Importing to Spain
Since 1993, when the Single European act became effective, regulations for importing changed dramatically. If you move from another EU country , you may import your household goods without any formalities. A restriction is that you must have paid sales tax or VAT at purchase or owned the goods for at least 6 months.
As a visitor you may import your belongings, including campers, cars, boat etc. free of duty. You are not permitted to rent, sell or give away these belongings and when you leave Spain, they must be exported.
If you are a non-EU member and resident of Spain, you need to apply for either a primary or secondary residency, at least 3 months before your arrival to Spain. Your belongings can be imported free of duty and taxes, as long as you have owned these items for more than 6 months. You may apply for your residence at the Spanish consulate. All items that you are importing need to be on a shipping list with an estimated value. All goods need to be imported within one year of your Spanish residency. When you import your belongings as a non-EU country citizen, you need to make a deposit in a Spanish bank as a guarantee that all imported goods are for your personal use and not being sold. If Spain is your secondary residence, as a non-EU member citizen, you may want to consider buying your furniture locally.
Moving your furniture and other household goods to Spain involves a lot of preparation. If the papers are not accurate, you entire shipment might be stored in a customs depot for a long time. The deposit can add up to a large amount and you may have trouble getting your money back. One of our readers sent us a letter about his experience, click here.
By using the contents of this site you accept our user agreement. All contents are intended as study material and a general guidance. It does not substitute professional legal advise. We advise readers to contact the authorities before making any legal or tax involving decisions.
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