# Importing personal effects



## Rick Power (Oct 18, 2014)

my wife and I bought property in Miraflores earlier in the year, we both have NIE numbers, we are both EU citizens and reside in Dubai. 
We shall be moving our shipment of personal effects and furniture from Dubai to Spain, and have been informed that we may need to have an Alta En El Padron Municipal before we can ship any of our effects to our property in Miraflores - Does anyone know if this is gospel? we aim to ship in December? would be grateful for any solid guidance - Cheers


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Rick Power said:


> my wife and I bought property in Miraflores earlier in the year, we both have NIE numbers, we are both EU citizens and reside in Dubai.
> We shall be moving our shipment of personal effects and furniture from Dubai to Spain, and have been informed that we may need to have an Alta En El Padron Municipal before we can ship any of our effects to our property in Miraflores - Does anyone know if this is gospel? we aim to ship in December? would be grateful for any solid guidance - Cheers


:welcome: I've moved your question to a thread of its own

will you be moving to live here?

if not, then you cannot legally register on the padrón / get an _Alta En El Padrón Municipal_

I believe that they would ask for this & take the date of the 'alta' as the date you moved here - it's an import tax issue

as I said though, if you aren't actually living in Spain then you can't have one

I don't know how that affects any import tax , however


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Yes we had to provide Padron documentation to the agents on Tenerife who were dealing with the container and the Customs. We did not have to pay import duty. We moved from England to El Hierro in the Canary islands.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Hepa said:


> Yes we had to provide Padron documentation to the agents on Tenerife who were dealing with the container and the Customs. We did not have to pay import duty. We moved from England to El Hierro in the Canary islands.


yes I think that will be the difference - residents don't pay import tax - I bet non-residents do though


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

It will depend on where you are importing from. From Dubai you will probably be faced with import duty but if you first ship to UK (not forgetting to land it) so that you are shipping from UK to Spain, then you will not normally be liable on household goods that have been used.


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## Espanada (Jul 22, 2014)

I'm curious, avoiding paying import duties is limited to importing from other EU countries?


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## StewartL (Sep 5, 2013)

Avoiding paying import duty is not limited to importing from other EU countries. You can import your personal belonging is you are relocating you main residence to the EU from outside the EU. That said there are certain rules applying to this relief. Here is a link to the UK rules on this just because it is in English. Similar rules apply in Spain. HM Revenue & Customs.

My advice would be to make contact with a customs agent in Spain who would be dealing with the importation of your goods to discuss the situation further.


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## Rick Power (Oct 18, 2014)

Many thanks for all the guidance, We are currently registered as non residents, as my employment is not in Spain. 

So if my wife registered as resident then we would not be liable to pay import duty on our used furniture and personal effects being imported from Dubai to Spain?


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## StewartL (Sep 5, 2013)

Correct if your wife was registered as resident she should be able to import your used furniture and personal effects free of import duty and tax for a defined period of time after registration.


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## Rick Power (Oct 18, 2014)

StewartL said:


> Correct if your wife was registered as resident she should be able to import your used furniture and personal effects free of import duty and tax for a defined period of time after registration.


Many thanks StewartL, my wife will be back in Spain from 03 November, I take it that its not difficult to change from non resident to resident? we have a decent Spanish lawyer in Fuengirola - so I take it that they can organize documentation necessary as well as the "Padron"?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Rick Power said:


> Many thanks StewartL, my wife will be back in Spain from 03 November, I take it that its not difficult to change from non resident to resident? we have a decent Spanish lawyer in Fuengirola - so I take it that they can organize documentation necessary as well as the "Padron"?


you don't need a lawyer - in fact a lawyer can't register you as resident, nor register you on the padrón, since you have to attend the offices in person to sign

they can go with you - but it won't make it any different - you still have to have the required documentation - take a look in the FAQs sticky thread as to what that documentation is

please bear in mind that you _have to actually live in Spain _in order to register as resident, and also to be on the padrón


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## Rick Power (Oct 18, 2014)

Thanks Xabiachica, 

Please excuse my ignorance, we are new to this - where can I find the FAQ's sticky thread?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Rick Power said:


> Thanks Xabiachica,
> 
> Please excuse my ignorance, we are new to this - where can I find the FAQ's sticky thread?


it's the one which is 'stuck' at the top of the list of threads

here  http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...ain/2725-faqs-lots-useful-info.html#post11764


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