Need a shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait? Gulf International Shipping collects furniture, vehicles, boxed belongings and trade cargo in any Saudi city and delivers them to the receiver’s door in Kuwait. Every truck crosses at one of two land borders: Khafji, opposite Nuwaiseeb, for loads from the Eastern Province, or Ruqai, opposite Salmi, for loads from Riyadh, Qassim and the western cities. Door to door, Dammam takes 1–2 days, Riyadh 2–3 days, and Jeddah, Makkah or Taif 3–5 working days. Our rates start at SAR 2.75 per kilo for consolidated cargo and SAR 138 per carton, while a full bedroom and a sedan on a shared carrier each start at SAR 1,100.
Before we talk about price, we ask every customer two things: where are you loading, and where in Kuwait is the delivery? The answers decide which crossing the truck uses, and that changes the timing and cost more than anything else. So this guide opens with the two-crossing map, then gives transit times per Saudi city, then prices, then the details for each kind of shipment, Kuwaiti customs and paperwork.
Quick facts
- Land crossings: only two: Khafji → Nuwaiseeb on the coast, and Ruqai → Salmi near Hafr Al-Batin
- Distance to Kuwait City: about 420 km from Dammam, about 650–700 km from Riyadh and about 1,500 km from Jeddah, depending on road and crossing
- Road transit: Eastern Province 1–2 days; Riyadh 2–3; Hejaz cities and Madinah 3–5 working days; Tabuk roughly 4–6
- Air freight: 24–72 hours subject to flight schedules, priced on weight and volume at booking
- Prices: full truck from SAR 3,220; sedan or bedroom from SAR 1,100 each; carton from SAR 138; consolidated cargo from SAR 2.75/kg
- Taxes in Kuwait: zero VAT; around 5% duty on goods made outside the GCC
- Delivery: door delivery across Kuwait: Jahra, Ahmadi, the Capital, Hawalli, Farwaniya and Mubarak Al-Kabeer
Route: loading city → Saudi exit (Khafji/Ruqai) → Kuwaiti entry (Nuwaiseeb/Salmi) → delivery address · Time: 1–6 days · Contact: 0568829975
Which crossing will your shipment use: Khafji or Ruqai?
The Saudi–Kuwait land border is short, roughly 222 km, and trucks use just two crossings on it. The first is the Khafji crossing in Khafji Governorate, Eastern Province; its Kuwaiti counterpart, Nuwaiseeb, sits only about 3.5 km away, and the road continues into Ahmadi Governorate in southern Kuwait. The second is the Ruqai crossing in Hafr Al-Batin Governorate, facing Salmi in Kuwait’s western Jahra Governorate.
Our routing rule at Gulf International Shipping is straightforward. Loads from the east coast run up the Abu Hadriyah coastal road to Khafji; loads from inland head north through Majmaah and Hafr Al-Batin to Ruqai. There is one useful exception: when a small shipment is going to Ahmadi, Fahaheel or Wafra, we may add it to a load consolidated in Dammam that crosses at Khafji, since that crossing is closer to southern Kuwait.
The new Ruqai crossing was built with a stated capacity of 12,000 vehicles and 2,000 trucks a day at a cost of more than SAR 1.6 billion, which is why it has become the main corridor for trucks from Riyadh and the west. Khafji is the older crossing and the natural exit for Eastern Province ports and factories. At both, queues usually grow on Thursday and Friday evenings, during holidays and seasonal peaks and on dusty days, so we time departures to keep trucks from idling for hours in line.
Watch for wrong crossing names
Some sites list “Abdali” as a route to Kuwait; Abdali is actually Kuwait’s crossing with Iraq. Others mention “Rafha”, which is not a Kuwait crossing at all. Every truck from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait uses either Khafji or Ruqai, and a company promising a third route is quoting you unrealistic times. Full details are in our guide to Saudi–Kuwait border crossings for shipping.
Before any truck reaches a Saudi land port, the carrier must book a crossing slot on the Fasah platform run by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority. This is an official requirement at every Saudi land border, and the truck has to arrive within its booked window. At Gulf International Shipping we book the slot and register the consignment on Fasah before your truck even leaves town, so the crossing is never held up by missing data.
Transit times from each Saudi city to Kuwait
Door-to-door time has three parts: the loading and packing day, the drive to the border, and the crossing formalities plus delivery inside Kuwait. The Kuwaiti leg is short: Salmi to Kuwait City is about 1.5–2 hours, and Nuwaiseeb to Ahmadi is less. That means your loading city in Saudi Arabia accounts for most of the transit time.
These distances are approximate and shift with the driver’s route and the crossing used. The bigger timing difference, though, comes from the type of load. A dedicated truck sets off the moment loading ends; a groupage truck waits until it is filled with several customers’ goods, which usually adds a day or two in exchange for a much lower price. If you need something from the west within a day or two, air freight is the right choice for light, urgent items.
For city-specific details, see our guides: shipping from Riyadh to Kuwait, land freight from Dammam to Kuwait, shipping from Jeddah to Kuwait, shipping from Makkah to Kuwait, shipping from Madinah to Kuwait, shipping from Taif to Kuwait and shipping from Tabuk to Kuwait.
Approximate shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
We reviewed the prices that shipping companies publish for the Kuwait route from Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah, then set Gulf International Shipping’s starting rates below them. In each cell, the first number is our entry price for the lightest load in that row and the second is what a large or awkward one typically reaches.
Note: trucks take 24–48 hours from Dammam and the east, Riyadh loads need 2 or 3 days, western loads including Madinah 3 to 5 working days, and about 4–6 days from Tabuk; planes take 24–72 hours subject to available flights.
Starting price per item
Not everyone is moving a whole house. Some customers send documents, some a couple of cartons or a suitcase, others a pallet of stock for a shop. This table gives the starting price for each item on its own. All are “from” prices that include road transport to the agreed Kuwaiti governorate.
Every rate, broken down by city and shipment type, is on our page of shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.
Get the price for your Kuwait shipment
Send us your Saudi loading city, the Kuwaiti area and what you are shipping (photos help). We reply with the price, the next truck date and the crossing it will use.
What we ship from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
The Kuwait road is one of the busiest Gulf routes for families relocating and for traders supplying Saudi products to the Kuwaiti market. The loads we carry are just as varied, and each type has its own loading method and paperwork.
Home and office furniture
We move bedrooms, majlis seating, sofas, carpets, kitchens, appliances and split AC units. Our crew dismantles the furniture, numbers each piece and wraps it in layers of film and corrugated board, builds wooden crates for glass, antiques and marble, and drains the refrigerant from split AC units before taking them down. Everything is photographed before loading, and we write a carton-by-carton inventory, which Kuwaiti customs requires and which helps you check everything on arrival. In Kuwait we reassemble the furniture and take it up tower blocks by lift or by external hoist when needed. More in our guide to furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.
Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
Cars travel in one of three ways: an open multi-car carrier, the cheapest option, from SAR 1,100 for a sedan; a single-car hydraulic flatbed, from SAR 1,660; or an enclosed transporter for luxury and sports cars from SAR 3,220. On the Saudi side, a car leaving for good must have its export certificate issued by the traffic department, along with export plates, a clearance of outstanding fines, the bank’s release if it is financed, and a Fasah export declaration matching the chassis number. If you only want to take the car into Kuwait temporarily while it stays registered in Saudi Arabia, you need a triptyque (carnet) and insurance that covers Kuwait.
On the Kuwaiti side, the rules ban importing cars more than 10 years past their manufacture date, and newer models clear faster. Kuwait also refuses right-hand-drive, rebuilt, flood-damaged and badly crashed vehicles. Duty on the car is charged at 5% of its value, with a GCC offset possible if the car first entered the Gulf within two years and its duty was paid; the car is then inspected before registration with Kuwait’s traffic department. We recommend confirming your eligibility to import in your own name with the Kuwaiti authorities before shipping. Full details in car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.
Cartons, parcels and personal items
A student or employee moving alone, or someone sending clothes and gifts to family, does not need a truck. We group cartons and suitcases on shared loads: a carton from SAR 138, a suitcase from SAR 184 and a small parcel from SAR 46. Mark every carton with who is receiving it in Kuwait and their local phone number and put a short contents list inside. A small personal parcel in an individual’s name is usually exempt when its value is within about KWD 100; anything above that is assessed at clearance. More in our guide to shipping cartons and parcels to Kuwait.
Commercial goods: full or shared truckloads
For traders we offer a full truck (FTL) from SAR 3,220, a pallet on a shared load (LTL) from SAR 550, volume cargo from SAR 2.75 per kilo, and containers by road from SAR 3,220 for a 20 ft box and SAR 5,520 for a 40 ft box. Goods produced in Saudi Arabia pay no Kuwaiti duty when a GCC certificate of origin accompanies them; goods imported into the Gulf from elsewhere usually carry 5%, and a GCC offset may apply if their duty was already paid in Saudi Arabia. We prepare the commercial invoice, packing list and HS codes with the trader before loading. Details in goods shipping from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.
Dates, food and refrigerated cargo
Saudi dates are among the most requested items on the Kuwait route, especially before Ramadan. We ship packed dates and dry food on shared loads, and chilled products in dedicated refrigerated trucks. Commercial food shipments need an invoice, a certificate of origin and clear labels showing production and expiry dates, and some need a health certificate, so tell us the product first and we will confirm its paperwork before booking.
Offices, archives and equipment
We move office furniture, files, computers and servers in cartons numbered by department, so staff can set the office up again quickly in Kuwait. Heavy equipment and factory machinery go on flatbed trailers after a survey of weight and dimensions, and are priced after that survey.
Air freight from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
Air freight suits light, urgent items: official documents, permitted medicines, spare parts and personal luggage the owner needs on arrival. From King Khalid airport in Riyadh the hop to Kuwait is about 80 minutes; Dammam is about an hour away by air and Jeddah close to two hours, and cargo can also leave from Madinah and Taif. Including door pickup, airport clearance and delivery, expect 24 to 72 hours, depending on which flights have space.
Gulf International Shipping charges air cargo by chargeable weight, meaning actual or volumetric, whichever comes out higher, and confirms the flight and available space at booking, so send us the weight and dimensions for your rate. If the next flights are full and the load cannot wait, the practical fallback is a truck to Dammam and on across the Khafji border, arriving within 1–2 days. More in air freight from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.
Can you ship to Kuwait by sea?
Yes, but only as a limited, on-request option for large commercial containers, from Dammam port to Shuwaikh or Shuaiba. On such a short route, sea is slower than road and involves two sets of port formalities, so almost all furniture, cars and goods from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait go by road. If you have a commercial container and want to compare sea with road, send us the details and we will run the comparison.
Kuwait customs: no VAT and 5% duty
Many people get this wrong: Kuwait does not apply VAT yet, so ignore anyone who adds 5% VAT on top of customs duty. What you may pay is customs duty alone: 5% of the CIF value on most goods made outside the GCC. Saudi-made products travelling with a GCC certificate of origin pay nothing.
Used furniture and personal effects
Kuwait applies the GCC unified customs law, and its Article 103 lets two kinds of people import used home contents and personal effects without paying duty: Kuwaitis who are back after residing outside the country, and expatriates arriving to settle in Kuwait on their first residence. The conditions come from the General Administration of Customs. Expect to be asked for a passport and residence copy, Civil ID, work permit and an inventory, and check the detailed conditions before you ship. New furniture and appliances sit outside the exemption and usually pay 5% unless they were made in the GCC. Read more in Kuwait used household goods customs.
GCC certificate of origin and duty offset
If your goods are made in Saudi Arabia, a GCC certificate of origin is what exempts them from duty in Kuwait. If they were imported from outside the Gulf and duty was paid when they entered Saudi Arabia, the GCC offset mechanism can stop the duty being charged twice, provided proof of payment is presented. Declare any cash, gold or jewellery worth over KWD 3,000.
Documents required for shipping to Kuwait
Paperwork depends on what you are shipping, and we send each customer a personal checklist once we know the load. This is what we usually ask for:
On the Saudi side we file the shipment on Fasah and book the crossing slot; on the Kuwaiti side the clearing agent lodges the customs declaration and follows the inspection. The receiver in Kuwait normally needs their Civil ID and a working phone number to arrange delivery day.
Prohibited and restricted items for Kuwait
Even a well-prepared shipment can be held at Nuwaiseeb or Salmi if it contains a banned item. The main prohibitions in Kuwait are:
- Pork and pork products, alcoholic drinks and home-brewing kits.
- Gambling machines and equipment, pornographic material and narcotics.
- Used medical equipment.
- Cars more than 10 years past their manufacture date.
- Walkie-talkies and radio transmitters, and firearms or ammunition, including antique weapons.
- Goods linked to or made in Israel, and material that threatens public order.
Some items are restricted and need approval: medicines need a Ministry of Health release, pets need a health certificate, books and films go through censorship, and loose lithium batteries are generally refused in furniture loads. Travellers may carry a limited personal quantity of e-cigarettes, but we do not ship them commercially. These are the main items to watch; we check anything you are unsure about before loading.
Seven steps to ship your goods to Kuwait
- 1Send your shipment details
Message 0568829975 on WhatsApp with the loading city, the Kuwaiti area and photos or a list of what you are shipping. - 2We choose the crossing, method and price
Khafji or Ruqai depending on your city; shared, dedicated or air; then we send the price and timing. - 3We prepare the paperwork
You get a document checklist for your shipment type, and we review it with you before loading day. - 4Dismantling, packing and loading
Our crew arrives on time, wraps, numbers and photographs everything, then loads the truck. - 5Fasah and the crossing slot
We upload the data to Fasah and book the border slot before the truck sets off. - 6Crossing and Kuwaiti clearance
The truck enters at Nuwaiseeb or Salmi, and the clearing agent handles inspection and the declaration. - 7Delivery and assembly
We deliver to your address, unwrap and assemble the furniture, and you sign once the inventory matches.
Delivery across Kuwait’s governorates
We deliver in all six Kuwaiti governorates. The better crossing depends on the governorate: the south is closer to Nuwaiseeb, the west to Salmi, and the centre is served from both.
Much of the housing in Kuwait City and Salmiya is in towers, and delivering there needs advance coordination with building management to reserve the lift and a place for the truck to stop. Tell us the floor and whether there is a goods lift before shipping, so it is priced in from the start and you are not surprised by an extra charge on arrival.
Storage, tracking and insurance
Your move-out date in Saudi Arabia rarely lines up exactly with your move-in date in Kuwait. Your Riyadh lease may end two weeks before your Salmiya apartment is ready, or you may be waiting for your Kuwaiti residence before bringing furniture in. In that case we store the wrapped furniture in a closed warehouse and ship it on the date you choose, with storage charged by volume and duration.
Throughout the journey one coordinator keeps you updated on WhatsApp: a photo of the truck after loading, a message when it reaches the border and when clearance is done, and then a delivery time agreed with you. Cover is optional, priced as a share of the value you declare. We recommend it for cars, valuable appliances and antiques, because the road from the west to Kuwait is long and shared loads go through more than one loading and unloading stage.
How is the cost of shipping to Kuwait calculated?
The final price is not a single fixed number; it is built from several factors that we explain before you book:
- Volume and weight: furniture goes by cubic metres or room count; commercial cargo by weight or per pallet.
- Loading city: Dammam is closest and cheapest; the west is roughly three times the distance.
- Type of load: shared is cheaper, dedicated is faster.
- Packing, dismantling and assembly: wooden crating for glass and antiques adds cost.
- Floors and lifts: at both ends, especially Kuwaiti towers.
- Insurance: optional, a percentage of the declared value.
- Season: demand for trucks rises before Ramadan and at the end of the school year.
A worked example
A family in Riyadh is moving a 3-room apartment to Jahra, plus a sedan. The apartment on a dedicated truck starts from SAR 3,230 and the sedan, carried on a multi-car truck, from SAR 1,100, so the two shipments start from about SAR 4,330. Both cross at Ruqai and Salmi and arrive within 2–3 days. Storage or high-floor handling is added only if the family needs it.
Cheapest ways to ship from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
- Choose a shared load when timing is flexible; it is far cheaper than a dedicated truck.
- Get rid of old furniture before the move; some pieces cost more to ship than they are worth.
- Put the car on a shared carrier instead of a private flatbed, unless it is a luxury model.
- Avoid peak weeks before Ramadan and the holidays, when demand spikes.
- Have a certificate of origin ready for Saudi goods so you do not pay avoidable duty.
- Send cartons together in one shipment rather than in batches.
Common mistakes that cost Kuwait shippers money
- Paying “VAT” that does not exist in Kuwait because the company calculated it wrongly.
- Shipping a car near the 10-year age limit without first confirming Kuwait will accept it.
- Mixing new appliances, with their invoices, into used furniture instead of packing them separately.
- Leaving personal belongings inside a shipped car, which is not allowed and delays clearance.
- Packing medicines without a prescription or permit, or walkie-talkies or fireworks among the belongings.
- Not telling the company that the building is a tower needing a lift booking, which costs a full day.
- Relying on a company that mentions Abdali or Rafha, because it does not know the route.
Shipping from Kuwait to Saudi Arabia
We also move in the opposite direction: Kuwaiti families relocating to Riyadh or the Eastern Province, residents finishing work in Kuwait and returning to Saudi Arabia, and traders importing goods. The road is the same in reverse, through Nuwaiseeb then Khafji or Salmi then Ruqai. The paperwork on the Saudi side varies with the shipment and the owner’s status, so share your details and we will map out the procedure and price.
Why Gulf International Shipping?
We know both crossings
We pick Khafji or Ruqai based on your city and delivery area, not one route for every load.
Published prices
Starting rates for every item are public and below what others on the same route publish.
Fasah before departure
We book the crossing slot and upload the data before the truck leaves your city.
Accurate customs advice
No VAT in Kuwait; we tell you when the 5% applies and when you are exempt.
Door to door
Dismantling, packing, loading, clearance, delivery and assembly, Kuwaiti towers included.
Direct contact
One number for booking and updates: 0568829975 by phone or WhatsApp.
Book your Kuwait shipment today
From Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah or any Saudi city: send the details and get the price, the loading date and the right crossing for your shipment.
Related guides
- Furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
- Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
- Shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
- Saudi–Kuwait border crossings: Khafji and Ruqai
- Kuwait used household goods customs
- Air freight from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
- Goods shipping from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait
- Cartons and parcels shipping to Kuwait
- Land freight service
- All destinations from Saudi Arabia
