New York is the hardest customs conversation on the network, and the best paid one. Diamonds and finished jewellery moving between the Dubai gold and commodities district and the Manhattan diamond trade are declared goods with a formal entry, not something you slip through the green channel. The desk prepares the entry, briefs you on it, and a broker meets the flight where the value requires it.
Open · United States desk
On Board Courier, New York
The stones and signatures lane. Carry declared high value goods and executed originals between the Emirates and New York, in the cabin, all the way.
OnBoard Courier is a United Arab Emirates company, contracted by ICSL FZE and run from Dubai. A country named on this site is a country we cover and route through, not a separate company in that country. Assignments are contracted under UAE law, and the terms are published in full under legal and policies.
GatewayJFK · New York
Distance from Dubai≈11,000 km
Air time13h 33m
CarriersEmirates · Etihad Airways
EngagementFreelance · per assignment
Fee per assignmentAED 900 to 2,600
Apply for this position
Applying is free. Freelance · self-employed ·
posted 7 September 2026 · open until 7 March 2027
What the work pays
The fee for an assignment is agreed with you in writing before you accept it. These are the figures the site publishes, and what the desk covers on top of them.
Top published feeAED 2,000The highest fee the site shows for a single assignment: sealed medical samples in a cooled case, Dubai to Singapore.
Published band, per assignmentAED 900 to 2,600A document pouch to London is AED 1,200, an aircraft part to Frankfurt AED 1,500, an escorted watch on the Berlin lane AED 1,800.
What the flight costs youAED 0The desk books and pays the ticket, the transfers and, where the routing needs it, the hotel. A courier never fronts the fare.
The one payment you makeAED 199, returnedThe Academy, paid once. It comes back in full on top of the fee for your first completed assignment. Applying itself is free.
Fees vary with the lane, the notice, the waiting time and whether the return is immediate, so the desk quotes each assignment individually rather than pretending one number fits every trip. You are self-employed and there is no minimum: accept or decline whatever you like, and declining costs you nothing. Earnings are paid per delivery by bank transfer, they appear in your courier portal, and you can request a payout once the balance reaches AED 200. Apply and see the flight board.
You fly as a passengerOne consignment in the cabin, one handover against signature. No warehouse, no van, no round.
The desk books and pays the ticketFlight, transfers and, where the routing needs it, a hotel are booked before you leave for the airport.
Paid per assignmentA fee agreed in writing before you accept, paid to your bank account after the signature. Applying is free.
How to start, in four steps
1
Apply once
One application covers every country desk. Tell us which passports you hold and where you can travel.
2
Verification and the Academy
Identity and background check, then a short course on customs, handovers and chain of custody.
3
Your first offer
The desk sends the routing, the dates and the fee in writing. You accept or decline, nothing is automatic.
4
Fly, hand over, get paid
Collect, board, clear customs in person, hand over against signature, and the fee is paid to your account.
The assignment
Emirates and Etihad both fly nonstop, about thirteen and a half hours, and you clear United States immigration and customs on arrival at Kennedy unless the routing goes through Abu Dhabi, where it is done before you board. Handovers are usually in Midtown or the diamond district, occasionally in New Jersey, and the ground leg is part of the offer.
Why this lane exists
Two of the largest precious stone and metal markets on earth trade with each other on this lane. Dubai handles rough and polished volume, New York handles finished pieces, certification and the auction calendar, and parcels move between them constantly with an insurance policy that requires a named individual to have custody at every moment. A parcel network cannot offer that; a courier can.
Alongside it runs the legal and corporate traffic of two financial centres in near opposite time zones. Closings, share certificates, litigation bundles and regulatory filings all have deadlines set by a clerk, not by a logistics provider, and the eight hour difference means a document leaving Dubai in the morning can still be filed in New York the same day.
What you would be carrying
- Declared parcels of stones and finished jewellery moving under a formal customs entry
- Executed originals, share certificates and litigation bundles with a filing deadline
- Certification and grading submissions travelling to and from a laboratory
- Auction lots and their provenance files, escorted from viewing to sale
The clock
New York is eight hours behind the UAE in summer and nine in winter, so a morning departure from the Gulf arrives on the same calendar day, with the American working afternoon still ahead of you.
Airports you would fly into
| IATA | City | Airport | From Dubai |
|---|---|---|---|
| JFK | New York | John F Kennedy International | ≈11,000 km |
The engagement, and who we are looking for
The engagement
- Type: freelance, self-employed. You are an independent courier accepting individual assignments, not an employee, and you decide which ones you take.
- Where it runs: the assignment runs between the United Arab Emirates and New York, the United States, with the return leg agreed per mission.
- Hours: variable. An assignment is a single trip, not a shift or a roster.
- How you are paid: a fee per completed assignment, agreed in writing before you accept it. The fees published on this site run from AED 1,200 for a document pouch to AED 2,000 for a cooled medical consignment, and the figure for your assignment reflects the lane, the notice, the waiting time and whether the return is immediate.
- What the desk pays: the flight, the transfers and, where the routing needs it, the hotel. A courier never pays for the ticket and never fronts the fare.
- Applying is free. No payment is required to apply, to be screened or to be placed on the courier list. The Academy costs AED 199, paid once, and is returned in full on top of the fee for your first completed assignment. It is the only payment a courier ever makes to us.
What we look for
- A passport with comfortable remaining validity and free pages, and the right to enter the United States. The desk checks the visa position for your specific passport before any assignment is offered.
- A clean background check and a willingness to be verified. Couriers carry other people’s property.
- Availability at short notice. Most assignments are confirmed hours, not days, before departure.
- Presentable, calm and articulate at a customs counter. The consignment is only as smooth as the person carrying it.
- A working phone, reachable on the number you gave us, for the whole assignment.
What we provide
- The ticket. Always. A courier never pays for the flight and never fronts the fare.
- The paperwork, prepared before you reach the airport, and a named contact at the desk on both ends.
- A briefing on the consignment, the consignee and what the customs position at the far end looks like.
- A fee per completed assignment, agreed with you in advance and paid by bank transfer after the handover.
Questions about courier work to and from New York
01Do I need a US visa?
Yes, in almost every case. You need a valid visa or an approved authorisation for the passport you hold before the desk can book you, and the desk checks that position before an assignment is offered. Couriers who already hold a multi year US visa are called first on this lane.
02What is a formal customs entry, and what do I have to do?
For declared high value goods the client files an entry through a customs broker. Your job is to arrive with the sealed parcel and the documents you were given, answer honestly, and hand over to the broker or the consignee against signature. You never file anything yourself.
03Is this a same day turn?
No. A thirteen hour sector with a Manhattan handover means an overnight stay in almost every case, and the desk books the hotel and the return before you leave. That is priced into the assignment, not deducted from it.
04What happens if the flight is delayed?
You call the desk, which is staffed around the clock, and the desk deals with the consignee and rebooks whatever needs rebooking. You are not expected to improvise, and a delay outside your control does not affect your fee.
05How is my fee agreed?
The desk sends the routing, the timing and the fee for that specific assignment in writing. You accept or decline it. Nothing is deducted or charged without your written agreement.
Apply to fly the New York lane
One form, a short screening call, and you are on the list the desk calls when a declared parcel has to reach New York in one person’s hand.
Apply for this positionSee all openingsThe JFK atlas entry · The United States courier desk · Apply to the courier network · All courier openings