Shipping Car from Riyadh to Dubai permanently

Hi aabbccdd,

Try to ask your questions on the Dubai forum as well.

Good luck,
Christine
Expat.com

Thanks.. I have asked this in the Dubai forum as well.

If the car you intend to take is yours by ownership and you have all the necessary documents (isthimara) just ship or drive the car to UAE. Once there you can approach the traffic department there to know the process in changing the registration.

Isthimara alone is not sufficient. There are other documents required and a formal process to transport the car. I am sure some of the members on this forum would have moved their cars to Dubai. Any help with companies/agents would be appreciated.

Guys,

Here is the procedure to move a car from Saudi to Dubai. I couldn't find it anywhere else on the internet...If you find it useful, please pray for me

Steps to Export Car from Riyadh to Dubai:
1.    Step 1:
a.    Pay Money to the transporting company. He will give you a letter on his company letter head
b.    Have this letter attested from the chamber of commerce

2.    Step 2:
a.    You need to take the below documents and go the muroor office. There are offices who are responsible only for exporting. You need to check with your transporting company about the location of this muroor office:
i.    Fill out a form giving details of name, car details, Istemara details etc. This form needs to be filled in Arabic
ii.    Chamber of commerce attested letter (from Step 1)
iii.    Your company letter (Introduction letter) giving your name, designation etc. This letter needs to be attested by chamber of commerce
iv.    Receipt of 100 SAR (there are agents near the ATM who will literally force you to take their service. They will take the istemara and 100 SAR from you and pay the fees using ATM. They will also collect some commission for themselves).
v.    Original Istemara
vi.    Passport copies (2)
vii.    Istemara copies (2)
viii.    Driving License copies (2)
ix.    Iqama copies (2)
b.    Mohandis Inspection:
i.    If muroor is happy with all your documents, he will ask you to go to ‘Mohandis' for car inspection. In Riyadh, this was an office just attached to the Murror office. Here, there is another traffic police guy who will review your documents and inspect your car
ii.    If this guy is happy, he will sign on the Arabic form
c.    Now, remove the number plates. There will be guys who will remove the plates for a fee
d.    Now go back to the Muroor office to the person who sent you to mohandis. Give him back all the documents and the 2 number plates. He will take 2-3 minutes and update the traffic system to say that the vehicle is now ‘exported'. You can check this in absher under ‘Vehicle Services'. He will give you the following:
i.    New number plates
ii.    2 documents in Arabic

3.    Step 3
a.    Your transporting company will provide you with 2 numbers on which you need to get ‘waqalas'.
b.    Take the 2 letters issued by the Muroor  and go to the ‘courts' or notary office to get your ‘Waqala'. i.e., you need to authorize the transporting company that they can legally take your vehicle to Dubai
c.    You need to check with your transporting company on the location of the court as not all of these offices do this type of work
d.    The Notary office has several counters with a token system. When yuou get your turn, you need to tell the guy at the counter to issue 2 waqalas. Give him the following:
i.    2 Letters from Muroor (from Step 2)
ii.    The 2 numbers provided by your transporting company
iii.    Iqama
e.     He will give you 2 letters and ask you to go to another counter 2 to collect the letter. Here you will get the 2 letters but he will send you back to the original guy for signature. After signature you need to go back to counter 2 for his seal.

4.    Step 4
a.    Submit the following to your transporting company:
i.    2 Muroor letters
ii.    2 waqalas
iii.    Passport copies of yourself
iv.    Iqama copies of yourself
v.    Emirates ID of someone in dubai (both sides of the ID)
vi.    Passport copies of someone in dubai
vii.    Dubai Visa copy (in the passport) of someone in dubai

The transporting company will take care of the rest.

Hi there, I think you followed a perfect procedure for moving your car. My brother who was there in Dubai for 3 years have recently transported his car to US. Initially we were also worried how to get the car to US and also how will all the legal formalities will take place, also which company to choose etc. But then one his friend suggested him to go for an auto shipping company which will not only transport the vehicle to the destination safely but also helps in handling all the legal document issues. He recommended him to some of the companies like [Link moderated - Neither in Riyadh nor in Dubai], auto shippers etc which was a great help to him to take his car back to US.

Thanks. Your guide helped me a lot. I just finished maroor export formalities at Riyadh. Will detail my experience here.

All the Best !!

The following are the steps I followed in exporting my 2015 model car from Riyadh to Dubai:
Step 1
I approached Al Bassami Transporters at exit 26 on Khurais Road, Riyadh
Al Bassami provided a note in Arabic listing out the complete requirements. I paid the transporting fees SAR 1,500 to enter into a transporting agreement. The transporting agreement lists out all details of the car, destination, dispatcher and recipient contacts etc.
Task 1
Approach traffic police at Rowda to change the status of car to ‘export'
Requirements:
•    Application form duly filled in Arabic, blank form can be collected at the reception
•    Letter from employer citing no objection to export car, duly authorized by Chamber of Commerce (COC)
•    Letter from Al Bassami citing the transport agreement and explaining the export details (will be provided by Al Bassami during Step 1 and must attested by COC)
•    Original Istemara and photocopies
•    Original Iqama and photocopies
•    Passport photocopy
•    Pay SAR 100 fees online or via the various agents plying around the traffic Police office
Submit all of the above to the reception and the Officer will inspect these and direct to the Mohandes. Mohandes is normally the superior officer who will inspect the car and approve the application. Once the Mohandes approves, approach the reception Officer again who will collect all the above mentioned documents, your two number plates, and original istemara.
He will then proceed to issue two new ‘export' number plates, and two documents signed and stamped.
One will be your new Istemara detailing the complete traffic record of the car, second confirming the change of records to export. I was told one can legally drive the ‘exported' car only for two weeks inside Saudi Arabia, even though the second document mentioned two months.
Tips: You will need to keep handy a screw driver to remove your old number plates. The new ones will require holes to be drilled for fixing, which any petrol pump mechanic can help. Drive carefully until you fix the new number plates and also until you renew motor insurance with the new registration information and new plate numbers.

Task 2
Obtain 2 power of attorneys (POA) favoring Al Bassami to transport your car.
Visit the Court at Exit 25, Al Shifa on Tuesdays from 8 to 12 am if you are a non Arabic speaker. In case you are an Arabic speaker, you can visit any working day during the same hours (I am a non Arabic speaker and visited on Tuesday, and I cannot confirm the second opinion for Arabic speakers, please check out yourselves).
You will need to get 2 ‘wakalas' (POA) favoring Al Bassami transport citing the legal entity reference numbers of the organization allowing Al Bassami to transport the car. The covering note document from Al Bassami in step 1 will have these numbers.
Requirements:
Your original Iqama and photocopies
When you turn comes at the Court, explain to the Officer (who can speak English) your requirements, who will direct you to next Officer who will type these two letters and ask you to go to the first floor and meet the authorized signatory.
The authorized signatory will verify your Iqama and check the contents of the letters, print these in draft, hand over to you, and request you to go to the same first officer at the previous counter on ground floor.
This officer will sign on the draft POAs and enter it in his register. Once complete, you have to go back to the Authorized Signatory at first floor who will issue the final approved 2 POAs, signed and stamped.
Tip: Ensure you read the contents (this will be in Arabic) of the POAs to confirm the numbers and data therein.
Step 2
Move the car to Al Bassami office and handover the following:
•    Two documents from Traffic Police
•    Two POAs from Court
•    Your car keys
•    Your Iqama, and Passport copies
•    Emirates ID copy (2 sides) and Passport with residence visa stamped page copy of the recipient in Dubai ( I used my friend as I was not having an Emirates ID yet)
•    You can then go to your insurance office and cancel the insurance to receive any premium refunds, even though I waited for 2 weeks for the car to clear Saudi border.

Step 3
Wait for the car to be transported and customs cleared by Al Bassami. UAE customs charge 5% of the deemed value of the car. I had no influence in discussing the value of car and it was handled by Al Bassami. Once cleared Al Bassami will deliver the car at your place with an additional cost for the flatbed truck.
Ensure you receive the original customs/vehicle clearance certificate duly signed and stamped by UAE customs before paying the fees to Al Bassami.
Step 4
Registering the car in Dubai.
You will need:
•    To the pass the vehicle test by RTA
•    Original Emirates ID of the recipient you already chose before while in KSA, the car will be registered in this person's ownership
•    Passport copy with residence visa page of the recipient you already chose before
•    Original Vehicle/customs clearance certificate obtained from Al Bassami
•    Motor Insurance
I handed over all of the above to an agent at a cost and he did the vehicle testing and registration all by himself without any effort from side. The agent's website is icarregistraton.com. I have no personal relationship with this agent. However, he was kind and professional.
Motor insurance was a bit of hassle as the Saudi Istemara had no engine number and insurance agencies in UAE require engine number. I had comprehensive insurance quotes declined by some and some quoting unreasonably high rates due to the engine number issue. I had to take a photo of the engine number using my mobile and email to an agent to procure comprehensive insurance at a very high premium.
The car passed RTA testing and was registered in Dubai with new number plates on the same day as handed over to the agent. The UAE registration card was not issued with an engine number and fear future renewals of insurance may turn out to be cumbersome.
Good luck.
Note: In case you find this information helpful, all credit goes to my Saudi friend (Al Owis) who helped me wholeheartedly throughout this process. In case you find mistakes in sentence construction, grammar, and usage, the limitations are only mine. Thank you!

icarregistraton

Dear Sunil

you have done a good work and more good that you post here all the details,

what about the license validity, I mean Saudi License will work there or what the efforts you will make for getting UAE license, please share this also

Hi - Thanks for the kind words. I am told I will need to go for the drive test to get UAE drivers license and cannot drive on Saudi license if not on visit visa. I will detail my experience of getting UAE license here.

Thx

Dear Sunil,
Thank you for detailing all this out for everyone
Is there any agent that can help do all this procedure without us going to muroor and courts etc, for a fee.
I live in Dammam so need help with where to start off here from.
How many weeks prior to departure date should I start this export procedure?
Thanks in advance.

Hi, No, one has to go to court, and maroor personally with his Iqama and Istemara. You must start this process before one month of you leaving, so that this can be finished within two weeks and you have sufficient time for the car to leave Saudi customs before your exit. Thanks, Good luck!

Hi Sunil

I ready what you wrote about your experience of transporting your car to UEA which is very helpful .
my twi questions to you are
1. Did you pay the UAE customs 5% charge  whilst your are still in KSA?
2. You mentioned that the car was registered in your friends name who lives in UEA. how did to change it back to your name?

thanks

Thanks, No I paid the customs duty after entering UAE. But since I shipped the car in my friend's name, it will him who the transportation co will be contacting. Also I haven't yet transferred the car to my name, will be doing only once the current insurance ends. Thanks

Thanks Sunil for your prompt reply.
Two more questions if you don't mind.
1. the car may arrive ti UAE 1-2 weeks before me .. in that case does the person in UAE whose the car is under his name have to pay the custom charges and release the car or could this wait till I arrive and if so will there be a charge for not releasing the car?
2. Can you insure the car when it is under your friend name? Or is it insured under his name?

Thanks

Hi-Most welcome. I am not sure whether they will wait. It will be a good idea to pre arrange the delivery matching your arrival there. Yes you can insure in your friends name. Actually the insurance and the car registration can be in your friends name only until you have your Emirates ID and Drivers license. Thanks.

Hi Sunil
Thank u for sharing your experience of transferring from KSA to Riyadh, I have a few doubts
1. Does we have to pay VAT on export for used car
2. What should be least model of car can be exported , I mean 2009 model car can be ?
3. As I understood your car is still with your friend name who received the car in UAE, so can u use that car ? do we need any documents to drive friend's car?
4. If possible to drive , any traffic violations will reach to the driver or to the owner ?
At last,
5. If we drive the car to UAE rather than through Al Bassami , any issues ?

1. Does we have to pay VAT on export for used car
Ans: No idea
2. What should be least model of car can be exported , I mean 2009 model car can be ?
Ans: No idea
3. As I understood your car is still with your friend name who received the car in UAE, so can u use that car ? do we need any documents to drive friend's car?
Ans: No documents are required to drive. Any violations will go to the owner.
4. If possible to drive , any traffic violations will reach to the driver or to the owner ?
At last,
5. If we drive the car to UAE rather than through Al Bassami , any issues ?
Ans: No idea

Hi Sunil,

Thanks for the information, its very helpful as I am planning to move to Abu Dhabi in the coming month.

Quick question - can you confirm the total cost that you incurred from initiation at Al bassami till your friend took possession of the car.

My current value of my car is approx SAR 45k ( Mazda CX-9 2011 model and I am contemplating whether I should sell the car here in Saudi or take it with me to UAE - any thoughts on this from your side?

Thanks.
Imran Khot

Sunil, please confirm

I have contacted icaregistration in Dubai and a friend who had previously exported his car from Riyadh to Dubai, and my understanding that you can export the car under your name.  The friend in UAE can receive your car and keep it in his house but not use it and when you get your UAE residence, you can register the car under you name avoiding the hassle of transferring the ownership to and from your friend.

That would be extremely helpful and save the additional cost of transferring. Good luck!

Dear Imran,

The answers to your questions as below:

Quick question - can you confirm the total cost that you incurred from initiation at Al bassami till your friend took possession of the car.

Ans: SAR 1500 to Al Bassami, SAR 200 for export of car, SAR 100 for attestation etc., AED 5750 customs duty, AED 6400 one year insurance, AED 600 registration in Dubai, AED 4800 UAE drivers license. The customs duty and insurance depends on your car value, make and model. Drivers license depends on which attempt you pass and what license you have currently.

My current value of my car is approx SAR 45k ( Mazda CX-9 2011 model and I am contemplating whether I should sell the car here in Saudi or take it with me to UAE - any thoughts on this from your side?

Ans: If you get atleast your minimum price in Saudi, sell and buy another one in Dubai, otherwise export.

Good luck.

hi sunil,

Just to be clear can you explain me the
the cost of each step.
the exact cost by the govt:

Ecport certificate:

Inspection by mohandes:

Export plates:

Insurance cost for 2 weeks:

Wakalas by the court:

Chamber of commerce attestation:

Please mention any other step i have forgotten here along with the cost

I want to know the exact cost of each step

Thanks

Please read my reply to Mr.Imran. The cost is specified there.

SAR 1500 to Al Bassami, SAR 200 for export of car, SAR 100 for attestation etc.,???

I want a brief answer on this statement...

the exact cost by the govt:

Ecport certificate:

Inspection by mohandes:

Export plates:

Insurance cost for 2 weeks:

Wakalas by the court:

Chamber of commerce attestation:

Please mention any other step i have forgotten here along with the cost

I want to know the exact cost of each step

I am building a software on import & export within gcc that is why i need the exact cost of each step.

It would be of great help if you can guide me through the cost one by one.

to be very precise not one riyal up or down.

Appreciate your efforts

Thanks

i have exported car from saudia to Qatar almost 1 year ago but it is still showing it on my abshir and the status is exported do i need to delete this what will be the procedure as i need to go on final exit

Hi Sunil

Thanks for the detailed write up on exporting car from Riyadh to UAE. Appreciate if you could answer the below question

Once the car status is changed to Export License plate, are you allowed to get the final exit visa? or the car has to leave the Saudi border? if this is the case will Abshar be automatically updated or in other words will my Iqama show that I have no cars owned in Saudi?

Appreciate your earliest feedback as I am leaving Saudi next month on final exit.

thanks and best regards