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REMOVALS TO SPAIN

MOVING TO SPAIN?

Enjoy two months of free UK storage with every UK–Spain–UK move!

MOVING TO

Madrid – Barcelona – Valencia – Seville – Málaga – Zaragoza – Bilbao – Alicante

Move Assured accredited removals company Association of Independent Movers member

Removals to Spain - Spain to UK Removals

Spain flag landscape

Planning removals to Spain from the UK? We'd love to help. Gentlevan Removals has been running house moves since 2011, and the UK-Spain route has grown into one of our busiest corridors — we know it inside out. Our bi-weekly runs cover every mainland Spanish destination from villas on the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca to apartments in Barcelona and Madrid, retirement homes in Alicante and Valencia, and rural fincas deep in Andalusia. Prices start from £1,200 for part-load consignments, and whatever size move you need, we'll handle the packing, the customs paperwork and the door-to-door delivery so you don't have to.

We offer three ways to move, depending on your budget and how flexible your dates are. A shared-load means your belongings travel alongside other customers heading to Spain the same week — the most affordable option. Part-load suits smaller moves of 1–2 rooms. A dedicated vehicle is your own van, your chosen dates, no other stops. Whichever you pick, we'll take care of all the post-Brexit customs clearance — including the DUA (Documento Único Administrativo) and Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief paperwork where you qualify. Spain-to-UK returns run on the same corridor, so we cover the journey home too — Spain sits alongside our wider European removals network.

  • 14+ years moving British families to Spain since 2011
  • 203+ five-star reviews — Move Assured & AIM accredited
  • 3–10 working days typical transit, UK to mainland Spain
  • Bi-weekly runs to every mainland Spanish destination
  • Full customs paperwork handled — DUA & ToR included


Flexible Service Options for Every Move

EUROPEAN SHARED LOAD

Your belongings share the van with other people's on the same run to Spain, so you only pay for the space you actually take up. It's our cheapest option, and the one most second-home owners and smaller moves choose. The trade-off is timing: we agree a delivery window in advance rather than a fixed day, so it works best when you've got a bit of give in your dates.

Best for: Smaller loads, flexible dates, second-home owners

What's included: Collection from your UK address, shared transport to Spain, careful handling, packing if you want it, and a pre-agreed delivery window for your route.

Everything is labelled by household as it's loaded, and we keep you posted along the way so you always know roughly where your things are.

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EUROPEAN DEDICATED LOAD

You get the van to yourself. We collect and deliver on dates you choose, drive straight to Spain with no other stops, and nothing of yours shares space with another customer's load. It costs more than a shared load, but it's the one to pick for a full house, a tight completion date, or anything fragile and valuable you'd rather wasn't handled twice.

Best for: Full house moves, high-value items, fixed dates

What's included: Collection and delivery on set dates, the whole vehicle for your move alone, and the quickest transit we offer in either direction.

Need a weekend collection, an overnight run or a particular time slot? Tell us early and we can usually work around it.

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How Much Do Removals to Spain Cost?

There's no single price for a move to Spain, but here's a realistic guide. A full household move to the mainland usually lands between £2,500 and £7,000 door-to-door, and smaller part-loads start from around £1,200. What pushes the figure up or down is mainly how much you're shipping (we measure this in cubic feet when we survey), where in Spain you're going, and whether you want a shared load, a part-load, or the van to yourself. The table below gives you a range to plan around.

Move Size Service Type Price Range (GBP)
Part-load (1–2 rooms) Part-load £1,200 – £3,000
1–2 bed household Part-load or shared-load £2,500 – £4,500
3-bed family home Shared-load or dedicated £4,000 – £7,000
4+ bed home Dedicated vehicle £6,500 – £10,000+

Those figures cover loading, transport, the customs paperwork, Transfer of Residence (ToR) support where you qualify, and carrying everything into your new place, not just dropping it at the kerb. For a price based on your actual inventory, get a quote online in under 60 seconds.

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14+ years moving British families to Spain — door-to-door, secure UK storage, and full customs paperwork handled.

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How Long Does the Journey Take?

Transit time from our Oxfordshire base depends on your Spanish destination and which route we take (Portsmouth-to-Santander ferry, or Dover-Calais plus road through France). Typical times:

  • 3–4 working days — Northern Spain including Bilbao, Santander, Galicia
  • 4–5 working days — Madrid and central Spain
  • 5–10 working days — Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Valencia, Alicante, Barcelona

Shared-load moves may add 3–5 days during consolidation. Dedicated vehicles run direct, so they're the fastest option when timing matters.

Destinations in Spain: Where We Move To

Gentlevan covers mainland Spain in full — from the Basque Country in the north to Andalusia in the south, and every Costa region in between. We operate bi-weekly removals (every second week) to the most popular expat destinations and can quote for anywhere in mainland Spain on request.

Major Spanish Cities

We have dedicated service pages for our most-requested destinations:

We also regularly move to Seville, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Granada, Santander, Murcia, and Almería.

Costa Regions

Our most popular Spanish routes run to the Costa coastlines, where most UK expats settle. See our guide to moving to Marbella for a deep dive into Costa del Sol life.

  • Costa del Sol — Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola, Benalmádena, Nerja, Torremolinos
  • Costa Blanca — Alicante, Benidorm, Torrevieja, Jávea, Dénia, Calpe, Altea
  • Costa Brava — Lloret de Mar, Tossa de Mar, Palamós, Roses
  • Costa de la Luz — Tarifa, Conil, Chiclana, El Puerto de Santa María
  • Costa Cálida — Mazarrón, Águilas, San Javier

Rural and Inland Destinations

Not every move goes to the coast. We deliver throughout Spain — to villages and rural properties in inland Andalusia, La Rioja, Extremadura, Castilla y León and the Basque Country. If you've bought a finca, a village house, or anywhere off the motorway network, we'll plan access and any shuttle-vehicle requirements before your moving day. See our guide to the best cities to live in Spain for a full breakdown.

Furniture Removals to Spain

Whether it's a single sofa, a few treasured pieces after a downsize, or a full house of furniture, our furniture removals to Spain cover every size of move. We price on the volume your items take up — not their weight — so you're never penalised for solid oak, a heavy dresser or a marble-topped table. Smaller loads travel on our part-load service, where you share the van and only pay for the space you use; larger ones go by shared or dedicated vehicle.

We regularly move furniture of every kind to Spain, including:

  • Sofas, armchairs, beds and mattresses
  • Wardrobes, chests of drawers, sideboards and bookcases
  • Dining tables, chairs and cabinets — including antiques and glass
  • White goods, garden furniture and outdoor items
  • Pianos, safes and other heavy or awkward pieces — see our piano removals service

Dismantling and reassembly of beds, wardrobes and flat-pack is included, and we blanket-wrap and export-wrap fragile or high-value pieces as standard. Unlike luton-van operators capped at around 1,000 kg, we carry no weight limit, and our on-board transhipment van reaches narrow streets, village houses and rural fincas that larger lorries can't. Everything is delivered, carried in and placed in the room you want it. Get a free furniture removals quote in under a minute.

Our UK to Spain, Spain to UK Removals Process

We’ve refined our removal process over the years to make moving as simple as possible:

  1. Free no-obligation quote and video survey from home
  2. Packing & preparation with high-quality materials
  3. Moving advice post-Brexit (including forms and inventory)
  4. Transport to Spain in a GPS-tracked vehicle
  5. Unloading & delivery at your new home

You can also get optional storage & unpacking services. Whatever you need – just ask! We handle piano transport, professional dismantling and reassembly as well.

As a family-run business, we keep things personal. From your first quote through to delivery in Spain, you'll have the same dedicated point of contact — we answer the phone and the emails ourselves.

Need to store your belongings for a short time while you finalise accommodation or travel? We offer clean and secure UK-based storage — with 2 months FREE included on every international move.

Why Move to Spain with Gentlevan?

Move from the UK

We've been running the UK–Spain route since 2011, and it's now one of our busiest. Being a family firm, the person who quotes your move is usually the person you'll speak to on the day it happens. Here's what that looks like in practice:

  • Dedicated, shared-load or part-load options to suit every budget
  • Experienced team who handle all post-Brexit Spanish customs, NIE paperwork, and Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief applications
  • Fully insured removals with our optional MoveProtect cover, expert packing and export wrapping
  • Trusted accreditations (Move Assured & AIM — Association of Independent Movers)
  • 2 months FREE UK storage on every Spain move — at our secure Oxfordshire facility
  • Green removals approach and family-run care since 2011

We move retirees settling on the coast, remote workers heading out on a Digital Nomad Visa, and families relocating for good. Whatever the reason, we can point you in the right direction on the paperwork, from the DUA declaration to registering once you arrive.

A lot of our Spain work comes from people passing our name on, whether that's a one-bedroom flat's worth of furniture or a full six-bedroom house. Either way it's the same team packing and driving it.

Avoid Common Mistakes When Moving to Spain

After 14 years of moving British families to Spain, the same few mistakes come up again and again. The biggest one is leaving the visa too late. The Non-Lucrative Visa alone can take a few months to pull together, so start it well before you plan to travel rather than treating it as a formality near the end.

The second is buying property too quickly. A week's holiday somewhere is not the same as living there in February, and the coast you love in August can feel very different off-season. Most of the people we move who are happiest a year later rented first, in the actual town they were considering, before committing to a purchase. It also gives you time to open a Spanish bank account and get a feel for the real cost of living.

The third is underestimating how much a bit of Spanish helps. You don't need to be fluent, but enough to deal with the town hall, the utilities and your neighbours makes the first few months far less stressful. The paperwork side of the move itself, the customs clearance, the inventory, the ToR relief, is the part we take off your hands, so that's one less thing on the list.

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Moving to Spain After Brexit

How Brexit Has Changed Life for British Expats in Spain

Spain is still one of the most popular places for British people to relocate to, but Brexit changed the rules underneath it. UK nationals aren't EU citizens any more, so the automatic right to live, work and retire in Spain has gone. In its place is a visa system, and the move now carries more paperwork on both the immigration and the customs side than it did before 2021. None of it is a dealbreaker, but it does need doing in the right order, which is one reason it pays to get your mover involved early rather than at the last minute.

Residency, Visas, and Daily Life Post-Brexit

UK citizens now apply for a visa or residence permit under Spain's normal immigration rules rather than simply turning up. In practice that usually means showing you can support yourself, holding private health insurance, and getting an NIE (your Spanish foreigner's number). Anyone who was already living in Spain before the end of 2020 sits under the Withdrawal Agreement instead and holds a TIE card.

Everyday life picked up a bit more admin too. Working in Spain needs the right visa, healthcare usually means private cover or qualifying for the public system, and jobs like registering at the town hall or swapping your driving licence take a little more form-filling than they used to. It's manageable, it's just worth knowing about before you land.

Adapting to the New Expat Lifestyle

For all the extra admin, the reason people move hasn't changed. Once the paperwork is behind you, you get the weather, a lower cost of everyday living in most areas, and established British communities on the Costas and in the cities if you want that network nearby. A bit of Spanish and getting to know your local area go a long way in the first few months.

One thing worth planning for before you go rather than after: if you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain you become tax-resident, which affects how your pension and other income are taxed. It's worth a conversation with a Spanish accountant early on. The move itself is very doable, Brexit or not, plenty of the families we move do it every month.

What You Need to Know About Customs Regulations When Moving to Spain

Since Brexit, a UK-to-Spain move is treated as an import from outside the EU, so it comes with customs rules that didn't apply when Britain was a member. The good news for most people is Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief: a genuine change of residence lets your household goods come in without duty or VAT. It's the paperwork around it that catches people out, and that's the part we take on.

We run the whole customs process end to end: the inventory, the declaration, and the ToR application where you qualify. You concentrate on the move; we keep the forms moving.

Key Customs Rules and Documentation

Every move needs a detailed inventory listing what's in the load, with an estimated value and rough purchase date for each lot. We put this together for you. Alongside it, Spanish customs will want:

  • Proof of a UK address (a recent utility bill is fine).
  • Your Spanish rental contract or property deed.
  • A copy of your passport or NIE.
  • A signed authorisation form (we provide this).

For the VAT (IVA) exemption specifically, they may also ask for your TIE residency card, a recent padrón certificate, and your P85 from HMRC, which is the form that tells HMRC you're leaving the UK.

A few things are restricted or off-limits. Alcohol, tobacco, fresh food, plants, prescription medicines (bring the prescription) and antiques can all need extra handling or permits. The usual prohibited list applies too: no drugs, firearms, hazardous materials or counterfeit goods.

Shipping Personal Items and Vehicles

This is where Transfer of Residence relief does the heavy lifting. When your things move as part of a genuine change of residence rather than a commercial shipment, your household goods come in free of import duty and VAT, with no upper value limit, as long as you've owned them for at least six months and they're declared properly. The main exceptions are alcohol and tobacco, which carry excise duty whatever the reason for the move.

One point worth clearing up: the €430 figure you'll see quoted online is a separate thing entirely. It's the allowance for goods you carry in your luggage as a traveller, not for a household removal under ToR, so it doesn't cap what you can bring in the van.

Bringing a vehicle? It needs to be at least six months old and travel with its paperwork, the V5 or title document, purchase invoice, registration and proof of insurance. Re-registering it onto Spanish plates is a separate job once you're resident, and one we can point you in the right direction on.

We walk you through all of it as part of the move, so nothing gets declared the wrong way and you don't end up paying tax you didn't owe.

Arriving in Spain

For comprehensive information on visa requirements, visit the official website of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs or contact the nearest Spanish embassy or consulate in the UK . They will provide the most accurate and up-to-date information on visa types, application processes, and any additional requirements. By being well-informed about the customs requirements and visa regulations, you can ensure a smooth transition and make the necessary arrangements to comply with the legal obligations when moving from the UK to Spain.

You might also need to register with the local town hall (empadronamiento), apply for a NIE number, or arrange healthcare and schooling for your children.

Frequently Asked Questions about Removals to Spain

Removals to Spain from the UK typically cost between £2,500 and £7,000 for a door-to-door household move, with part-load services from around £1,200 for smaller consignments. Price varies by the volume of your belongings, your Spanish destination, and whether you choose part-load, shared-load or dedicated service. Request a free no-obligation online quote for an exact figure.

Transit time depends on your Spanish destination and which route we take (Portsmouth-to-Santander ferry, or Dover-Calais plus road through France). From our Oxfordshire base, expect 3–4 working days to Northern Spain (Bilbao, Santander, Galicia); 4–5 days to Madrid and central Spain; and 5–10 days to the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Valencia, Alicante and Barcelona. Shared-load moves may add 3–5 days during consolidation. Dedicated vehicles run direct for the fastest service.

Yes. Every UK to Spain move (and every Spain to UK one) comes with 2 months of free storage at our Oxfordshire warehouse, fully insured. It covers the gaps that come up on nearly every move: a Non-Lucrative Visa still going through, a Spanish completion date that slips, or a UK sale that finishes before you're ready to fly out. Your things stay with us until you want them.

Yes, that side of it is on us. We complete the DUA (Documento Único Administrativo) customs declaration, put together the itemised inventory Spanish customs want to see, and prepare your Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief application where you're eligible. ToR relief is the one worth knowing about: if you're moving to Spain permanently and have owned your household items for at least six months, it lets them clear without Spanish import duty or VAT. We'll tell you upfront whether you qualify, and sort the forms either way.

For most retirees the route is the Non-Lucrative Visa, Spain's "non-working" residence permit. For 2026 you need to show passive income or savings of at least €28,800 a year for the main applicant (that's 400% of Spain's IPREM, which hasn't changed since 2023), plus €7,200 a year for each dependent coming with you. You'll also need private Spanish health insurance with full cover and no co-payments. The visa runs for one year to begin with, then renews in two-year blocks. We're movers, not immigration advisers, so check the fine detail with the consulate or a Spanish immigration lawyer, but plenty of our customers have made the move exactly this way.

A dedicated vehicle is reserved exclusively for your belongings — you choose collection and delivery dates and there are no other stops. A shared-load service combines your belongings with those of other customers travelling the same week, reducing cost by 50% or more compared to dedicated. A part-load is for smaller moves that don't fill a household — typically 1–2 rooms of furniture, starting from £1,200. See our dedicated part-load removals to Spain page.

Yes. Post-Brexit, UK nationals need a visa to stay in Spain for more than 90 days in any 180-day period. The most common routes are the Non-Lucrative Visa (for retirees and those with passive income), the Digital Nomad Visa (for remote workers earning at least 200% of the Spanish minimum wage), the Work Visa (with a Spanish employer), and family reunification visas. Most applicants start the process 4–6 months before their planned move date. You'll also need an NIE number as part of the residency process.

Yes. Our vehicles run removals in both directions on our bi-weekly Spain corridor, and we regularly handle return moves for expats coming back to the UK. UK customs clearance on arrival uses a different relief (ToR1) which we can guide you through. Read our guide to moving back to the UK from Spain, or request a quote online with collection in Spain and delivery in the UK.

The top three mistakes are underestimating the complexity of the Non-Lucrative Visa application (allow 4–6 months), failing to start Spanish language learning before the move, and buying property before renting in the area first. Get your visa paperwork started early, use the time to learn basic Spanish, and rent for 6–12 months before committing to a property purchase.

You'll need your residency visa (or proof of your visa application), a passport copy, your Spanish address (rental contract or property deed), a detailed inventory of belongings (we supply the template), and proof of UK address such as a recent utility bill. If you're claiming Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief for tax-free import, you'll also need proof you've owned the goods for at least 6 months. We'll guide you through every document and handle the DUA customs declaration with Spanish Agencia Tributaria.

Both. Whether it's a single sofa, a handful of pieces, or a full home's worth of furniture, we'll move it — you pay for the space your items take up on the van, not a fixed household rate. Smaller furniture loads travel on our part-load service; larger ones on a shared or dedicated vehicle. Dismantling and reassembly of beds, wardrobes and flat-pack is included, and we blanket-wrap or export-wrap fragile and high-value pieces as standard.

Contact Us for Removals UK Spain

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Removals from the UK to Spain

Spain Coastal landscape

Our track record speaks for itself when it comes to relocating from the United Kingdom to Spain. Over the years, we helped customers in their move to a wide range of locations across Spain, including:

We’ve recently added guides to many of these locations on our blog—be sure to check them out if you’re considering a move!

Whether you're heading to the Costa del Sol, a Madrid apartment or a village in Andalucía, we manage the whole journey — packing, customs paperwork and door-to-door delivery — so your belongings arrive in the same condition they left.

Moving Back to the UK from Spain

Returning home? Because our vehicles regularly run back from Spain to the UK, a Spain-to-UK move can often be arranged as a cost-effective return load. We collect from across Spain — including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and Málaga — and deliver anywhere in the UK.

For Britons coming back, we handle your Transfer of Residence (ToR) application and the UK customs paperwork, so your personal effects clear without unexpected duty or VAT — with the same packing and export wrapping we provide on the way out.

Testimonials from Our Satisfied Customers

Much of our Spain work comes from word of mouth and repeat customers — families on the Costa Blanca, retirees near Málaga, and second-home owners moving a part-load each season. The feedback we hear most is about clear communication, careful packing, and belongings arriving in Spain — or back in the UK — in the same condition they left.

Read verified reviews on our reviews page.

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