# Any one moved from Canada to Spain.



## greendy (Nov 26, 2013)

Hi all 

I am in the planning stages of moving to Valencia, and am looking for any advice from fellow Canadians that have made the long long long move to spain. 

Moved furniture, I all ears

Visa issues? im interested

basically im looking for any and all information, or issues that arose unexpectedly and how you solved them. 

Nothing like riding on the shoulder of those who have braved it already!! 

cheers every one


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...1-any-advice-canadian-wanting-move-spain.html This thread might help????? Not quite the same, but you might get the idea????



Jo xxx


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## Goldeneye (Nov 12, 2011)

....

Are you planning on working in Spain?

Are you retired?

What are your plans regarding access to healthcare ?

Will you at a future date be inheriting assets that are in Canada ?
Laws regarding this differ greatly from the UK and Canada.. 

Do you plan on bringing pets?

I have numerous 'favourites' pages where a lot of issues are addressed, before you think of the 'moving company' there are lot more things to consider and understand 1st

Expatwanabee is from Canada and might want to chip in... It looks like he/she has move to the same are you are considering

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/262057-extortion.html <<< This is a link to one of his threads...
...
....
....


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## greendy (Nov 26, 2013)

Goldeneye said:


> ....
> 
> Are you planning on working in Spain?
> 
> ...


So here's how it breaks down. 

I am an international oilfield worker that is tired of long commutes from British Colombia to the middle east and of course winter! So I will definitely not be working in Spain. From what I have read that seems to be a nonstarter any way, as the economy still seems to be struggling. I plan on visiting Spain on my time off, and spending a couple of places that I have short listed to see if they are good fit, if they aren't then I move on and keep looking.

I have health benefits from the company I work with as well as I have bought extended health coverage from a third party insurance company to ensure that I am taken care of where ever, in case some thing bad happens. 

I am not new to the expat life, I have lived abroad for almost 15 years in the middle east, India and China, so insofar as what to expect day to day, I've got that fairly well covered. There is a lot of noise about how slow Spanish bureaucracy can be, ought to spend some time in China... Yikes. 

I am interested in peoples experience getting the proper visas sorted, real estate experiences, either renting or buying, did they move their belongings, or light them on fire at home and start over. Did they move their car (impractical I know, but some have done it).

any and all info would be highly appreciated. 

cheers


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

greendy said:


> ...any and all info would be highly appreciated.


The first question you ought to ask is '...am I legally entitled to reside in Spain'? To which the answer is likely to be (unless you're an EU Citizen in disguise or have Spanish lineage somewhere down the line) no.

In which case you're going to need some form of visa. So the next question you should be asking is '...what kind of visa do I need and would I qualify/meet the requirements of it'.

In my opinion that really needs to be your first port of call. Find out what visa you will need to reside in Spain. 

Your next question should be, once I reside in Spain and become a fiscal resident, what are the tax implications? You pay tax on your worldwide income in Spain.


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## ExpatWannabee (Jul 6, 2011)

Tied up with rental negotiations at the moment, will offer comments on the weekend.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

greendy said:


> did they move their belongings, or light them on fire at home and start over. Did they move their car (impractical I know, but some have done it).


Sort of depends on what you have. The cost of shipping stuff means you will start out shipping only high value stuff. Either monetary or personal value. If this isn't very much stuff you might be able to manage with just luggage . Even if this means paying an overage fee to the airline.

If you have too much personal stuff for this to make sense you end up needing a container. At which point you'll want to fill the whole thing.

So start by paring your important stuff down. There is nothing you can't find in Europe.

On the car unless it's a classic you mostly polish I wouldn't bother. The cost of fuel is high enough it rarely makes sense to ship the average North American car over.

Better to sell the car. Take what you get on the sale plus what you save on shipping and put the total towards something new.


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## greendy (Nov 26, 2013)

zenkarma said:


> The first question you ought to ask is '...am I legally entitled to reside in Spain'? To which the answer is likely to be (unless you're an EU Citizen in disguise or have Spanish lineage somewhere down the line) no.
> 
> In which case you're going to need some form of visa. So the next question you should be asking is '...what kind of visa do I need and would I qualify/meet the requirements of it'.
> 
> ...


According to the Spanish embassy's website in Canada, there is provision for a "Non lucrative Resident Visa" essentially you have to guarantee that you are not going to work in spain, nor suckle at the Spanish gov't teat, by demonstrating that you have the financial means to support your self. 

The taxation point is interesting, I did read though 

"they spend more than 183 cumulative days in one calendar year in Spain, that is: 1 January to 31 December, which is the tax year. They become liable whether or not they formally register in the Registro Central de Extranjeros" 

Im my case it is pretty easy to not spend 183 days in a calendar year due to my occupation, but it is still a issue that will have to be sorted out. 

Thanks for the info.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

I'm planning on moving from Canada to Spain in about a year. Re your question about shipping, I looked into all the options, and it's really expensive. U-Haul quoted me $3,000 (to Barcelona) or $5,000 (to Malaga) for one of their "U-Box moving pods." You can look into this on the U-Haul website. You have to consider that really fragile things might not make the trip intact, like electronics (computer, TV, stereo, etc), pictures and dinnerware. Then of course the size of the U-Haul pod would limit you from bringing really large items, like big furniture pieces. In the end, what's left to move may not be worth the $3,000 to $5,000. 

UPS quoted about $200 per tiny box. Canada Post is even more expensive.

The other option is to add suitcases to your flight. Most airlines allow one to two suitcases as part of the flight fare. Each additional 50-lb suitcase runs about $100. This is the option I've decided upon. 

I hope that helps.


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## Goldeneye (Nov 12, 2011)

When we emigrated '*TO'* Canada, we used a international removal company.. At the time we didn't have enough 'stuff' to fill a container, the options were a 1/2 container or 'share' space in a container with someone else shipping goods to West coast Canada. 
We were told that this may result in a delay of a few weeks to a month. The _e.t.a_ 'in transit' shipping time to BC was 3 months, as we planned on renting for at least 3 months in order to 'discover' which part of Victoria we would prefer to purchase a home in, the extra time didn't matter.
As it happened the person we 'shared' our container with only had a few items, some photo's, pictures and couple of sentimental things from his late parents estate.

We would probably go the same route again, we have very 'high end' expensive furniture, the cost buying everything we have new far exceeds the cost of shipping.

Before we commit to a move my main concerns that need to be addressed are affordable healthcare, (taking out private insurance isn't an option) Hubby would have to answer yes to the pre-existing health questionnaire.
IHT ~ should we live 'full time' in Spain and be beneficiaries of a UK estate.. Sadly unlike in the UK & Canada, Spain WILL tax this as personal income after it has already been taxed in the UK... Spain is backwards here and continues with this double dipping system.. This issue alone will delay any future plans for us to move 'full time' as it would result in a huge tax bill in Spain on money already 'taxed' in the UK.


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

greendy said:


> According to the Spanish embassy's website in Canada, there is provision for a "Non lucrative Resident Visa" essentially you have to guarantee that you are not going to work in spain, nor suckle at the Spanish gov't teat, by demonstrating that you have the financial means to support your self.


Indeed there is but you still need to ensure you qualify for it and will be granted it before you make any further plans to relocate. These are the conditions of that visa as I understand them and I've lifted them from a previous post of mine on here:

These are the current requirements for a non-lucrative visa:

- Enough funds to sustain a family/individual. Present legislation considers a minimum of 26,000€ per person plus 7,000€ extra per dependant. We must warn that in practice, a more generous figure would improve the way the case is considered by immigration authorities;

- The candidate will have to prove the legal source of the funds used to live in Spain, criminal record checks will have to be submitted from the last country or countries of residence as well as medical certificates for the main candidate and any dependants;

- The candidate will also need a rental contract or proof of purchase of a property to live in Spain (deeds).

Once residence has been granted, the first visa has a validity for one year, after which it can be renewed for 2 years; and another 2 more years after the first 3 years. After a period of 5 years permanent right to remain is granted​
As you can see from the above, the granting of this visa is not automatic and depends on your personal situation and level of income.



greendy said:


> Im my case it is pretty easy to not spend 183 days in a calendar year due to my occupation, but it is still a issue that will have to be sorted out.


That is indeed the commonly held 'principle' by which fiscal residency is determined, but it's not the only one. If the Spanish authorities consider your Spanish home/residence as your primary centre of economic activity, in other words it's your principal residence and you don't live anywhere else, they can still consider you a fiscal resident even though you don't spend more than 183 days a year there.

At the end of the day (as far as the tax authorities are concerned) you will have to pay tax somewhere and that will be wherever your principle residence is located. 

Your situation will be particularly tricky because on the one hand you need to demonstrate an income of a certain level to obtain your non-lucrative visa on the other the Spanish authorities will know about this income and will be looking to tax you on it!

These are the issues you need to consider. They're never quite as black and white as people would like!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Greendy, my link for the Spanish Embassy in Ottawa no longer works, and I can't for the life of me find it again. Could you please provide me your link? Pretty please with sugar on top?


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