Relocation to Amsterdam from Dubai and Abu Dhabi

A moving company for Amsterdam, starting in Dubai

Planning a relocation to Amsterdam from Dubai or Abu Dhabi? Seemleius surveys and packs your home in the UAE, prepares the export papers and the signed inventory for Dutch Customs, ships your belongings and delivers them to your new address, whether that is a canal house in the Jordaan or a family home in Amstelveen.

We are based in Dubai Investment Park. Amsterdam has its own delivery rules for heavy vehicles, canal-side loading and emissions, and we plan for them before your container leaves. One coordinator stays with you from the survey to the last box unpacked.

What our moving services to Amsterdam include

Your fixed, itemised quote covers a door-to-door moving service to Amsterdam:

• A free in-home or video survey anywhere in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah.
• Export packing by trained crews, crates for art and fragile pieces, and furniture dismantling and reassembly.
• UAE export documents and the signed inventory for Dutch Customs.
• Sea freight in a full or shared container, depending on volume, and air freight for what you need first.
• The import declaration filed with Dutch Customs by our destination partner.
• Delivery planned around the city's rules: vehicle size, parking, furniture hoist and zero-emission zone.
• Placement room by room, reassembly and unpacking.
• Transit insurance available (terms confirmed with your quote).
• Storage in Dubai, short or long term, if your Amsterdam home is not ready yet.

Dutch customs for your Amsterdam move

Removal goods come into the Netherlands free of import taxes if you are moving your normal residence there from outside the EU, have lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months, have had and used the goods for at least 6 months, and import them within 12 months of settling, in one or more consignments.

There is no separate form for you to file, and you cannot file the declaration yourself: our destination partner lodges it with Dutch Customs. You sign the inventory we prepare and provide proof of residence, preferably your municipal registration, which shows the date you settled. If the goods arrive before you settle, they can still be cleared if you commit to settling within 6 months, and Customs can ask for a security.

Alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles and professional equipment other than portable instruments are excluded, and for 12 months the goods cannot be lent, pledged, rented out or transferred. A private car can be part of the relief when the conditions are met, with its own declaration. The full rules are on our Netherlands removals page.

Shipping to Amsterdam via Rotterdam in 2026

Containers for Amsterdam arrive by sea at Rotterdam and come the rest of the way by road.

Since 28 February 2026 the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to commercial shipping. UAE containers now travel by road to a port outside the strait, such as Khor Fakkan or Fujairah on the east coast or Sohar in Oman, and sail from there, on longer and less predictable schedules than before.

As a guide, CMA CGM's September 2026 schedule, which starts at Duqm in Oman, lists 40 days from Duqm to Rotterdam, port to port, before the road and feeder legs from the UAE, clearance and delivery are added. We confirm your routing and dates at the survey, and air freight can bring the essentials sooner.

How your move to Amsterdam runs

• Survey: at your home in the UAE, with questions about the Amsterdam address: floor, stairs, the street, and any canal wall or bridge nearby.
• Fixed quote: itemised, with no obligation.
• Documents: you sign the inventory we prepare and send us your proof of residence.
• Permits: the parking measure, any object permit and the hoist notification are lined up at least 2 weeks ahead.
• Packing day: crews pack, crate and list every item.
• Departure and arrival: by road to the departure port, by sea to Rotterdam, then clearance by our partner.
• Delivery: the right vehicle for your street, furniture placed and reassembled, boxes unpacked.

Delivering in Amsterdam: trucks, hoists, canals and emissions

We deliver across Amsterdam and nearby, from the Jordaan, De Pijp, Zuid and Oost to Amstelveen and Haarlem. The city's rules decide which vehicle can stop outside your door and where, so we plan delivery around them:

• Heavy vehicles: the inner city is closed to vehicles over 7.5 tonnes without an exemption. A day or annual zone exemption covers vehicles up to 30 tonnes and 10 metres, and removal vans are exempt from the length limit. Above 30 tonnes, a removal van needs a route exemption, given only if the bridges and quay walls on the route can take it.
• Canals and bridges: heavy vehicles must not load, unload or park on the pedestrian part of bridges, and must keep 3 metres from canal walls.
• Furniture hoist and parking: if your stairs are too narrow for large furniture, a portable hoist lifts it in through a window, and a hoist without a licence plate needs only a notification. Reserving parking spaces needs a temporary traffic measure (TVM), and a container or other object on the street needs an object permit; both carry a city fee. Apply at least 2 weeks ahead.
• Zero-emission zone: inside the S100 ring, a zero-emission zone applies to vans and lorries, and newly registered ones have had to be emission-free since 1 January 2025. Removal lorries under 13 years old, run by a registered removal firm, can get an exemption until 1 January 2030 at the latest.

These are Amsterdam's own rules. If you are moving to Amstelveen, Haarlem or another town nearby, we check that town's rules for your street instead.

Book your free home survey

The survey is 100% free, with no obligation. A coordinator visits your home, notes what goes by sea, what goes by air and what stays, and asks about access at your Amsterdam address. A fixed, itemised quote follows.

Three questions show whether a quote for Amsterdam has the delivery properly planned: who applies for the parking measure, who notifies the hoist, and whether the truck meets the zero-emission rules or has an exemption. Your coordinator answers all three at the survey.

Book through the quote form on this page or at seemleius.com/get-quote, or call or WhatsApp us on +971 56 899 2011.