Moving to Syria from Canada, Door to Door from Toronto

How a move from Toronto to Syria works

It starts with a survey, in person for a house or by video for a condo, so the quote reflects your real volume and so we can go through two things before anything is packed: your customs status in Syria, and the compliance check the shipment has to pass in Canada. On packing day our crew wraps and packs to export standard, with cartons, paper, blankets and custom crates for art, mirrors and the TV, and builds the room-by-room inventory that customs works from, in English with an Arabic translation prepared by our partner, with electronics listed by make, model and serial number. The shipment comes to our North York warehouse and is loaded into a dedicated 20′ container or, for a smaller move, built into a plywood lift van and consolidated with other shipments on the lane.

The container is drayed to the CPKC Vaughan or CN Brampton rail terminal on our own truck and railed to Montreal or Halifax. From there it sails either to Latakia through a Mediterranean hub, where our partner's customs broker clears it and a truck takes it to Damascus, Aleppo or Homs, or to Beirut, where it clears for transit and crosses the border at Masnaa by road to Damascus. Both routes end the same way: delivery to your door with unpacking and debris removal, by a partner agent we manage and pay. We tell you which route we have booked and why, and your shipment can wait in our Toronto warehouse until a sailing and a clearance window are confirmed.

When a moving company sells an international move and then hands it to a broker, nobody owns the whole job. We work as international movers end to end: one coordinator from the survey to delivery in Syria, our own crews and warehouse in the GTA, and a vetted partner at the other end. If you are curious how the packing is done, here is how we wrap furniture for international shipping.

1. Free survey (home or video), customs-status review, compliance screening and a fixed door-to-door quote
2. Consular certificate for returning Syrians, or the residence permit for foreign nationals
3. Packing, crating and the itemized inventory at your home in the GTA
4. Loading into a dedicated container or a lift van at our North York warehouse
5. Rail to Montreal or Halifax; ocean to Latakia via a hub, or to Beirut and overland to Damascus
6. Customs entry and examination handled by our partner agent and its broker
7. Delivery to your door with unpacking and packing-material removal

Syrian customs, and the Canadian compliance check that comes first

Syria clears a household shipment according to who owns it. Syrian citizens returning to settle after living abroad can bring used household goods and personal effects in without duty against a certificate from a Syrian consulate confirming their residence abroad, a detailed inventory and proof of the move; new items and quantities that look like stock are assessed. Foreign nationals with a residence permit can import used household goods under an exemption tied to the permit. Electronics, satellite and communications equipment, drones and anything of Israeli origin are restricted or prohibited, and the inventory is examined against the boxes. Syrian customs procedures have been changing since the transition that began at the end of 2024, so our partner confirms the current requirements, fees and documents against your passport, certificate and inventory before the container sails, and we tell you plainly if something on your list should stay in Canada.

Before any of that, the shipment is screened in Canada. Canada maintains sanctions measures relating to Syria that restrict dealings with certain parties and certain transactions; a household move is a private, non-commercial shipment of used personal goods, and we check the routing, the agents, the consignee and the payments against those measures before we quote. The measures changed during 2025 and may change again, so the check is repeated at booking. It costs you nothing and it is the reason a Syria quote from us takes a day or two longer than one for Lebanon.

What it costs to ship household goods to Syria

Cost is driven by volume, which is why the survey comes first, and on this lane by routing: the Beirut-and-overland option adds a transit clearance and a road leg, the Latakia option a transshipment at a hub, and the quote shows the one we recommend with the other beside it when both are open. Many Syria moves from Toronto are partial: a family's furniture and belongings in a plywood lift van of 5–15 cubic metres as groupage. A one-bedroom apartment in the GTA is usually 8–20 cubic metres and ships the same way or in a lightly loaded 20′; a three-bedroom house is 30–40 cubic metres and fills a 20′ container; larger homes ship in a 40′. Access at both ends, professional packing and crating, storage and the furniture lift a Damascus building often needs all move the price, and the quote itemizes every line: packing and materials, loading, drayage and rail, ocean freight and port charges, clearance, the road leg, delivery and unpacking.

Outside the quote sit only the things no honest mover can fix in advance: duty and tax on goods that do not qualify for the exemption, customs inspection or scanning fees, port storage beyond the free period if clearance runs long, and any fee a changed regulation introduces between quote and arrival. Each is named in the quote as a conditional line so nothing arrives as a surprise.

Whether you are shipping furniture to Syria for a whole house or a few rooms of personal effects, the method follows the volume — so the survey, not a guess, sets the cost of shipping household goods from Canada to Syria. Not sure what is worth taking? Our guide on whether shipping furniture overseas is worth it runs the numbers.

Timelines from the GTA to Damascus and Aleppo

Ocean transit from Montreal or Halifax is 28–40 days to Latakia including the change of ship at a hub, or 25–35 days to Beirut followed by a day or two of transit clearance and the road leg to Damascus. Around it: two to five days from packing to sailing depending on the rail cut-off, and two to four weeks at destination for the customs examination, collection and delivery scheduling, longer when a consular certificate is still in process or a regulation has just changed. A dedicated container typically reaches your door in Syria nine to thirteen weeks after packing day; a lift van in groupage waits for the consolidation to fill and adds two to four weeks. Sailings and clearance times on this lane change with conditions in the region, so your coordinator confirms the current routing and schedule when quoting, and your shipment waits in our Toronto warehouse until both are confirmed.

What to leave behind, and what to think twice about

Syria runs on 220 volts, so Canadian 110 V appliances need transformers and are rarely worth shipping, and power supply in many areas is intermittent, which is why solar panels, batteries and generators are bought on arrival rather than imported. Family homes are often furnished or being refurnished, which is worth settling before you pay to ship a sofa. Communications and satellite equipment, drones and radio gear are restricted and should not be packed. A car is a separate import with its own duty, age limits and registration, and is rarely worth combining with a household move; ask us before counting on it.

• Prohibited or restricted: weapons, drugs, satellite and radio communications equipment, drones, and anything of Israeli origin
• Reviewed at customs: electronics in quantity, new items in original packaging, printed and recorded material
• Usually not worth it: 110 V appliances, furniture for a home that is already furnished
• Vehicles: a separate import with duty, age limits and registration fees; not part of the household exemption
• Travel with you: medications with prescriptions, documents, jewellery and valuables

Storage before or after your move

International moving and storage are one booking with us. If your home in Syria is not ready when you leave Toronto, your packed and inventoried shipment can wait in our North York warehouse until the sailing date suits you. On the other side, our partner can hold it after customs clearance and deliver when you have the keys. Ask your coordinator before planning long storage on either side: some customs reliefs set a deadline for when your goods must arrive.

Why families moving to Syria choose Metropolitan Logistics

We are an IAM Core Member with IAMTrusted status and the Receivable Protection Program behind our agent relationships, which means the partner clearing your shipment at Latakia or Beirut is vetted and financially accountable. We run the Lebanon lane regularly, so the Beirut routing is a road we know rather than an experiment, and we tell you honestly when a sailing, a clearance or a rule means your shipment should wait. Lift vans are built on our own warehouse floor by the crew that packed them, and you can see your shipment there before it sails.