Sea freight — Khor Fakkan, Fujairah or Sohar to Nhava Sheva, after the road leg from Jebel Ali
Transit, port to port2 to 6 days
Typically suitsA full household, or the part of one that can follow you home.
International Moving from the UAE to India
Moving your household from the UAE back to India? For now, the container goes by road to the UAE's east coast or to Oman before it sails. India's baggage rules decide the rest.
2 to 6 days · Sea to Nhava Sheva, port to port
What decides when a move from the UAE arrives?
The route out of the Gulf and India's rules for a returning household decide the date.
Ocean Network Express reported the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March 2026. On its November 2026 schedule, a container from Jebel Ali goes by road to Khor Fakkan or Fujairah on the UAE's east coast, or to Sohar in Oman. That road leg is a land bridge.
From there, the sailing to Nhava Sheva takes 2 to 6 days port to port.
Arriving in India, the Baggage Rules, 2026 decide what comes in duty-free. The allowance turns on how long you lived abroad and how long your visits lasted.
Transit times
How long is the sailing to Nhava Sheva?
The sailing time is the sea leg alone, from the east coast or Sohar to Nhava Sheva. Packing, UAE export clearance, the road leg, Indian clearance and delivery all sit outside it.
The sea figure is a researched estimate from Ocean Network Express's published point-to-point schedule, read on 10 November 2026, for Jebel Ali to Nhava Sheva. Every option on it began with a road leg to the east coast or Sohar. One listed sailing showed a time too short for the crossing, so the range leaves it out. No air figure has been sourced for this lane.
What decides your quote
What decides a quote for a move to India?
These six decide it.
- 01
How much is going
A survey lists everything going. How much is on that list shapes the quote. - 02
- 03
The route out of the Gulf
The road leg to the coast comes before the sailing. Ask how your container leaves the UAE. - 04
Your allowance
Your years abroad and your visits home set the transfer-of-residence allowance. What falls outside it is a separate customs question. - 05
Access at both ends
Tower service lifts in Dubai and building rules in India both shape the day. Ask each building early. - 06
What is not furniture
Vehicles, pets, alcohol and gold carry their own rules. Raise them at the survey.
Customs
Which documents does each end need?
Each end has its own list, set by its own authority. Dubai Customs lists the export documents for goods leaving Dubai. Indian customs decides what you pay on arrival.
Leaving the UAE — export
- a detailed customs declaration made by the owner of the goods, an authorised representative or a licensed customs broker
- An invoice and a packing list for the goods
- A certificate of origin, and a permit for any restricted item
Administered by Dubai Customs ↗
Arriving in India — import
- Form CBD-II, the Unaccompanied Baggage Declaration Form for Import, filed electronically
- Your passport details, your arrival date and, for transfer of residence, your recent visits to India
- The bill of lading and the container and seal numbers
Administered by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) ↗
One declaration, filed online
Form CBD-II asks for passport details, travel dates, bill of lading and IGM details, container and seal numbers, an itemised article list, and India visit dates for TR.
It can be filed by the passenger or a person the passenger authorises, which can include a customs broker. It goes in on ICEGATE, the customs portal, up to three days before the baggage arrives in India.
The inventory packed in the UAE is the list India reads, so it deserves as much care as the packing.
How it works
What are the stages of a move from the UAE to India?
Five stages, from survey to your door.
Survey and inventory
In the UAE, we operate in Dubai. The survey produces the inventory India's declaration asks for.
Packing and the export declaration
Every carton is listed on that inventory. The UAE export declaration is made before the container leaves.
Road, sea and your flight
As of November 2026, a container from Jebel Ali goes by road first to Khor Fakkan, Fujairah or Sohar. The sailing from there to Nhava Sheva takes 2 to 6 days port to port.
India's Baggage Rules count from your arrival. The goods must be sent within 1 month of it, unless customs allows longer. They may land up to 2 months before you.
The declaration, then clearance
Form CBD-II can go in up to three days before the baggage arrives in India. Customs then clears the goods against your allowance.
Release and the road home
The shipment leaves the port for your address. A home inland adds a longer road leg.
Where this move ends
Where in India is the move going?
The researched sailings reach Nhava Sheva. Where you are going decides the overland leg after the sailing.
Mumbai and the westNhava Sheva, across the harbour from Mumbai, is the port the researched sailings reach. A Mumbai home has the shortest leg from the quay to the door. Its clearance date and its delivery date sit closest together.
Bangalore and the southBangalore is inland, so the goods go on overland from the port to reach a southern home. A Bangalore date and a Mumbai date for the same sailing are not the same date.
Delhi and the northDelhi is far inland, so goods landed at Nhava Sheva travel on overland to reach a northern home. That inland leg comes on top of the sailing.
What customers say
How did moves between the UAE and India go?
I have recently moved the household goods from Dubai to Namakkal - India and utilized the services of IMove Global Mobility LLP for receipt and moving / unloading the goods from Chennai port to Namakkal. I am very highly satisfied with their services from the time of vessel ETA to unloading the goods at our home. Excellent service and extremely happy & satisfied with the team members especially the excellent coordination and communication of Ms.Vennisa during the complete process.
Devarajan Ramasamy · Household move · Dubai → Namakkal
Extremely satisfied with the service provided by iMove Global. All my shipments were delivered from India to Abu Dhabi as scheduled and without any damage. The service personnel both at the pick up and delivery points were really professional and completed the task on time and as desired. Highly recommended for international shipping of house hold goods.
Muthamizh vendan · Household move · India → Abu Dhabi
We used their service for moving our household goods from Dubai to Bangalore. They were very proactive in their communication and kept us informed at every step of the journey of the goods. Their team at the customs office was also very good. I would recommend their services to anyone who wants a responsible logistics partner for moving goods from UAE to India.
Sheshagiri Anegondi · Household move · Dubai → Bangalore
Questions
What do people ask about moving back to India from the UAE?
Do I pay duty on household goods I bring back to India?
Not on goods inside the transfer-of-residence allowance, because the Baggage Rules, 2026 let a returning household import them free of duty, and the largest allowance needs at least two years abroad just before arrival, short visits to India of no more than six months in total over those two years, and no TR claim in the preceding three years.
Some goods sit outside the allowance however long you lived abroad. The rules list firearms, cartridges over 50, cigarettes, cigars or tobacco and alcohol above set limits, gold or silver other than ornaments, and televisions.
Can I bring my fridge and washing machine back duty-free?
Yes, one of each if you qualify, because on transfer of residence the household appliances you can bring in free of duty are one unit each of the Annexure-II articles, such as air-conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, televisions, laptops and musical instruments, within the value cap, so a second unit of the same appliance falls outside the allowance.
Watch out
Televisions appear on both lists in the rules. Raise a television before packing day.
What can't I bring into India?
Some goods are refused outright, whatever your allowance, because the Customs Baggage (Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2026 name as prohibited maps showing India's borders incorrectly, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, IP-infringing goods, wildlife products, counterfeit Indian currency, and specified live birds and animals.
Who files the customs declaration for my shipment?
You do, or someone you authorise, because the declaration for goods shipped separately is Form CBD-II, the Unaccompanied Baggage Declaration Form for Import, filed electronically, and it can be filed by the passenger or a person the passenger authorises, which can include a customs broker.
When should my shipment leave the UAE?
Plan the sailing from your own flight home, because India's Baggage Rules say the shipment must be sent within 1 month of your arrival in India, unless customs allows longer, and that it may land in India up to 2 months before you arrive.
Customs can allow an earlier landing than that, for reasons it records in writing.
Does my container still sail from Jebel Ali?
Not straight to India on the current schedules, because Ocean Network Express reported the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March 2026, and on its November 2026 schedule every option from Jebel Ali to Nhava Sheva starts with a road leg to Khor Fakkan, Fujairah or Sohar.
The routing may change again. Ask for the current one when you ask for a quote.
Is the sailing time the time to my door?
No, because the sailing figure on this route is the sea leg alone, from the east coast or Sohar to Nhava Sheva port to port, and door to door adds packing, UAE export clearance, the road leg to the coast, Indian clearance and the delivery to your address.
Other routes
Moving on a different route?
The same lane in the other direction has its own page. So does the move home from Singapore.
Get a quote planned around your flight home.
Tell us what is moving and roughly when. We reply to every enquiry within 2 hours.
If your flight date is still moving, say so. Under India's rules it is the date the shipment is planned around.
Ask how your container will leave the UAE. The routing out of the Gulf has changed since March 2026.
Your shipment travels with all-risk marine cover at declared replacement value, included as standard.