Considering a Move to Kuwait?

Moving to Kuwait from the UK

Abels Moving Services has provided discreet export packing and shipping for discerning families and professionals relocating to Kuwait for over 50 years.

The State of Kuwait sits on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf, bordered by Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. Kuwait covers around 6,880 square miles, less than 10% of the UK’s land area.

Kuwait: A Guide for New Arrivals

Around 5.1 million people live in Kuwait, most of them in and around Kuwait City. The country is small and compact by international standards, so most new arrivals settle within a short distance of the capital rather than choosing between distant regions.

Kuwait is divided into six governorates: Al Ahmadi, Al Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra, Hawalli and Mubarak Al-Kabeer, each further split into districts. Once you’re settled, the Grand Mosque and Maritime Museum in Kuwait City are worth a visit, along with the Kuwait Towers, one of the country’s best-known landmarks.

Summers here are intensely hot. June, July and August regularly see average highs above 44°C, and rainfall is minimal year-round, with what little rain falls arriving between November and May. It’s worth planning your move around this: many people prefer to arrange deliveries and settling-in during the cooler months where schedules allow, and it’s a factor we take into account when packing and storing your belongings (see Export Packing below).

The Kuwaiti Economy

Oil defines Kuwait’s economy, and a large share of the people who move here do so for work connected to it. Kuwait holds an estimated 101.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, among the largest in the world, and the industry touches most areas of national life, from infrastructure to employment.

If you’re relocating for a role in oil, gas, or a related sector, it’s worth discussing your employer’s relocation support with your Abels advisor early on. Many corporate relocations to Kuwait involve tighter timelines and specific documentation requirements tied to your employment visa.

Planning Your Move to Kuwait

Talk to a specialist international removal company before you move to Kuwait. The process has its own pitfalls, and a domestic mover won’t be familiar with them.

Before you call, think about whether you want to send everything you own or just a select few personal effects. Call our head office on +44 1842 816600 or email shipping@abels.co.uk, and we’ll be in touch shortly to discuss your move.

For full house moves or large volumes, we recommend a home survey. One of our International Customer Service Managers will visit your home, discuss your requirements, and answer any questions about the process. They’ll assess the items you’re packing, explain how best to protect them in transit, and confirm access for a larger removal vehicle or shipping container. Our colleague draws up a full list of items to take during the visit. Once we’ve collated all the costs (origin, freight, destination services), we’ll send you a detailed door-to-door removal proposal.

For smaller volumes, you can discuss your move over the phone, by email, or through our online service. We’ll assess your volume, access, packing requirements and shipping method from the information you give us, then send a detailed door-to-door proposal for you to consider.

Once you book with Abels, you’ll meet your Customer Liaison Move Coordinator, who works alongside your Customer Service Manager to manage the booking, organisation and day-to-day details of your move to Kuwait.

Export Packing

Export packing is essential for your belongings when you move to Kuwait. It protects your items in transit, using either a 6-ply paper blanket with a wax inner and water-resistant outer, or a tough bubble blanket with a soft cloth inner and robust outer that keeps corners protected. Certain items (polished furniture, antiques, delicate legs, mirrored or glass-fronted units) need an extra layer of card, cartoning, or wrap for additional protection.

A domestic move by road needs less protection than a journey of thousands of miles in a 20ft or 40ft container. Your items get handled multiple times on that journey: wrapped, loaded, driven to port, lifted on and off the stack, loaded onto the vessel, and the same in reverse at the other end. Robust export packing matters throughout.

We use the highest quality export materials throughout, designed to withstand a long export journey rather than a short domestic one. Containers are stacked up to two metres high, so cartons at the bottom need to hold their shape and protect their contents for the whole journey.

Kuwait’s summer heat is a genuine consideration for certain items. Anything sensitive to high temperatures, such as some electronics, wooden furniture, or wax-based materials, benefits from extra care in how it’s packed and how long it sits in transit or storage before delivery. Your Abels advisor will flag anything in your inventory that needs this extra attention.

Fine Art & Specialist Packing Services

Fine art needs particular care, and shipments to Kuwait involving valuable or delicate pieces (paintings, grandfather clocks, barometers, chandeliers) call for enhanced export packing and careful handling throughout. In many cases, we build bespoke cases specifically for the item.

How we dismantle these items before shipping matters as much as how we pack them. Grandfather clocks need their main components taken apart and weights removed before casing. Barometers need specialist handling too, since we bung the tube to prevent the mercury inside from spilling.

Thorough training is what keeps our packing teams versed in the right handling and packing techniques for items like these. Find out more in our moving advice.

Airfreight

Kuwait has one international airport: Kuwait International Airport (IATA code KWI), in Kuwait City. Three further airports (Ahmed Al Jaber Airbase, Ali Al Salem Airbase and Udairi Army Airfield) are military only.

Sea transit typically takes 7 to 8 weeks door to door, so consider airfreight for anything you need sooner. Security restrictions mean airfreighted goods need professional packing rather than owner-packed cartons. We load them into heat-treated modules of various sizes, with waterproof covering for extra protection. Allow around 2 weeks door to door for airfreight, to account for UK and Kuwaiti security and customs checks before delivery.

See more on airfreight shipments.

Customs Information

Import and export rules govern personal items and household goods entering Kuwait. Your Abels Move Manager will give you tailored guidance through this part of the process.

You’ll need specific documentation for customs clearance. The exact requirements depend on your personal circumstances, and our team will talk you through these ahead of your move. Explore the FIDI Customs Guide for Kuwait for further background before your move consultation with the Abels team.

Shipping Services

We ship larger volumes and full house moves in a 20ft or 40ft container. Where access allows, we load the container outside your residence, so you can see our team’s care and skill first-hand. We seal the container with our uniquely numbered bolt seals. Where access doesn’t suit a container of this size, we load goods at our warehouse (you’re welcome to attend) or use a shuttle truck between your home and the container.

Some shipping lines offer low-cost freight at the expense of container quality and transit time. Abels sources containers through an organisation that secures A1-class containers on our behalf. These arrive without fractures, dry, clean, odour-free, and with a reliably consistent transit time. An odour in the container will transfer to your goods, and any fractures risk water damage.

Smaller volumes travel as LCL (less than container load). We take these to our warehouse and load them into heat-treated wooden crates for shipping.

Transit from port to port in Kuwait typically takes around 30 days by sea, with vessels departing the UK weekly to Shuwaikh Port and Shuaiba Port. Door to door, allow around 7 to 8 weeks, depending on weather, strikes, re-routing, vessel availability and customs inspections.

Read more about shipping options when moving abroad.

Destination Services

We choose our destination partners for their accreditations. Most hold the FIDI-FAIM quality award, so the standard you experience with Abels continues right through customs clearance and delivery in Kuwait.

We notify our destination partner as soon as your container departs the UK. They’ll contact you as delivery approaches and manage customs clearance on your behalf. Once cleared, they’ll arrange your delivery date. This normally includes delivery, unpacking, set-up of standard furniture (excluding flat-pack items unless agreed), removal of packaging waste, and return of the container to the wharf. Talk to your Abels Customer Service Manager or Customer Liaison if you’d like additional services such as a put-away service, cleaning, or settling-in support.

Our destination agents bring local knowledge of import documents, customs clearance and delivery. This keeps your arrival in Kuwait as smooth as possible.

Wherever your move takes you, we’d like to be the removal company you think of for this move, and the next one. If you’re moving to Kuwait, or anywhere else in the world, get in touch for a removal quotation.