh to Switzerland

Air freight is Riyadh’s strongest asset on this route, because the airport is in the city itself and no road leg comes before it. The shipment enters the cargo village at King Khalid Airport, where it is weighed, measured and X-ray screened. From the airport there are direct flights to Zurich and Geneva on certain days of the week according to the schedule in force, and on the remaining days the shipment travels through an intermediate hub. The result is 3 to 6 days from your door to the consignee’s door, clearance included.

What you send by air	The suitable service	Transit	Price starts from
Documents, contracts and certificates	Express service in a rigid envelope	About 3 days	SAR 83
Parcels, gifts and suitcases	Economy air	4–6 days	SAR 23 per kilogram
Samples, spare parts and devices	Commercial air with an invoice	3–6 days	Set on request for large weights

• The weight you are charged on: the greater of actual and volumetric. Volumetric is length by width by height in centimetres divided by 6000, or work it out with the volumetric weight calculator.
• Arrival airport: Zurich for northern and central Switzerland, and from it to Bern and Lucerne by truck. Geneva for the west.
• Delivery to the address: our partner clears at the airport and delivers to the door, or the owner collects from the airport warehouse if preferred.

Service details are on the air freight page.

Collection from Riyadh’s districts and nearby governorates

Riyadh is a vast city stretching tens of kilometres in every direction, so we divide collection by area. A parcel or a document is collected by a courier, usually on the day of the request, while furniture has an appointment, a crew and a truck. Entry of large trucks to the capital’s roads is regulated by hours set by the traffic department, so we load in the permitted window and confirm the hours in force before loading day.

Area	Examples	How we collect
North Riyadh	Al-Malqa, Hittin, Al-Yasmin, Al-Narjis, Al-Sahafa	A courier for parcels the same day, and a packing crew for furniture by appointment
Central Riyadh	Al-Olaya, Al-Sulaimaniyah, Al-Malaz, Al-Murabba	Documents collected from offices and towers during working hours
East, west and south Riyadh	Al-Rawdah, Al-Naseem, Irqah, Dhahrat Laban, Al-Aziziyah, Al-Shifa	From the door, with dismantling and packing on site
The Diplomatic Quarter and residential compounds	Expatriate staff compounds	With a prior entry permit for the crew and the vehicle
Diriyah, Dhurma, Al-Muzahimiyah and Al-Kharj	Up to about 80 km from the capital	Joined to the Riyadh run, and those to its west are on the Jeddah road anyway
Al-Majmaah, Shaqra and Qassim	From 180 to 350 km north-west	By prior appointment, and added to the capital’s shipment

If you ship from the capital to another destination, see the article International shipping company in Riyadh; residents of other cities will find the whole collection range under service cities.

Steps for shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland

1. The request: you send by WhatsApp photos or a description of the shipment, your district in Riyadh, the Swiss city and your status there.
2. The plan: we propose air or sea, name the European port and the transit mode, and write the price item by item.
3. The papers: we review eligibility for the relief and prepare the contents list and the form, or the commercial invoice.
4. Collection: a courier for a parcel or document, or a crew that dismantles, packs and inventories the furniture in your home.
5. Leaving Riyadh: to the cargo village at King Khalid Airport, or by truck to Jeddah port in time for the vessel.
6. The journey: you receive the waybill or container number, and a message at take-off or sailing and at every stop.
7. Transit and clearance: a transit document from the European port, then a declaration at Swiss customs.
8. Delivery: to the address with unloading and reassembly, and the pieces checked against the list before signing.

How to track your shipment to Switzerland and insure it

A container on this route moves between four tracking systems: the road haulier, the shipping line, the barge or train operator, and the Swiss distributor. So we give you a single reference number on collection day and gather what the four say into one short message. An air parcel is simpler: one waybill number from Riyadh to the door.

• Checking for yourself: type the container number into the ocean carrier’s site, or the air waybill number into the airline’s; our track your shipment page walks you through both.
• Insurance: optional, with a premium that is a percentage of the value you declare. It is all but essential for a valuable parcel, a car and a full household of furniture. The terms are on the cargo insurance page.

Shipping from Switzerland to Riyadh

The route works in both directions. Our partner in Switzerland collects from the home, the shop or the service workshop. Parcels then go by air from Zurich or Geneva to King Khalid Airport, and furniture by sea via Basel and the Rhine or via Genoa to Jeddah port, then by truck to Riyadh. A watch that went out for repair returns with its document. For the effects of someone returning from study or work, we review with them the relief conditions in current practice in the Kingdom, while new purchases and commercial goods carry duties and Saudi value added tax according to their type.

Home Safe’s tips for international shipping to Switzerland

• Choose the method from the nature of the shipment: what is costly and light goes by aircraft, what is heavy and bulky goes by vessel, and do not let habit decide for you.
• Pack to suit the journey: a double-wall carton, filling in every gap, and a box inside a box for anything that breaks or gets stolen.
• Set the value accurately for insurance: write what the piece is really worth, and keep its invoice or a written valuation.
• Complete the documents before loading: the invoice, the packing list and any special permits, because a missing paper is not easily put right once the shipment is in Basel.
• Write the destination in full: the city, the canton, the postcode and the building number, since Swiss town names are alike from one canton to another.
• Book early ahead of summer: from May to July demand for Switzerland rises, and flights and shared containers fill up.

How do you choose a shipping company from Riyadh to Switzerland?

Test the company with three questions before you ask about the price: from which port does my container sail? How does it enter Switzerland when the country has no coast? And who clears it there? Whoever answers in detail knows the route. Whoever says “we will get it there, that is all” will leave it to you at the first obstacle. These are further signs:

What you ask about	An answer that reassures	An answer that calls for caution
Legal standing	A commercial registration whose number is given, and an office with an address	A mobile number only and a social media account
The route	Names Jeddah, then a European port, then the Rhine or the train	“Road freight to Switzerland” with no route and no duration
Customs	Asks about your residence and mentions form 18.44	“Switzerland is like the rest of Europe”
The price	Five items from Riyadh to the door	A single figure that ends at the Rotterdam quay
A valuable parcel	Documentation, insurance for the value and signed delivery	“We send it with the other parcels”

Common mistakes when shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland

• Sending a valuable watch for servicing on an ordinary import declaration, so tax is paid on its full value.
• Putting a counterfeit watch or bag in the parcel as a gift, so it is seized and the whole parcel is held up.
• Loading the container in Riyadh before the Swiss residence permit is issued or the tenancy agreement is signed.
• Shipping a large majlis and tall wardrobes to a flat whose doors and lift were never measured.
• Comparing a quote that includes the haul from Riyadh and the transit to Basel with one that starts at Jeddah port and ends at a European port.
• Writing “personal items” on a parcel containing new devices, so customs opens it and revalues it.
• Asking for delivery at the weekend, when trucks do not run on Sunday and customs offices are closed.

Why choose Home Safe to ship goods from Riyadh to Switzerland?

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

Related articles and pages

• Shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland
• Shipping company from Jeddah to Switzerland
• Shipping company from Riyadh to Austria
• Shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Europe
• Car shipping
• Shipping services

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Frequently asked questions about shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland

How much does shipping from Riyadh to Switzerland cost?

An envelope of documents by express starts from SAR 83, and an air parcel from SAR 23 for each chargeable kilogram. By sea, part-load furniture starts from SAR 5,500, a full-house container from SAR 11,000, and a saloon by RoRo from SAR 2,800 out of Jeddah port. Hauling the container or car from Riyadh to the port is set on request. Message us on 0552803439.

How many days does a shipment need from Riyadh until it reaches Switzerland?

An air parcel reaches the consignee’s door after 3 to 6 days. A full container takes between 27 and 40 days: shortest via Genoa and the train, longest via Rotterdam and a Rhine barge to Basel. Cartons in a shared container take between 34 and 47 days.

What is the cheapest way to ship goods from Riyadh to Switzerland?

The sea, for anything heavy and bulky. If your volume is under half a container, a part load is cheaper because you pay for your own cubic metres only, and if you fill a 20-foot container, a dedicated one costs less per metre. Air is only the cheapest for a small parcel not worth a month of waiting.

Which is the best shipping company from Riyadh to Switzerland for safety and speed?

The one that reckons with both ends of the route: a long road from Riyadh to the sea, and a landlocked country at the far end. At Home Safe we book the vessel before the truck leaves your district, open the transit document at the European port so that tax is not paid twice, and hand a valuable parcel over against its owner’s signature.

What documents are required to ship goods to Switzerland?

For commercial goods: a commercial invoice with the true value and a description of each item, a packing list with quantities, weights and dimensions, a waybill, a certificate of origin when requested, and special certificates for food, medicines and chemicals. For personal effects: a passport copy, the contents list and proof of residence for anyone claiming the relief.

Riyadh is far from the sea and so is Switzerland; how does the container travel?

On three modes: a truck carries it about 950 km to Jeddah Islamic Port, then a vessel takes it through Suez to Genoa, Rotterdam or Antwerp, then a barge carries it up the Rhine to the port of Basel or a train shortens the days. Its seal stays intact as far as Swiss customs.

How long does a barge take on the Rhine from Rotterdam to Basel?

About five days upstream against the current, while a train covers the distance in one to three days. We book the barge for a heavy, unhurried container, and the train for anyone with a fixed date. When the river level drops in dry spells, containers are switched to rail and we tell you in advance.

Do you send a valuable watch or jewellery from Riyadh to Zurich?

Yes, by air only and insured for the declared value. The piece and its serial number are photographed, it goes into its own box and then into a second padded box that gives no hint of the contents, and it is handed over against the consignee’s signature. A watch going for servicing is declared as a temporary import, so in current practice tax is not paid on its full value.

How are official documents and certificates shipped to Switzerland?

In a rigid envelope that does not bend, with a sleeve inside that keeps the paper dry, and a tracking number from the moment of collection at your office in Riyadh. It is handed to its owner or to someone they authorise in writing, and the price starts from SAR 83. Original passports are restricted by some carriers, so ask us before putting one in the envelope.

Does the consignee in Switzerland pay tax on my parcel?

In current practice value added tax is 8.1% on most goods and 2.6% on books, food and medicines, calculated on the value plus the freight. If it amounts to 5 francs or less it is not collected, and a gift from one person to another is exempt up to 100 francs. We check the limits in force before sending.

Can I move my household furniture from Riyadh to Switzerland without customs?

Yes, if you are really moving your residence. In current practice furniture you have used for at least six months enters free of duty and tax, with form 18.44, the contents list and proof of residence. Someone furnishing a flat they spend summers in is not covered by the relief.

Do you ship a car from Riyadh to Switzerland?

Yes. A carrier takes it to Jeddah port, then it sails in a closed container or by RoRo to a European port, and from there to the Swiss border. RoRo starts from SAR 2,800 for a saloon out of Jeddah port. Over there a 4% automobile tax and 8.1% tax apply unless it enters with a relocating resident’s effects, followed by a technical inspection in the canton.

Do you deliver outside Zurich and Geneva?

Yes, to Bern, the capital, to Lucerne and its lake towns, and to Basel, Lausanne, Montreux, Lugano, St Gallen and elsewhere. Most cities are reached by the distribution driver within a day of release. Car-free mountain villages have their shipment delivered at the valley station.

Will my electrical appliances work in Switzerland?

The supply there is 230 volts at 50 hertz, and the socket is the Swiss type with three round pins, so every appliance needs a plug adapter. For anything with a motor or compressor, check the label: if it reads 50/60 hertz it works, and if it reads 60 only, selling it in Riyadh is safer than shipping it.

Do you collect shipments from Switzerland to Riyadh?

Yes. Our agent there collects from the home, the shop or the clinic, and the shipment goes by air to King Khalid Airport, or by sea to Jeddah port and then by truck to Riyadh. What returns most: watches back from servicing, summer purchases, and the baggage of a student who has finished.