Moving Company from Dubai to New Zealand, Door to Door

Removalists for New Zealand, from Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Every sea container of household goods arriving in New Zealand is inspected at an MPI-approved facility, and Customs won't start clearance until it has every document. That is why a moving company for New Zealand has to get the paperwork right before anything leaves Dubai: Seemleius prepares it here and moves your home door to door, with one coordinator from survey to unpacking.

We are Seemleius Mobility and Cargo L.L.C in Dubai Investment Park. We collect from homes across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, for families moving to New Zealand for the first time and for New Zealanders coming home.

House removals to NZ: what's included

One fixed, itemised quote covers:

• A 100% free in-home or video survey anywhere in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah.
• Export packing by trained crews, crating for fragile items and art, and furniture dismantling and reassembly.
• A detailed inventory, with food, wooden items and outdoor gear listed so they can be declared.
• The NZCS 218 and the MPI supplementary declaration, prepared with you in Dubai.
• Sea freight in a full or shared container, depending on volume, and air freight for essentials.
• Customs clearance and the MPI inspection handled with our destination partner.
• Delivery, placement and unpacking by our destination partner's movers and packers in Auckland, Wellington or wherever you settle.
• Transit insurance available (terms confirmed with your quote).
• Storage in Dubai, short or long term, if your dates don't line up.

NZ Customs and MPI biosecurity rules

The household effects concession removes duty and GST on most used household items if you are moving to New Zealand for the first time, or returning after 21 months or more away. You must have lived outside New Zealand for the whole 21 months before you arrive, apart from brief holidays or business trips, and hold a document authorising residence in New Zealand; Customs lists the accepted ones. The items must have been personally owned and used by you before you left, and be for your own use.

Covered: furniture, appliances, linen, electronics, tools, sports gear, pianos, trailers and non-motorised caravans, and wine collections bought over an extended period. Not covered: new or unused items, cars, scooters, motorbikes, boats, aircraft and commercial items. Goods meant for someone else, or as gifts, pay duty and GST. Your goods can arrive up to 6 months before you.

Clearance uses form NZCS 218, "Bring personal household items into New Zealand" (June 2026 version), with your passport bio-page, the packing list, the bill of lading or arrival notice, receipts for new items, any permits and the MPI supplementary biosecurity declaration. Customs will not start the clearance until it has every document.

Biosecurity inspection of sea containers of household goods is mandatory. The NZCS 218 asks you to declare:

• any food and animal products;
• handcrafted wooden carvings, cane, bamboo, basketware and straw;
• fishing and gardening gear;
• used vacuum cleaners, golf shoes, football boots and hiking boots;
• bicycles, tents and barbecues;
• Christmas or Easter decorations and Pooja items.

A full container of your own goods needs a quarantine declaration, and wooden crates must meet wood packaging rules. Declared prohibited items may be returned after inspection, re-shipped, destroyed or treated, and fees apply; failing to comply may be an offence under the Customs and Excise Act 2018 or the Biosecurity Act 1993. The concession covers duty and GST only: a Goods Levy is charged on each unaccompanied consignment, and MPI may charge for inspection time. Official charges are listed in your quote.

We prepare the inventory, the NZCS 218 and the supplementary declaration with you. You provide your passport bio-page, your residence document, receipts for new items and any permits.

Routes and transit times to New Zealand

Since 28 February 2026 the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to commercial shipping, so UAE containers go 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. Schedules are longer and less predictable than before.

Cargo for New Zealand typically tranships in Singapore. From there, ANL's Kiwi Express takes about 16–17 days to Auckland and 19–20 days to Lyttelton on schedules checked in September 2026.

The leg from the UAE to Singapore depends on the carrier at the time of booking, and the MPI inspection and clearance come on top of the sailing, so we confirm your routing and door-to-door dates at the survey. For clothes and essentials you need on arrival, air freight is the faster option.

How your move to New Zealand runs

• Survey: your coordinator lists what ships, what flies, what goes into storage and what stays, and flags the items MPI will ask about.
• Fixed quote: every service itemised, official charges such as the Goods Levy listed, with the transit insurance terms.
• Packing day: crews dismantle, wrap and crate, and write the inventory box by box.
• Departure: your container goes by road to the port and sails on the confirmed routing, with the NZCS 218 and documents complete.
• Arrival and clearance: our destination partner handles Customs clearance and the MPI inspection at an approved transitional facility.
• Delivery: furniture placed and reassembled, boxes unpacked.

Where we deliver in New Zealand

We deliver to homes across both islands: Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Wellington in the North Island, and Christchurch and Dunedin in the South.

Auckland is New Zealand's largest import port, Tauranga has the largest container terminal, handling about 41% of the country's containers, and Lyttelton is the South Island's largest port. The arrival port depends on your address and the carrier, and we confirm it at the survey.

Regional addresses are part of the same service, so you won't need a removal company in Palmerston North or Whangarei after you land: our destination partner delivers there too.

Heading to Canterbury? See our page on moving from Dubai to Christchurch.

Pets and cars

Pets and vehicles are moved as separate services with their own paperwork: see pet relocation and vehicle shipping. Cars, scooters, motorbikes and boats are not covered by the household effects concession.

Storage in Dubai

If your lease ends before your flight, we keep your goods in storage in Dubai, short or long term. Your shipment can reach New Zealand up to 6 months before you, and goods arriving more than 5 years after you need a Customs officer's consent.

Book your free in-home survey

A coordinator visits your home in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, goes through each room with you and notes what goes by sea, by air, into storage or nowhere at all. We also go through the items MPI asks about, from the garden shed to the Christmas decorations.

The survey is 100% free with no obligation, and your fixed, itemised quote follows.

Book through the form on this page or our quote page, or call or WhatsApp +971 56 899 2011.