Shipping times and costs from Dover, United States of America to Mumbai, India

Shipping Container Costs to India

Looking to move your belongings to Mumbai?

If you’re in a rush, putting your possessions on a plane is possible, but pricey – it’ll typically cost you much more than shipping them to India by sea.

How to get quotes for shipping to Mumbai

1. You’ll be asked to provide a few details about your move to Mumbai
2. If we have shipping partners who can help you, they’ll contact you with quotes
3. You can compare these quotes and choose the deal that suits you
4. Our shipping partners will then help prepare your shipment for customs, deliver it door-to-door, and generally make the process as easy and stress-free as possible

Should you choose sea freight or air freight?

You may decide to send your belongings to your new home in Mumbai via plane or ship – either way, it should be an informed decision.

Here are the main advantages of each method, with more detailed explanations available on our Air Freight vs Sea Freight page.

Benefits of Sea Freight

• A 99.99% safety record
• Sea freight is 12-16 times cheaper than air freight
• You’re typically able to fit more on a ship than a plane
• A container ship creates 44 times less CO2 than a plane
• The International Maritime Organisation has pledged to reduce CO2 emissions from shipping by 40% by 2030

Benefits of Air Freight

• An identical 99.99% safety record
• Planes are faster

However, there are unpredictable factors that can affect your shipping time, such as:

• Natural disasters
• Adverse weather conditions
• A route being unexpectedly blocked, as the Suez Canal was in March 2021
• Global health crises like COVID-19

Clearing customs at the Indian border

Customs in India are strict, but you can navigate the process fairly easily if you follow the rules and lean on your shipping company’s expertise.

Most shipping companies will send you all the forms you need to fill in before your move.

To clear customs, you’ll need a passport, a visa that lasts at least one year, a copy of your insurance policy, and a Customs Declaration Form that you must sign in the presence of a Customs Officer.

You should also create an inventory of everything in your shipment, including each item’s value and date of purchase, as well as its brand, model, and serial number, if applicable.

What can and can’t you bring?

You can bring all the used household goods you want, duty-free, as long as you’ve owned and used them for at least a year before they arrive in India.

You can also import a maximum of ₹25,000 in cash, and unlimited foreign currency – though if you’re bringing more than $5,000 (£3,600), make sure you declare it at the border.

You’re allowed to import 100 cigarettes, or 25 cigars, or 125 grams of tobacco, as well as up to two litres of alcohol, two ounces of perfume, and 0.25 litres of cologne.

You can bring jewellery too – though the rules are different for men and women.

Men can only import a maximum of 20 grams with a combined value of ₹50,000, while women can bring up to 40 grams and ₹100,000.

Medicine is permitted as well, as long as it’s a reasonable amount.

You can also bring seeds and plants if you request a permit for them, and the same is true of remote-controlled drones and helicopters, radio transmitters, and firearm ammunition.

All goods must be sent to India in the two months before you move the country – though the authorities will allow you up to a 12-month extension if you convince them the delay was out of your control.

You can’t bring pornographic or obscene materials, ivory, e-cigarettes, or maps and literature where India’s borders have been depicted in a way the government disagrees with.

India still has disputed borders with four countries, so be careful.

For more information, check out India’s official customs website.

Is there a shipping port in Mumbai?

There are two shipping ports: Mumbai Port, which was established in 1873, and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, which was opened in 1989.

Your shipment will almost certainly be sent to Jawaharlal Nehru, which handles the equivalent of 4.8 million 20-foot containers every year, compared to Mumbai Port’s 42,000.

From April to May 2021, Jawaharlal Nehru dealt with an astonishing 12.5 million tonnes of cargo, so your possessions will be handled by experts.