Syria used household goods customs come to zero for a Syrian citizen returning for permanent residence, once only, as long as they spent six months or more living abroad, got their inventory officially stamped at Syria’s embassy or a consulate where they live, attend in person, and bring quantities suited to one family. New items, quantities above the limits and cars pay duty under the customs tariff. Gulf International Shipping moves returnees’ homes from any Saudi city to Syria by road through Jordan and the Nassib crossing, attends the inspection and transfer there, and charges from SAR 1,100 for a bedroom and SAR 3,680 for a small apartment.
The question Syrian families in the Kingdom ask us every day is simple: “Will I pay customs on my furniture?” The answer turns on one document many people overlook — the embassy-certified contents list — and on small details about quantities and the condition of the goods. This guide sets out the conditions as published, what each one means in practice, how the list should be written, what happens to your furniture at Nassib customs, and when you do end up paying duty.
At a glance
- Who qualifies: a Syrian citizen returning for permanent residence after at least six months abroad, once only
- Key document: a list of belongings stamped by Syria’s embassy or consulate where they live, with the owner present
- Duty-free quantities: 3 bedrooms at most, 2 seating sets, 1 dining room, 3 rugs, a single unit per appliance type and 12 kitchen sets
- After entry: the goods may not be sold or given away for 3 years
- What pays duty: new items, excess quantities, anything commercial — and cars, which fall outside the exemption
- Moving prices: bedroom from SAR 1,100, living room from SAR 920, small apartment from SAR 3,680, air freight from SAR 23 per kg
- Transit time: 7–10 working days from Riyadh or Jeddah to Damascus, 4–7 from Tabuk
Route: your Saudi home → Jordan (transit) → inspection and truck change at Nassib → your new address in Syria · 0568829975
Do returning Syrians pay customs on used furniture?
Not if they are coming back to live permanently and meet the conditions. Syrian customs law has long exempted the personal effects, work tools and household furniture of people arriving for permanent residence. The exemption was briefly cancelled, then restored with specific rules that remain the most detailed ones published. The old law has since been replaced, and the new one preserves a returning resident’s right to import their effects and home furnishings.
So the exemption is not automatic for every load of furniture. It is a conditional right for a specific person in a specific situation, and it can be used once. If a family sent part of its furniture two years ago under the exemption, the second part will not be exempt. If a Syrian resident ships furniture to relatives while staying on in the Kingdom, the shipment is not treated as a returnee’s effects. That is why our first questions when you call are: are you going back to settle, and have you used this right before?
Conditions for the returnee furniture exemption in Syria
The table summarises the conditions in the latest published rules and what each one means on the ground. Because the implementing instructions of the new law may adjust details, we confirm them with the customs broker at Nassib before every load.
Quantities allowed without duty
The ceiling is designed around one average family home. Going over it does not stop the shipment from entering, but the excess is treated as an import and pays duties and taxes, with any import restrictions applying.
If you own two AC units or two TVs
The second unit of the same type falls into the excess. You can ship it and pay its duty, or sell it in the Kingdom before you leave, which is usually the cheaper choice for older appliances. We estimate the difference for you before loading.
How should the contents list be written and certified?
The list is what Syrian customs compare with the contents of the truck. The more precise it is, the faster the inspection. We write it with you in Arabic right after packing, in three columns: carton or item number, description, and condition (used). Instead of “box of clothes” we write “carton 14: the family’s used winter clothes”, and instead of “appliances” we write “used two-door fridge — item 32”.
Once complete, the list goes to the Syrian diplomatic mission in the Kingdom — embassy or consulate — to be stamped under its procedures, together with the beneficiary’s passport, iqama and any other papers it asks for. Do not load the truck before certification: furniture that reaches Nassib without a certified list is treated as goods. We keep a copy of the approved list with the truck and hand the original to you or to the broker as arranged.
- Do not inflate values: the realistic value of used furniture is far below its purchase price.
- Do not add a relative’s belongings to your list: the exemption is personal, and other people’s goods count as merchandise.
- Name appliances by type: writing “kitchen appliances” without detail opens every box for inspection.
- Match the numbers to the labels: the carton number on the list is the one written on the box.
Syria’s new customs law: what changed and what stayed?
A new general customs law is now in place in Syria, together with a unified tariff that is already being applied. From the text and official explanations released so far, someone coming home to settle may still bring in personal effects, tools of their trade and the furniture of their house. We have not yet found a published implementing decision that changes the earlier quantities or time limits, so we work with the rules set out above and ask about any amendment before each shipment.
What changed in practice? Duty on new and excess items is now calculated under the new tariff, and the rate depends on each item’s tariff line, so nobody should quote you one percentage for everything. The General Authority for Ports and Customs now runs both the crossings and customs. The principle of a once-only exemption for returnees stays the same.
When will you pay duty on your furniture?
Duty applies in four situations. First, the goods are new: a fridge still in its box, an unused sofa, or appliances bought a few days before travelling. Second, the quantities go beyond the exempt limit. Third, the shipment is commercial in quantity or nature, such as twenty identical blankets or cases of stock for resale. Fourth, you do not meet the beneficiary conditions: you lived outside Syria for less than six months, you have used the exemption before, or you are shipping furniture to relatives while staying in the Kingdom.
In these cases duty is worked out on what the goods are worth by their lines in the new tariff, and the receiver pays it at Nassib or it is added to the clearance bill as agreed. Since rates differ between items, we ask for the list of new goods in advance so we can give you an estimate before loading.
Cars and motorcycles are outside the furniture exemption
A car does not count as household furniture, so the returnee exemption does not reach it. Used cars cannot be imported into the Syrian market at present, and motorcycles are barred whether new or used. If you have a motorcycle or a motor scooter at home, keep it out of the furniture truck, because it will be refused at the border. If you want to drive your own car to Syria, that is possible on temporary entry under its own conditions, not with the furniture. The permitted cases are explained in car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Syria.
What happens to your furniture at Nassib customs?
The Saudi truck reaches the Nassib customs yard after crossing Jordan. Two steps follow. The first is inspection: a customs officer compares the goods with the certified list and may ask for some cartons to be opened or appliances checked. The second is the transfer: since non-Syrian trucks do not currently enter Syrian territory, the goods are moved in the yard onto a licensed Syrian truck that carries them on to your home.
Our team attends both steps. We hand the list to the broker, open the requested cartons and reseal them with fresh tape, and count every item before and after it goes onto the Syrian truck. Then we send you the truck number, the driver’s name and the expected arrival. The crossing never closes at night, but seasonal queues can add a day or more, and we factor that into the timing we quote. For more on the crossing itself see Nassib border crossing to Syria.
Packing that speeds inspection and survives the transfer
Good packing for Syria has two jobs at once: surviving the unloading and reloading, and letting customs inspect without tearing everything open. So each carton gets a label with a number and a short description, small appliances are boxed separately from clothes, and large appliances are wrapped so one end can be opened for checking and closed again. Wood is protected with blankets and bubble film, corners with wooden edging, glass and marble go in crates, and heavy cartons are strapped so they do not split when they are carried a second time.
Items to think twice about before packing
- Medicines: personal-use quantities with prescriptions only; larger amounts need approvals.
- Two-way radios, drones and remote-controlled toys: banned or restricted, so keep them out of the furniture load.
- Books and discs in bulk: may be reviewed, so list them with their numbers.
- Gold and cash: never send them with the furniture; carry them yourself under the declaration rules.
- Food: a small amount of sealed items for household use only, nothing open or perishable.
- Gas cylinders, flammables and damaged batteries: not allowed on the truck.
- Israeli-origin goods: banned from entering Syria.
Prices for moving a returnee’s furniture from Saudi Arabia to Syria
Our removal prices sit under the rates advertised on the Syria lane. Each cost cell gives a floor and a ceiling: the floor is our starting price, the ceiling is typical for larger homes or distant cities. Prices include dismantling, packing, transport and the transfer; duty on new or excess goods is calculated separately.
Note: furniture loaded in Tabuk reaches Damascus in 4–7 working days, central and western cities in 7–10 and the Eastern Province in 8–11, with 1–4 extra days for distant governorates; urgent items sent by air arrive in 3–5 days.
The figures above apply to loads from the north and near west of the Kingdom and rise slightly from Riyadh and Dammam. For your city see shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Syria, and for the full service furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Syria.
Air freight for urgent personal belongings
When the head of the family travels ahead of the furniture, a few things are usually needed straight away: school records, regular medication, work equipment and seasonal clothes. These fly with us nonstop from Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam to Damascus, or from Riyadh to Aleppo, as airline timetables allow. Air rates start at SAR 23 per kg, a 10 kg shipment from SAR 230, delivered door to door in 3–5 days. We do not recommend air for the furniture itself, as volumetric weight makes it far dearer than road. More in air freight from Saudi Arabia to Syria.
Steps to bring your furniture into Syria without unnecessary duty
- 1Check you qualify
At least six months living outside Syria, a return to settle, and no earlier use of the exemption. - 2Trim what exceeds the limit
Sell duplicate appliances and extra pieces before you leave, or be ready to pay their duty. - 3Book dismantling and packing
Call 0568829975 and our crew comes to dismantle, wrap, number and photograph everything. - 4Write and certify the list
We draft the list with carton numbers, then you take it to the Syrian mission for its stamp. - 5Loading and transit
The truck heads for the Jordanian border and crosses Jordan without unloading until it reaches Jaber. - 6Inspection and transfer
We submit the list at Nassib, attend the inspection and move the goods to a Syrian truck. - 7Receive and reassemble
You receive the goods at home, we reassemble the furniture, and you keep the list for three years.
Arrival and delivery across Syria
After Nassib, Daraa is the closest stop, then Damascus about 100 km on, then its countryside. Homs and Hama add a day or two; Aleppo, Latakia and Tartus two to three; Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Hasakah and Qamishli three to four. We deliver inside the neighbourhoods to the door and arrange carrying to upper floors if you tell us in advance how many storeys there are and whether there is a lift.
Mistakes that cost you the exemption or raise the duty
- Loading before the list is certified: furniture arriving without a certified list is treated as goods.
- Shipping while you stay in the Kingdom: the exemption is for those returning to live, not for sending furniture to family.
- Packing new appliances in their original boxes: they count as new and pay full duty.
- Duplicating appliances: a second fridge or TV is outside the exempt limit.
- A short or vague list: every unclear word means a box opened and time lost at Nassib.
- Selling the furniture months after arrival: disposing of it within three years breaks the exemption terms.
- Putting a motorcycle in with the furniture: it is banned and can hold up the whole shipment.
Get your home ready for the move back to Syria
Share pictures of each room, plus your city and destination governorate, so we can plan dismantling, packing, the contents list and the truck date.
Related Syria guides
- shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Syria and furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Syria
- Nassib border crossing to Syria and land freight from Saudi Arabia to Syria
- shipping from Riyadh to Syria, shipping from Jeddah to Syria, shipping from Dammam to Syria
- cartons and parcels shipping to Syria and shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Syria
- furniture moving abroad, customs clearance, request a quote
