Costa del Sol
Málaga, Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola, Mijas, Nerja
Hillside urbanisations above the coast road, with steep, tight bends that a smaller vehicle often handles better.
UK to Spain removals
Removals to Spain, by shared run or your own lorry
Most of the moves we take from the UK to Spain end on the coast, and a good share of them are apartments. That shapes how we run this route. A lot of loads travel as part of a shared run down the Mediterranean, where you pay for the space you fill. The paperwork centres on your NIE and your residence, and the delivery has to fit around lifts, building rules and the hill roads up to the urbanisations.
Last reviewed:
Will my flat fit on a shared run to Spain?
Almost certainly, and for a one-bedroom flat it is usually the cheaper way to go. On a shared run your belongings travel with other households' goods, each lot wrapped and listed on its own, while the vehicle works down the coast. A full load is a lorry that carries only your home, on your dates. Most people decide on the points below.
A shared load usually fits if
- You are moving a flat or a smaller home
- You can be flexible about the delivery date
- You are furnishing a second home or sending things ahead of yourself
- Your destination is on a well-used part of the coast
A full load usually fits if
- You are moving a whole house
- You need delivery on a particular date, for a handover or a rental start
- You are going inland, or somewhere few other loads are heading
- You want the same crew to load and unload
Coasts, cities and what to expect in each
Mainland Spain is covered end to end. Six areas take most of our loads, and each has one access habit worth knowing before the survey.
Costa Blanca
Alicante, Jávea, Dénia, Altea, Benidorm, Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa
A busy shared-load destination. Many moves are apartments or townhouses on gated developments.
Costa Cálida and Almería
Murcia, Cartagena, Mojácar, Vera
Golf resorts and inland villages. Access is usually straightforward, distances between drops are not.
Valencia
Valencia city, Gandia, Castellón, Benicàssim
City apartments with shared lifts, and the beach towns to the north and south.
Barcelona and Catalonia
Barcelona, Sitges, Girona, Tarragona
Narrow streets in the old quarters and strict loading rules in the city centre.
Madrid
Madrid city, Pozuelo, Majadahonda, Alcalá de Henares
Mostly apartments, often with a porter. Moves are planned around building rules and parking.
Will the community of owners let a removal in?
Delivering to a Spanish apartment is rarely about the stairs. It is about the building. Most blocks and gated developments are run by a comunidad de propietarios, the community of owners, usually through an administrator. The community sets the rules for moving in, and they vary from building to building. Common ones are set times when removals are allowed, protection for the lift and the shared hallways, use of a service entrance or the underground garage, and notice to the porter or administrator beforehand. Some lifts are too small for a sofa or a wardrobe, so the large pieces go up the stairs or, on higher floors, by an external furniture hoist through a terrace. On urbanisations, the gate code and whether a lorry can turn inside matter as much as the apartment. A copy of the community's rules and a few photos are the best brief you can give us, and the delivery is booked to fit them.
Villas inland have their own issues, mostly long unpaved drives and tight turns. We plan those the same way: at survey, with a smaller vehicle on standby where it is needed.
Which Spanish documents does the move depend on?
We are removers, not immigration advisers, but these are the documents that affect your move. We will ask about them early.
-
Your right to live in Spain
Since Brexit, UK nationals moving to Spain usually need a visa, applied for before you go, and then a residence card (the TIE) once you arrive. Customs relief depends on you becoming resident, so this comes before everything else.
-
Your NIE
The NIE is your foreigner identity number. You need it to buy property, sign utility contracts and deal with the tax office. Spanish customs will usually expect to see it on the paperwork for your belongings, so we ask for it early.
-
Registering on the padrón
Signing on to the local town hall register, the padrón, gives you an empadronamiento certificate. It is one of the clearest proofs that your new address is your home rather than a holiday let.
-
The customs file for your belongings
Relief from duty on personal belongings is claimed with a file, not a form. It holds your passport, your NIE, the empadronamiento or other proof of residence, and a list of every item on the vehicle. We put that file together; the export entry on the British side is lodged before departure.
GOV.UK's guide to living in Spain covers visas, residence, healthcare and driving in detail.
Getting an accurate Spain estimate
Every Spain estimate starts from a survey, by video or at home, and is written down. It already carries the export packing and labelling, the customs inventory, the UK export declaration and the Spanish customs file, the collection, the crossing and the delivery, lift protection, furniture placed and rebuilt, a smaller vehicle where a lorry cannot reach the door, and goods-in-transit cover at the level shown. What it cannot guess is your building. Cover these in the notes on the quote form and there is far less reason for the estimate to change after the survey.
- Shared run or a lorry of your own, or "not sure yet"
- Which floor, and the inside size of the lift if there is one
- The comunidad rules on moving in, or the administrator's email
- Gate codes, barrier heights or vehicle limits on the development
- How steep or tight the road up is, ideally with a photo
- Whether you need storage while the purchase completes
Also weighing up Portugal? See removals to Portugal, or the international removals overview.
Moving to Spain: your questions
Your belongings are collected, wrapped and listed on their own inventory, then travel on a vehicle carrying several households heading to Spain. Each load is kept separate and labelled, so nothing is mixed. The run works its way down the Mediterranean coast dropping as it goes, so you are given a delivery window instead of one date. Your share is charged on the space your goods take up, which is why flats, second homes and people with no fixed handover tend to choose it.
In practice, yes. The NIE is the identity number Spain uses for foreign residents, and Spanish customs normally expects it on the paperwork that claims duty relief for personal belongings. You will need it anyway to buy or rent, connect utilities or open a bank account. Applications still in progress are common, so say so on the quote form. Collection can wait for the number, or your goods can sit in storage, wrapped and listed, until it arrives.
Yes. Spanish completions slip often enough that we plan for it. Your belongings are packed and listed as normal, then held in storage until you have the keys and, ideally, your residence paperwork. When you are ready, they join the next suitable shared run or go as a full load. Tell us at quote stage if completion is uncertain, so storage is priced in from the start rather than added in a hurry.
For northern Spain, frequently. The sailing from Portsmouth or Plymouth to Santander or Bilbao lands the vehicle a short drive from Asturias, Cantabria or the Basque Country, and takes a long stretch of French motorway out of the plan. For the Mediterranean coast the Channel and a drive south through France usually wins. The choice depends on your address and your load, and the quote names the crossing we have planned.
Usually, yes, with the right vehicle. Many developments on the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca are reached by steep, narrow roads with hairpin bends, and some have gates or low entrances that a large lorry cannot clear. Where the survey or your photos show that, we transfer the goods to a smaller van at the bottom and shuttle them up. It is part of the quote from the start, not a surprise on the day.
Get a quote for Spain
Tell us where you are collecting from, whether that is London, Birmingham, Leeds or Glasgow, and your Spanish address. Mention if you would consider a shared load.