UK to Spain
Removals from the UK to Spain
Down the length of France, then in at one of two borders. Which one decides the shape of the whole journey — and what happens at the far end usually decides everything else.
Two ways in
The Biscay corner
Irun, in the west
Serves
Madrid, Castile, Galicia, Asturias, Andalusia and the whole Atlantic side
Down the west of France, across at the Basque corner, then south. The longer of the two approaches for most people, and the one that opens up the interior.
The Mediterranean corner
Le Perthus, in the east
Serves
Catalonia, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and the Costa Blanca
Down the Rhône and along the coast. This is the border most British moves to Spain actually use, because most of them are heading for the Mediterranean side.
You do not have to care about any of this. It is on the page because knowing which border a quote assumes is the difference between a route that has been thought about and one that has been guessed.
Three things that catch people out
The car park is the problem, not the flat
Coastal apartment blocks very often have a height-restricted underground car park and no street loading at all. A full-size vehicle physically cannot get in. That means a shuttle with a smaller van — which is fine, and it is fine because we found out before the day rather than on it.
Lifts are smaller than you remember
A sofa that came up a British stairwell will not necessarily go up a Spanish one. We ask for lift dimensions and stair widths at survey so the answer is known while there is still time to do something about it.
Nobody has the keys yet
Completion abroad slips. It happens constantly. Storage here bridges the gap and the load travels when your date is genuinely firm, which is a far better outcome than a vehicle sitting outside a building nobody can open.
What most Spain moves are
A retirement to the coast. A family relocating for work to Madrid or Barcelona. Somebody finally furnishing a place they have owned for years and visited in short bursts. A move back the other way, which we also do, because Spain to the UK is the same road run in reverse and the paperwork just points the other direction.
What they have in common is that the drive is the predictable half and the building at the far end is not. That is why the survey asks about lifts, stairwells, car park height and where a vehicle can legally stop — and why a quote built without asking any of that is not really a quote.
Collecting from anywhere in the UK
There is no base town here and no collection radius. Once the vehicle is heading for the Channel the rest of the journey is identical whether it started in Glasgow or in Kent.
UK to Spain — common questions
What paperwork does Spain want?
Your NIE or equivalent identification reference, proof of the Spanish address, evidence you are transferring residence rather than importing goods to sell, and a detailed inventory. We compile the declaration from the survey inventory and lodge it before the vehicle travels.
Do you go to the islands?
Mainland Spain by road is what we run. Balearics and Canaries involve a sea leg and a different set of arrangements — ask us and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right firm for it rather than taking the job and working it out later.
Is a part load sensible for Spain?
Often, yes. It is a long route and sharing a vehicle across several moves takes real cost out of it. The trade-off is date flexibility, because the schedule has to suit the whole load rather than just you. We price both.
Can you store things here first?
Yes. Clean, dry, itemised storage in the UK, and the load travels when you are ready. Most Spain moves that use storage do it because completion dates moved, not because anyone planned it.
What cannot come?
Anything flammable or pressurised, most plants, perishable food, and whatever Spain restricts. Fuel has to be drained from garden machinery. Alcohol in quantity attracts duty — a few bottles in a box is not what anybody is worried about, a wine collection is.
Moving to Spain?
Send both addresses and a rough inventory. If there is a lift or a height-restricted car park involved, mention it — it changes the plan.