Shipping your belongings to Qatar: customs, banned items, timings and cars

Duty free for your used household goods

If you are not Qatari and are coming to work, you can bring your used personal belongings and used household goods without paying customs duty. Other goods pay duty of 5% of their value, including shipping and insurance.

• You need a work residence permit, shown with a copy of your Qatar ID, and a letter from your employer.
• The goods must reach Qatar within six months of the date you first entered.
• Only used items in personal quantities qualify. New furniture and appliances, and cars, are not covered.
• You promise not to sell or give away the goods for a year. If you do, you pay the duty and fines.
• Movers say customs does not always apply the allowance. Several report that it charges 5% on most sea shipments, so budget for duty and ask your mover what it has seen recently.

Documents to have ready

• Customs asks for the employer’s letter, your residence permit with a copy of your Qatar ID, and a declaration of origin.
• Movers also ask for the bill of lading or air waybill, a detailed inventory, a passport copy, and a no objection letter in Arabic on your employer’s letterhead.
• Movers say your clearing agent needs your authorisation online before the ship arrives, and that this needs a Qatari mobile number registered to your Qatar ID.
• Movers say new furniture needs a legalised invoice and a certificate of origin endorsed by the Qatar Embassy in the country you ship from.
• Movers say you must be in Qatar while your goods clear customs.

What you cannot bring

• Customs bans alcohol, drugs of any kind, weapons and ammunition, radioactive material, goods containing any Israeli made part, and immoral material in any form, including books, magazines and films.
• Pork products are confiscated on arrival. Only the Qatar Distribution Company may import alcohol and pork.
• E cigarettes and vapes cannot be imported or sold.
• Drones: a 2026 law gives the Civil Aviation Authority control over drone imports. Drone flying was banned from March 2026 and allowed again from 29 September 2026 in designated areas, shown in the Metrash app.
• DECT 6.0 cordless phones may not be imported, sold or used. Mobile signal boosters are allowed only if they meet the regulator’s standards and come through a licensed Qatari telecom provider. Some toxic seeds and seedlings are banned.
• Movers say religious statues and decorations may need approval first, and that books, films and computers are screened.
• Movers advise keeping medicines out of a household shipment. Carry them with the prescription. Controlled medicines need a Ministry of Public Health permit: apply at least five working days before you travel. The permit covers 140 medicines.

Inspection and how long it takes

• Movers say sea shipments are always physically inspected, and most air shipments are too. Sea shipments must be on pallets. Books and films are checked and usually returned within 14 working days.
• From the UK, movers quote 4 to 9 weeks for a full container and 5 to 12 weeks for a shared one. Air freight takes about 5 to 14 days.
• From the US, a freight forwarder quotes 15 to 50 days by sea and 2 to 8 days by air for general cargo.
• Movers say clearance after arrival takes from a few working days by air to up to three weeks for a shared sea container.
• A 20 foot container holds about 30 cubic metres and a 40 foot container about 59.
• Gulf shipping was disrupted in 2026. One mover suspended Gulf shipments in March, and ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was recovering by June. Ask your mover whether it is taking Qatar shipments now.

What it may cost

• Qatar Living gives 2026 figures from the UK of about £792 to £1,051 for a small shared move, and about £6,136 to £7,232 for a three bedroom house in a 20 foot container. It does not say where the figures come from.
• It puts full door to door moves at roughly USD 1,000 to 10,000.
• Our suggestion: get at least three quotes, and ask each mover whether duty, port charges and delivery in Doha are included.

Bringing a car

• The household allowance does not cover cars.
• Qatar Living says a light vehicle must be no more than five years old from its date of manufacture, and should be left hand drive.
• Qatar Living says most cars pay 5% duty on their customs value, then need a FAHES inspection and registration with the Traffic Department. Expatica says the duty is often waived for a car over three years old kept for personal use.
• SIRVA, a mover, says the car must be Gulf specification. Qatar Living says buying a car already registered in Qatar is usually simpler, and Expatica suggests buying one when you arrive.

Plugs and voltage

• Mains electricity is 240 volts at 50 Hz.
• Sockets take UK style three pin plugs, type G.
• US and European plugs need an adaptor.

Parcels and online shopping

• Personal parcels worth up to QAR 1,000 are generally free of customs duty. Above that, duty is charged on the value including shipping.