Whichever Saudi city you live in, Gulf International Shipping can take your home’s furniture to Syria by road: our truck leaves through the Al-Haditha or Halat Ammar border post, crosses Jordan in transit to Jaber, and inside Nassib’s customs yard everything is unloaded and restacked on a licensed Syrian truck for the last leg to your door in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo or Latakia. Loaded in Tabuk, furniture is in Damascus after roughly 4–7 working days; from Riyadh or the Hejaz cities allow about a week and a half (7–10 days), and up to 11 days from Dammam. At Gulf International Shipping a complete bedroom starts from SAR 1,100, a small apartment from SAR 3,680, a large apartment from SAR 5,980 and a carton of up to 25 kg from SAR 165.
Most people who contact us about furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Syria are families who have lived in the Kingdom for many years and have decided to go home for good. Before anything else they face a practical question: what do we take, and what do we sell here? How do we get the furniture into Syria without paying duty? And will wood and glass survive a long trip with two loadings? This guide answers those questions in the order a family actually meets them: deciding what to ship, the exemption paperwork, packing, the route and prices, and finally putting the bed back together in the new home.
In short
- Route: a Saudi truck as far as the Jordan–Syria frontier, a switch to a Syrian truck inside Nassib, then on to your door
- Saudi exit point: Al-Haditha for loads from Riyadh, the Eastern Province and Qassim; Halat Ammar for loads from Tabuk, Madinah and the western cities
- Time to Damascus: fastest from Tabuk at 4–7 working days, then Madinah at 6–9, Riyadh and the Hejaz cities at 7–10, and Dammam, the longest, at 8–11
- Prices: SAR 1,100 upwards for a bedroom or a timber kitchen, SAR 920 for a lounge suite, SAR 3,680 for a one- or two-room flat, SAR 13,800 for a villa
- Returnee exemption: used furniture of a Syrian returning to live permanently is duty-free once, within single-family limits, with a list certified by the Syrian embassy
- Air freight: for what the family needs on arrival in Damascus or Aleppo, starting at SAR 23 a kilo and landing within 3–5 days
Saudi door to Syrian door: loading → Saudi border post → Jordan transit → Jaber → truck swap at Nassib → assembly in the new home · 0568829975
Is your furniture worth moving from Saudi Arabia to Syria?
Not everything in a home deserves a 1,600 km journey. The rule we give families is simple: move what is hard to replace or cost you a lot, and sell or leave what is easy to buy again. A solid-wood bedroom bought years ago that is still sturdy, a made-to-measure kitchen that can be refitted, an Arabic majlis, hand-made rugs and recent appliances usually justify the shipping cost. Plastic chairs, light tables and old mattresses often cost more to wrap and to carry than they are worth.
There is a second factor specific to Syria: the customs exemption for returnees has quantity limits, as explained below. If your home has five bedrooms, for example, it is better to choose the best three and sell the rest in the Kingdom, because anything above the limit is charged duty. That is why our surveyor starts every visit with a room-by-room walk-through, suggests what to ship and what to leave, and then measures the volume in cubic metres before giving you a price.
Customs exemption for returning Syrians’ furniture
Syria exempts the used household furniture and personal effects of citizens returning for permanent residence from customs duty, but the exemption is conditional and granted only once. Under the latest published rules the owner must have spent half a year or more living abroad, to hold an inventory stamped by Syria’s embassy or consulate in the place they lived, to be present in person, to ship the goods from that country of residence, and for the goods to be personal, non-commercial and visibly used.
The same rules set the quantities accepted under the exemption, sized for a single family, as shown in the table. The beneficiary may not sell or transfer the furniture for three years, and neither they nor a family member living with them may have used the exemption before. Cars are never covered, and anything above the limits pays the applicable duties and taxes, with any import bans still applying.
Check the rules before shipping
Syria has issued a new customs law replacing the previous one, and under it, Syrians coming home to stay can still bring in their own effects, the tools of their trade and the contents of their home. Until fresh detailed rules appear, we apply the limits above and check the latest announcements of the General Authority for Ports and Customs with you before loading.
How to prepare the furniture list and have it certified by the Syrian embassy
The list is the most important document in the exemption file, and the most common cause of delay at Nassib is a list written in a hurry that does not match what is in the truck. We prepare it with you after packing, not before, so it matches exactly: every piece by name and quantity, every carton by number and general contents (“Carton 14: children’s clothes and shoes”). We write it in Arabic, add an English copy if needed, and you then visit the Syrian mission in the Kingdom, embassy or consulate, to have it stamped on their schedule.
- Order the list by room: master bedroom, children’s room, living room, kitchen, then cartons. It makes it easier for the customs officer to match list and load.
- Name appliances by type: one fridge, one washer, one TV; do not repeat an appliance, or the extra one falls outside the exemption.
- Do not inflate values: the goods are used, and a reasonable estimate reads more clearly at inspection.
- Keep copies: one with the driver, one with you and a digital copy on your phone.
What pays duty on entry to Syria?
Anything outside the exemption pays: unused new furniture, duplicate appliances, quantities beyond a single family’s needs and items that look commercial. Duty follows Syria’s new unified customs tariff and varies by item, so no single figure fits everything. If you have new furniture still in its box, tell us during the survey so we list it separately, estimate what it will attract and arrange clearance through a broker on the Syrian side.
How does furniture travel from your home in Saudi Arabia to your home in Syria?
There is no direct land border between the Kingdom and Syria, so every furniture load passes through Jordan. What sets this route apart today is that Saudi trucks do not currently enter Syrian territory: our truck pulls in at Jordan’s Jaber post and rolls across into the yard at Nassib, where the goods come off and go directly onto a licensed Syrian truck. The process is called transshipment, or “munaqala”. Our team handles the whole step with our partners in Syria and checks every piece and carton against the list before the second truck leaves.
The Saudi leg depends on your city. Furniture loaded in Riyadh, the Eastern Province and Qassim heads north to Qurayyat and exits through Al-Haditha, facing Jordan’s Al-Omari post. Furniture loaded in Tabuk exits through Halat Ammar, facing Al-Mudawwara, and loads from Madinah, Jeddah, Makkah and Taif usually take the same road or join a consolidated load leaving through Al-Haditha. Either way the truck crosses Jordan under transit rules without unloading until it reaches Jaber.
These times apply to a load with its own truck or one joining a load that is ready to leave. Consolidated shipping, where we wait for several families’ goods to fill the truck, usually adds 3–5 days. The crossing never closes, yet queues build in peak seasons and while the yards are being enlarged, which can cost a day or two; so we give you a time range rather than a fixed date and update you at every stage. For the crossing and its procedures in full, see our Nassib border crossing guide.
Packing furniture for a trip with two loadings
In most international moves furniture is loaded once and unloaded once. To Syria the load is unloaded at Nassib and loaded again onto another truck, so every piece passes through more hands and faces more chances of rubbing or pressure. We therefore pack Syria-bound furniture on the assumption that each carton will be lifted and set down twice: more layers around edges, double-wall cartons for crockery, and clear numbering so the team at Nassib can stack the Syrian truck in the same order.
- Layer one: thin film to keep dust and moisture off fabric and wood.
- Layer two: bubble wrap around glossy surfaces and corners.
- Layer three: cardboard or foam corner guards on the most fragile edges.
- Layer four: thick moving blankets to absorb shocks in the truck.
- Layer five: strong tape, then a label with the piece number and room name.
Mirrors, glass, display cabinets and ornaments need more than layers; we build treated wooden crates to size around them with foam corners inside, as in the picture. Every glass and cup is wrapped in white paper and placed in a divided carton marked “fragile” with an arrow showing the top. Beds, wardrobes and tables are taken apart piece by piece, and their screws go into numbered bags taped to the piece itself, so the assembly team in Syria never has to hunt for a missing bolt.
Moving bedrooms, kitchens and majlis sets from Saudi Arabia to Syria
Bedrooms: we take apart the bed, wardrobe, dressing table and bedside units, and wrap doors and drawers separately. Large sliding-door wardrobes need special care because their tracks bend easily, so we remove and wrap the tracks on their own. On arrival we rebuild each room as it was and adjust the doors to the new floor.
Kitchens: a made-to-measure wooden kitchen, IKEA kitchens included, is removed unit by unit, with each unit numbered and the wall photographed first. Measure the kitchen wall in your Syrian home before shipping; if it is much shorter, moving only the wall units and appliances may be the better deal. Marble and stone worktops are heavy and break easily, and it is usually wiser to have new ones cut there.
Majlis, sofas and rugs: an Arabic majlis is light but bulky, so we compress back rests and cushions into bags and wrap the bases. Leather suites are filmed and then blanketed, because bare plastic can cling to hide in a hot truck. Rugs are rolled, never folded. Remember the limit is two seating sets and three rugs.
Appliances and electronics: one of each type falls within the exemption. TVs, computers and games consoles go into padded cartons, and we recommend carrying your laptop, important papers and jewellery with you rather than in the truck. For larger numbers of boxes and suitcases, see cartons and parcels shipping to Syria.
Tip to cut the volume
Dismantled furniture takes far less space than assembled furniture. A bed and wardrobe taken apart free up a large share of the space the same room takes fully built, and the price is based on space. So we dismantle everything that can be taken apart, even small tables.
Furniture moving prices from Saudi Arabia to Syria (approximate)
Note: furniture leaving Tabuk reaches Damascus by road after 4–7 working days, loads from Riyadh or the Hejaz after 7–10, and Dammam loads after 8–11, with one to four more days for places beyond the capital. The lower number in every range is where Gulf International Shipping pricing begins for that load; Tabuk is the cheapest place to load, then Madinah, and the rate climbs with distance and again for Aleppo, Latakia or Hasakah compared with Damascus, so ask for your city’s figure.
Single items and cartons, for those moving only part of a home:
- Suitcase: from SAR 138.
- Carton up to 25 kg: from SAR 165; up to 30 kg from SAR 184; large up to 45 kg from SAR 320.
- Décor and small pieces: from SAR 230.
- TV, rug or painting: from SAR 276.
- Air conditioner or single bed: from SAR 365.
- Washer or electrical appliance: from SAR 410.
- Fridge or dining table: from SAR 460.
What decides the final figure for your Syria move?
The final price comes down to six factors: the volume in cubic metres rather than weight alone, your loading city in the Kingdom, the Syrian governorate of delivery, the type of service (consolidated with other families or a truck of your own), extra services such as dismantling, assembly and wooden crates, and insurance if you want it. Handling the transfer at Nassib is part of the job too, and it is included in our price rather than added separately.
A rough example: a family in Tabuk moving a complete bedroom, a living-room set, a fridge and a washer to Damascus on a consolidated truck. The calculation starts from SAR 1,100 for the bedroom, SAR 920 for the living room, SAR 460 for the fridge and SAR 410 for the washer, about SAR 2,890 before insurance and extra cartons. The same family in Riyadh would pay more, because the road is roughly a thousand kilometres longer. That is why we always ask for photos and a list before giving a final figure. Every city’s rates side by side: shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Syria.
The cheapest way to move furniture to Syria
- Consolidated shipping: share the truck with other families and wait 3–5 extra days for a clearly lower price.
- Dismantle everything: the smaller the volume, the lower the price.
- Sell cheap heavy items: old mattresses, metal furniture and worn-out cabinets are not worth truck space.
- Pack the unbreakables yourself: clothes, books and toys in sealed cartons; leave glass and appliances to us.
- Book early: at least two weeks before your lease ends, so you are not pushed into a dedicated truck at the last minute.
Storing furniture before shipping to Syria
Many families find their lease ends days or weeks before they travel, or they are waiting for the exemption paperwork and list certification. In that case we collect, wrap and keep the furniture in a closed, air-conditioned warehouse until the papers are ready and the truck date is set. Short-term storage solves another problem as well: you can hand the flat back to the landlord empty and clean and travel without stress, while your furniture stays numbered, photographed and ready to load. Storage is priced by volume and duration; ask for it together with your moving quote.
Air freight for urgent items to Damascus and Aleppo
Furniture always travels by road, but some of what a family needs in its first days cannot wait for the truck: the first week’s clothes, basic kitchen items, school books and papers, and the children’s things. Those items fly: out of King Khalid, Jeddah, Dammam, Madinah or Taif to Damascus, and out of the capital to Aleppo, on direct services as the airlines schedule them. Our air rate begins at SAR 23 a kilo, a parcel up to 10 kg from SAR 230, and your family usually has it within 3–5 days, depending on flight times and how quickly clearance goes.
We suggest splitting your belongings into three groups: what you carry in your cabin bag (identity papers, gold, prescribed medicines, laptop), what you send by air to find a few days later, and what goes with the furniture on the truck. This keeps the air bill down, because only what you really need flies. For weights and details, see air freight from Saudi Arabia to Syria.
Can I move my car to Syria with the furniture?
The household-goods relief never extends to vehicles, which follow their own rules you should know before deciding. Used-car imports into Syria are closed for now; brand-new cars inside the current two-model-year window may go in and are charged duty at tariff rates. Expatriates may also drive in their own car for a limited stay, provided it is not sold, and motorcycles of all kinds are banned. So we never promise anyone that a used car can be imported into Syria, and we advise caution with unofficial adverts and messages claiming imports have reopened for a token fee.
If your car is one of the permitted cases, it rides a car carrier to the crossing once its final or temporary exit is done through Absher and declared on Fasah, with an eligible sedan starting at SAR 3,220. Read this before deciding: car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Syria.
Documents needed to move furniture to Syria
For the exemption in full, its background and what changes under the new customs law, see Syria used household goods customs.
What cannot be shipped with furniture to Syria?
- Motorcycles of any kind, new or used.
- Weapons, ammunition and narcotics of any form.
- Two-way radios, plus remote-control toy cars, drones and boats.
- Anything made in Israel.
- Pressurised gas bottles, chemicals, and anything that burns: petrol, paint, pesticides.
- Large sums of cash, gold and jewellery: never in the truck; carried by the owner under declaration rules.
- Perishable food inside furniture cartons.
On the Saudi side, antiquities, weapons and some subsidised goods may not be exported. Certain electrical devices and binoculars may be restricted or dutiable, so if you own something unusual, send us a photo before packing.
Delivery and assembly across Syria’s governorates
After the transfer at Nassib the Syrian truck starts from Daraa, the first governorate past the crossing, with Damascus about 100 km further on. From Damascus the roads run about 162 km to Homs, about 362 km to Aleppo and about 332 km to Latakia. We deliver to every governorate, and the assembly crew arrives with or right after the truck to carry the furniture in, rebuild beds and wardrobes and fit the kitchen if you ask, then clear away the packing.
We recommend arriving in Syria at least a day or two before the truck, because the owner’s presence is a condition of the exemption, and because it helps to have the home ready: power connected, keys in hand and a known place for the truck to stop. If the house is on a narrow lane a large truck cannot enter, we tell our Syrian partner in advance so a smaller vehicle handles the last stretch.
Seven steps from your Saudi home to your Syrian one
- 1Photograph each room
Share pictures of the rooms on WhatsApp 0568829975, with your city, Syrian destination and rough travel date. - 2Survey and quote
We estimate the volume, suggest what to ship and what to sell, and give you a price and service type, consolidated or dedicated. - 3Dismantling, packing and numbering
Our crew dismantles, wraps in five layers, builds crates for glass and photographs every piece. - 4Contents list and certification
You receive an inventory that mirrors the truck, ready to be stamped by the Syrian mission. - 5Loading and export
We load the truck, issue the export declaration and book the Fasah slot for the border post. - 6Transit and transfer
The truck crosses Jordan in transit to Jaber, and at Nassib the load moves to a Syrian truck under our team’s supervision. - 7Delivery and assembly
The truck reaches your home, and we carry in, assemble and check everything against the list with you.
Costly mistakes for families returning to Syria
- Certifying the list before packing: a list written before packing rarely matches the load, and mismatches invite inspection and duty.
- Shipping beyond the exemption limit: a fourth bedroom or second fridge pays duty; better to sell it in the Kingdom.
- Travelling after the furniture arrives: without the owner present, clearance waits and storage days can add up.
- Banned items in cartons: a small gas bottle or a remote-control toy can hold up the whole load at inspection.
- Believing easy promises: anyone who says a Saudi truck will drive to your door in Damascus does not know how the route works today.
- Skipping insurance: from 0.9% of the furniture value, it protects you on a long trip with two loadings.
Why Gulf International Shipping for your move to Syria?
We know today’s route
We explain the Nassib transfer and manage it ourselves, instead of making promises that fail.
Packed for two loadings
Layers and wooden crates designed for unloading and reloading.
A tidy exemption file
A list matching the load, ordered by room and ready for certification.
North, south and coast
Daraa on the border, the capital, Aleppo, the Latakia shore and Qamishli in the far north-east.
Short-term storage
A closed warehouse if your lease ends before the truck date.
Settle up here
The moving fee is paid in Saudi riyals before you leave, and one number, 0568829975, follows your load.
Work out the cost of moving your home to Syria
Photograph every room, name where you live now and where in Syria you are heading, and our team comes back to you with the cost, the right service and the first free truck.
Further Syria guides from our team
- Every service on one page: shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Syria
- For traders and bulk loads: land freight from Saudi Arabia to Syria
- shipping company from Riyadh to Syria for central-region homes, and for the Red Sea coast shipping from Jeddah to Syria
- shipping from Dammam to Syria for the Eastern Province, and shipping from Tabuk to Syria
- shipping from Madinah to Syria, shipping from Makkah to Syria and shipping from Taif to Syria
- Syria used household goods customs, Nassib border crossing and shipping prices to Syria
- international furniture moving service, customs clearance service and all destinations from Saudi Arabia
