This year has already changed what a move from the UAE costs and how long it takes. Below is what our Dubai coordinators are seeing — six points you should factor in if you are planning a relocation in the months ahead.
Sea freight is re-routed, and schedules run longer
For moves out of the UAE, routing now matters more than the rate trend. Since the Strait of Hormuz closed to commercial shipping in February 2026, containers go by road to a port outside the strait, such as Khor Fakkan or Fujairah on the UAE's east coast or Sohar in Oman, before sailing on to Felixstowe, Le Havre, Halifax, Sydney and elsewhere. The road leg and re-routing add cost, and sailing schedules are longer and less predictable than before, so routing and dates are confirmed at the survey and the freight price is fixed in your itemised quote.
What this means in practice: if your quote was issued before the re-routing began, ask for a refresh before committing — it will not reflect the road leg or the current schedules.
Air freight is becoming a real option, not just an emergency one
With sea schedules longer and less predictable, air freight earns a place in more move plans. For a household move where a family needs essentials in hand quickly while the sea consignment is in transit, splitting 50 to 80 kilograms onto air freight has become a reasonable line item rather than a luxury. Air rates depend on volume, route and season, and the air-freight line is fixed in your itemised quote after the free survey.
Destination biosecurity checks remain strict
Australia and New Zealand are where biosecurity matters most. Australian biosecurity (the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, DAFF) assesses every unaccompanied-effects statement and packing list before deciding what to inspect, and New Zealand inspects every sea container of household goods. The practical impact for UAE-origin movers is that household items with any wood, soil residue or food traces get a close look. Clean outdoor furniture, garden tools, bikes and footwear before packing, empty vacuum-cleaner bags, and check wooden furniture for borer holes.
None of this is new in principle, but the checks are thorough and inspection time is charged. Number every box and name what is in it, because vague entries are treated as items of concern, and allow time at the destination for biosecurity processing in your move plan.
Pet relocation needs the longest lead time
For strict destinations, the rabies titer test starts a waiting period before the pet can travel, so book the vet early. Add the destination-side rules (Australia holds pets at Mickleham for ten days minimum; Ireland requires dogs to have a tapeworm treatment 24 to 120 hours before arrival), and the realistic timeline from first vet visit to pet arriving at the new home can run to six months or more for a destination such as Australia.
If a pet is moving with you, start that timeline running as soon as the destination is decided. The household goods can wait. The pet paperwork cannot.
Customs filing is moving online, but not everywhere
Some destination forms are now filed online and some are not. The UK's Transfer of Residence relief is applied for online (form ToR1) by the person moving, before the goods are shipped; Canada's BSF186 can be completed online but is declared in person at the first point of arrival; Australia's B534 can be lodged in person, by email to the state ABF office or through a customs broker; and Germany's Form 0350 is still a written declaration. Mistakes are hard to correct after submission, so we prepare the export paperwork in Dubai, help you get the destination forms right, and our destination partner handles clearance on arrival.
The destination end is now the hardest part to plan
This is the trend our coordinators talk about most. The freight still needs careful planning — since early 2026 sailing schedules have been longer and less predictable, so we confirm routing and dates at the survey — but the parts of an international move that are hardest to plan now sit at the destination end: school enrolment cycles, residence-permit issuance, housing-market tightness in cities like Amsterdam, Auckland and Dublin.
For families with children of school age, freight transit time is not the only constraint, and often not the main one. What usually drives the plan is whether you can land before the destination school year starts.
What is unchanged
One thing has not shifted: a successful move still depends on a single accountable coordinator owning the job from first quote to final delivery. Multi-vendor coordination — separate packers, freight forwarders, customs brokers and unpackers — is where moves tend to slip. Our model continues to be one Seemleius coordinator end-to-end, from the survey in Dubai to delivery with our destination partner.
If you are planning a move from the UAE this year, the most useful first conversation is a fifteen-minute scoping call with a coordinator. We can usually outline the timeline and the destination-side gotchas before any paperwork starts; the free in-home survey then confirms routing and dates and gives you a fixed, itemised quote.
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