# What can I bring into Spain by plane (Customs)?



## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

I'm thrilled to be going to Canada next week for my first visit since arriving here.  I asked the airline what I'm allowed to bring back into Spain, and they said to contact the "Spanish government" to find out, but they didn't know the name of it. I'm stumped as to where to find out this information. I've googled for information but can only come up with unofficial sites. Could someone please provide this for me? :fingerscrossed:


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> I'm thrilled to be going to Canada next week for my first visit since arriving here.  I asked the airline what I'm allowed to bring back into Spain, and they said to contact the "Spanish government" to find out, but they didn't know the name of it. I'm stumped as to where to find out this information. I've googled for information but can only come up with unofficial sites. Could someone please provide this for me? :fingerscrossed:


Do you mean what you can bring in as far as paying tax is concerned?

This is about taxes on imports - I don't think it makes any difference whether you bring something yourself or it's sent by post - tax is the same

Aduanas e Impuestos Especiales - Agencia Tributaria


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> Do you mean what you can bring in as far as paying tax is concerned?
> 
> This is about taxes on imports - I don't think it makes any difference whether you bring something yourself or it's sent by post - tax is the same
> 
> Aduanas e Impuestos Especiales - Agencia Tributaria


What I mean is what I'm allowed to bring into the country after a two-week stay. It may not be the same here, but in Canada depending on how long your visit is, you're allowed to bring in a certain amount of goods without paying customs. The longer you stay, the more you're allowed to buy.

Also, there are restrictions in Canada as to maximum of certain products, like alcohol and tobacco, and I think it's the same in Spain. There are also some things you're not allowed to bring into the country. I understand for Spain anything that's not a EU country bans any meats or milk products from coming in. But I can't find an official site for that, or if there are other things I'm not allowed to bring in.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Like this, from the Canadian government:

https://travel.gc.ca/returning/customs/what-you-can-bring-home-to-canada


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## Tigerlillie (Apr 7, 2015)

Is this link any good to you Allheart.

https://spain.visahq.com/customs/


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> Like this, from the Canadian government:
> 
> https://travel.gc.ca/returning/customs/what-you-can-bring-home-to-canada


I just clicked around on that link I gave you & found this Régimen de Viajeros - Franquicias a la entrada en Península y Baleares - Agencia Tributaria


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Tigerlillie said:


> Is this link any good to you Allheart.
> 
> https://spain.visahq.com/customs/


Yes, I came across that, but I didn't know how official it is, and they didn't go into other stuff, like Xabiachica's link. Thank you.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> I just clicked around on that link I gave you & found this Régimen de Viajeros - Franquicias a la entrada en Península y Baleares - Agencia Tributaria



That's exactly what I need. Thank you! You're awesome.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

What do you want to bring back from Canada?

https://spain.visahq.com/customs/ is interesting. 

One of my nurses (and partner) were heavy smokers and they went to Spain on cheapo deals for a week or two at a time; they would bring back thousands of ciggies which in savings over UK prices meant their holiday was pretty much 'free' They got stopped at times but explained to UK customs that they smoked and had no problems until...one trip she bought back a load of tobacco (for her father in law) and they had a tough time that trip.

Another nurse went out to Gran Canaria and landed back early hours of the morning...no problem you'd think but...the customs stopped and went through every passengers luggage, they had a field day LOL


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

There are still people who come to Spain and buy loads of cigarettes. They've put a limit on how many cartons you can buy here at one time, but that doesn't stop a person from buying from different shops. There's not so much a problem of customs within Europe, but there are restrictions as you see from outside Europe. People from Europe also buy up medications here in Spain, as my pharmacist told me. I'm bringing in tobacco from Spain to Canada, so that's one thing I had to know.

This is my favourite wine. In the 90s, I went on a hike and tour of the winery and fell in love with this. So I'm bringing some of this back from Canada:

http://www.lcbo.com/content/dam/lcb...:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1280.1280.jpeg

I'm also bringing back peanut butter, ZipLock bags, twist ties, shoes, Folgers vanilla coffee and maple syrup - just some small luxuries that I miss here.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> There are still people who come to Spain and buy loads of cigarettes. They've put a limit on how many cartons you can buy here at one time, but that doesn't stop a person from buying from different shops. There's not so much a problem of customs within Europe, but there are restrictions as you see from outside Europe. People from Europe also buy up medications here in Spain, as my pharmacist told me. I'm bringing in tobacco from Spain to Canada, so that's one thing I had to know.
> 
> This is my favourite wine. In the 90s, I went on a hike and tour of the winery and fell in love with this. So I'm bringing some of this back from Canada:
> 
> ...


OK - I get the peanut butter & maple syrup - & maybe the shoes.....

But ziplock bags & twist ties? We get them here!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> OK - I get the peanut butter & maple syrup - & maybe the shoes.....
> 
> But ziplock bags & twist ties? We get them here!


I can get the peanut butter and maple syrup here, but they's twice the price as in Canada.

I have large feet, so shoes are hard to find in Spain.

I can only find large Ziploc bags here. I'm looking for the sandwich size. 

I can't find twist ties here either.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

AllHeart said:


> I can get the peanut butter and maple syrup here, but they's twice the price as in Canada.
> 
> I have large feet, so shoes are hard to find in Spain.
> 
> ...


We buy both the bags and the ties from the local Chinese shops/bazaars - never had a problem with any of the items you mention.

My 3 children have large feet - 46 plus and growing - no problem finding both men and ladies shoes.


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Shoes*



snikpoh said:


> We buy both the bags and the ties from the local Chinese shops/bazaars - never had a problem with any of the items you mention.
> 
> My 3 children have large feet - 46 plus and growing - no problem finding both men and ladies shoes.


Lucky kids. My daughter takes a 35 and hopeless times looking for shoes. There seems to be a size missing between a youngster's move to a woman's sizeand she is piggy in the middle.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> We buy both the bags and the ties from the local Chinese shops/bazaars - never had a problem with any of the items you mention.
> 
> My 3 children have large feet - 46 plus and growing - no problem finding both men and ladies shoes.


OK, I'll keep checking the Chinese bazaars, but I haven't found any yet.

46+?!?!?! OMG I feel tiny now.  Mine is 42-43. Stores here in Malaga only go to 40 or 41, although I can find runners at Decathalon in my size and dress shoes (not great quality, though) at C&A. Where do your girls get their shoes?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Justina said:


> Lucky kids. My daughter takes a 35 and hopeless times looking for shoes. There seems to be a size missing between a youngster's move to a woman's sizeand she is piggy in the middle.


One of my friends here has the same problem - really small feet - and has a hard time getting shoes.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Peanut butter - I adore it. Do you (or a friend) have a food processor? I make my own, with roasted peanuts, sea salt and a little olive oil. I keep it in the fridge and it lasts for many weeks. Unless you buy it from a health food shop, at great expense, the supermarkets sell processed rubbish topped up with nasty oils like cottonseed. Make your own then use the space you save for extra shoes. 
¡Buen viaje!

How To Make Homemade Peanut Butter â€” Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn | The Kitchn


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Hey Madliz.  Great recipe for peanut butter! I only go through a tiny container every six months, so I actually need those preservatives. It's the same with mayo - it's easy to make, but I need the preservatives because I only go through a little jar about every six months. 

I grew up as one of five kids, and my parents used to buy a massive vat of natural peanut butter from the health-food store without preservatives, and it never went bad because we ate it so fast. She'd make wicked home-made breads and jams. We had the best PBJ toast in town! 

I'm partial to Hellman's mayo, which I can get here, and Kraft PB. I can find peanut butter here, but it's not cheap and I can't find any Kraft PB, so I'm stocking up on that in Canada. There is no limit at Spanish Customs on the things I want to buy - other than the wine. Woot!


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## Tigerlillie (Apr 7, 2015)

AllHeart said:


> Hey Madliz.  Great recipe for peanut butter! I only go through a tiny container every six months, so I actually need those preservatives. It's the same with mayo - it's easy to make, but I need the preservatives because I only go through a little jar about every six months.
> 
> I grew up as one of five kids, and my parents used to buy a massive vat of natural peanut butter from the health-food store without preservatives, and it never went bad because we ate it so fast. She'd make wicked home-made breads and jams. We had the best PBJ toast in town!
> 
> I'm partial to Hellman's mayo, which I can get here, and Kraft PB. I can find peanut butter here, but it's not cheap and I can't find any Kraft PB, so I'm stocking up on that in Canada. There is no limit at Spanish Customs on the things I want to buy - other than the wine. Woot!


That's good news Allheart, although I only live across the water from the UK there are still silly things I miss and I can get them here but not the right brand (and sometimes it DOES make a difference) or flavour. Have a lovely trip and bring back lots of your favourite stuff. Happy holidays lane:


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

You can't really believe that Hellman's make good Mayonnaise ? Awful stuff.

Here is a very simple recipe for making a* small amount* of mayo, you can leave out the garlic...I like it left in






UK eggs (British Lion standard) are bug free so we can store home made mayo for at least a week ...we normally eat it well before that.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Tigerlillie said:


> That's good news Allheart, although I only live across the water from the UK there are still silly things I miss and I can get them here but not the right brand (and sometimes it DOES make a difference) or flavour. Have a lovely trip and bring back lots of your favourite stuff. Happy holidays lane:


Thank you!  I packed yesterday and leave tomorrow morning. I'm soooo excited!

There are lots more things I'm going to get, but what I listed is at a minimum. Another thing I'll get is an Italian olive oil that I used for decades and love:

https://s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/media.redmart.com/newmedia/1600x/i/m/img_7225.jpg

Then I'll get a couple of boxes of Kraft Dinner too as they're really expensive here. I get a hankering for that about once or twice a year. I love it mixed with tuna and ketchup! LOL! I know that sounds gross, but it's something I've enjoyed since my twenties.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

bob_bob said:


> You can't really believe that Hellman's make good Mayonnaise ? Awful stuff.
> 
> Here is a very simple recipe for making a* small amount* of mayo, you can leave out the garlic...I like it left in
> 
> ...


Thanks for the recipe. But I would only use a couple of tablespoons in a week, so it would go bad. My older sister used to make home-made mayo, and it was delicious. I switched to Hellman's in Spain because I couldn't get my Canadian brand, and I actually like it. Since my twenties, I used to use this:

https://fa74d61d848a20b729bb-0251b3....com/0021000026500_CF_version_type_large.jpeg

Maybe I'll pick up a jar of that too? ....my suitcase is getting full fast. It's only 2/3 full so that I can bring stuff back.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

When I was in Canada for an extended period I tried it, and cheese whiz...do you ever wonder why this stuff lasts as long as the pyramids? Do you worry about what goes in them? And your taking Olive oil to Spain, if the customs spot it you will be (quite rightly) deported.






Spain Replaces Italy as Top Olive Oil Exporter to the U.S. and Japan

The mayo oil recipe I gave is so small and cheap just make a batch and sling whats left... don't be a meanie.

I will admit to enjoying a Twinkie when I lived in the States


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

Have a lovely time.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Thanks Justina! 



bob_bob said:


> When I was in Canada for an extended period I tried it, and cheese whiz...do you ever wonder why this stuff lasts as long as the pyramids? Do you worry about what goes in them? And your taking Olive oil to Spain, if the customs spot it you will be (quite rightly) deported.
> 
> family guy cool whip - YouTube
> 
> ...


OMG Cheez Whiz is gross, eh?! Unless you mix it with salsa in the microwave, then it's yummy as a nacho dip. Twinkies have their place in this world. But I prefer (Canadian) Vachon's Half Moons:

http://images.chickadvisor.com/item/30454/original/default.jpg

No, I don't worry about the preservatives in these things because I eat so little prepared food, it's not an issue. I make most things from scratch.

That's a hilarious video! LOL! I like Cool Whip Light the best - more so even than whipped cream. Can't get that here either. Or frozen fruit.

Are you serious that I can't bring olive oil into Spain? I didn't see that on the govt link Xabiachica posted.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

> ....than whipped cream. Can't get that here either. Or frozen fruit.


Whipped cream, believe it or not, is often sold in frozen form, in bags. 
I buy frozen red berries from Lidl, Mercadona, Carrefour and others.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Madliz said:


> Whipped cream, believe it or not, is often sold in frozen form, in bags.
> I buy frozen red berries from Lidl, Mercadona, Carrefour and others.


I mean they don't have Cool Whip here. I haven't seen any frozen fruit anywhere I go - Mercadona, SuperSol, Dia or Carrefour.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Aerosol cans of 'cream' are available in Spain...I'll be packing some when I get to use my new campervan  You find cans of butter in Spain too, just don't find it in the UK.

Re: the vid clip, I just love Family Guy... I have every episode


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