Relocation to Cyprus from Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Your Cyprus movers, from Dubai to your front door

For a relocation to Cyprus from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, whether to Limassol, Nicosia, Larnaca or Paphos, Seemleius surveys and packs your home, prepares the export documents and ships your goods, and our destination partner clears them through Cyprus customs and delivers them to your door.

We are based in Dubai Investment Park. One coordinator stays with you from the first visit to the last box unpacked.

Cyprus applies the EU's relief for people moving their normal residence from outside the EU, so your household goods can enter free of import duty and VAT if you meet the conditions below. Most of the planning goes into timing and paperwork, and that is where we start.

What is included in your removals to Cyprus

Your fixed, itemised quote covers:

• A free in-home or video survey in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah.
• Export packing by trained crews, crates for art, glass and other fragile pieces, and furniture dismantling and reassembly.
• Export documents prepared in Dubai and a full inventory of your goods for the relief claim.
• Sea freight in a full or shared container, depending on volume, and air freight for the essentials you need first.
• Customs clearance in Cyprus with our destination partner.
• Delivery, placement room by room and unpacking.
• Transit insurance available (terms confirmed with your quote).
• Storage in Dubai, short or long term, if your Cyprus home is not ready: see household goods storage.

Customs relief for household goods in Cyprus

For international removals to Cyprus, the relief comes from EU law. Personal property of people moving their normal residence to the EU from a non-EU country enters free of import duty under Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 and free of VAT under Directive 2009/132/EC.

To qualify, you need to meet these conditions:

• 12 months abroad: you must have lived outside the EU for a continuous 12 months. The rule can be waived if you clearly intended to stay abroad that long, and special rules apply to work-related moves.
• Six months of use: the goods must have been in your possession, and used if they are not consumables, at your former home for at least six months, and they must be kept for the same use.
• Timing: goods must be entered within 12 months of taking up residence and may arrive in several consignments. They can also be entered up to six months before you take up residence, against a security.
• After entry: for 12 months the goods cannot be lent, pledged, hired out or transferred without telling customs first.

Personal property covers household effects, bicycles and motorcycles, private cars and trailers, caravans, pleasure craft and portable instruments, as long as nothing suggests a commercial import. Alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles and trade equipment other than portable instruments are excluded.

In Cyprus the relief is claimed on Form Απ. 2 (transfer of normal residence from a country outside the EU), which covers import duty, excise duty and VAT. We prepare the inventory and the export documents; you provide the proof that you meet the conditions, and the current document list is confirmed with you before your goods sail.

Meat and dairy products cannot be brought in from outside the EU, plant products need a phytosanitary certificate, and honey is limited to 2 kg. Limassol port has offices for the Department of Agriculture's phytosanitary control, the Veterinary Services and Customs.

Shipping to Limassol, the main port of Cyprus

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

The Cyprus Ports Authority describes Limassol as the main port of Cyprus. Eurogate has run its container terminal since 2017 and DP World Limassol its general-cargo terminal. The port is closed on 25 December and 1 January, worth knowing if you are moving over the holidays.

Some carriers began moving services back to the Suez Canal route in September 2026, subject to stability in the Red Sea, so routings to the eastern Mediterranean are still changing. We confirm the routing and dates at your survey rather than quote old Jebel Ali transit times.

How your move to Cyprus runs

• Survey: your coordinator goes through every room with you, agrees what goes by sea and by air, and checks your dates against the 12-month and six-month rules.
• Quote: a fixed, itemised quote with the current routing.
• Packing day: trained crews pack, crate and load, and the inventory is drawn up as they work.
• Departure: export documents are completed in Dubai and the container goes by road to the departure port.
• Arrival and clearance: our destination partner clears your goods under the relief.
• Delivery: the partner crew delivers, reassembles furniture and unpacks.

Delivering to Limassol, Nicosia, Larnaca and Paphos

Our destination partner delivers to homes in all four cities, and your Seemleius coordinator stays your contact until the last box is unpacked.

Before delivery, your coordinator goes through access with you: lifts and stairs in apartment blocks, villa driveways, parking for the truck, and a delivery date that suits you once your goods are cleared.

Pets and vehicles

Pets travel as a separate service: see pet relocation. A private car, motorcycle or caravan can be part of the relief when the conditions are met; commercial vehicles cannot, and vehicles for mixed commercial use may also be excluded from the VAT relief. Ask us about vehicle shipping.

Book your free in-home survey

Choosing international movers to Cyprus is easier once you have seen a proper survey. Ours is 100% free, with no obligation: a coordinator visits your home in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, goes through every room and the relief conditions, and sends a fixed, itemised quote.

Use the quote form on this page or our quote page, or call or WhatsApp +971 56 899 2011. Tell us when you plan to take up residence in Cyprus, and we will plan the shipment around it.