Kent → Spain
Kent to Spain, written down properly
Of the four routes we run, Spain is the one where the paperwork is examined most closely — and where the order of the documents matters as much as the documents themselves.
| Document | Provided by | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| NIE | You | The foreigner identification number. Everything else depends on it and nothing about it involves the removal, so it starts first. |
| Address proof | You | An escritura for a purchase, or a rental contract in your name. |
| Padrón municipal | You | Town-hall registration in the municipality you are moving to, generally obtainable only once you are there. |
| Consulate certificate | You | Change of residence, issued by the Spanish consulate covering your Kent address, before the goods travel. |
| Inventory | Us, with you | Itemised and valued in Spanish, written during packing and signed by you. This is the document customs reconciles against the vehicle. |
| Export declaration | Us | Raised in Kent before departure, with the transit paperwork. |
Why the order matters here more than anywhere
Part of the Spanish file cannot be completed from Britain. The NIE can be started here; the padrón generally cannot happen until you are living there. So a move planned as "documents, then transport" runs into a step that requires the move to have already happened.
The practical resolution is almost always storage: the household leaves the Kent property on the completion date, waits here inventoried, and exports once the Spanish end is genuinely finished.
The route
Out through the Kent crossing and down the western side of France to Bordeaux — long, dull and reliable. Then either Irún for the Basque country, Burgos, Madrid and the south, or La Jonquera across the eastern Pyrenees for Catalonia and the Mediterranean coast down to Alicante and Murcia.
Andalucía is the furthest point on either fork and the quote says so rather than averaging it away.
Delivering in Spain
Coastal urbanisations are generally straightforward — room to park, often a lift. Old city centres are the opposite: narrow streets, bollards and time-restricted access, which usually means a transfer to a smaller vehicle for the last stretch.
For the Balearics the road leg ends at Barcelona or Valencia and a ferry booking follows. Portugal shares most of this drive before turning west at Salamanca.
Worth knowing
Kent to Spain, asked properly
Why is the inventory such a focus on this route?
Because Spanish customs reconcile it against the load more closely than most, and a vague list is where reconciliation queries start. It is written during the packing rather than reconstructed afterwards, itemised, valued and in Spanish.
When do we apply for the NIE?
As soon as you decide to go. It underpins everything else, it has nothing to do with the removal, and it is by a distance the most common reason a Spanish move slips.
Why can the padrón not be done from here?
Because it is registration in the municipality you are moving to, and municipalities generally expect you to be living there. It is why the Spanish sequence has to be planned rather than assumed.
Irún or La Jonquera?
Irún for Madrid, Burgos and the centre and south; La Jonquera for Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and the coast. The fork is at Bordeaux and the destination decides it.
Is a shared load sensible here?
Often. Spain carries enough British household traffic that consolidated vehicles run regularly, so a part-load is not waiting indefinitely. For a full house with a fixed date, take a dedicated vehicle.
We are keeping the Kent property. What changes?
The duty position. Relief requires that you are transferring residence; furnishing a Spanish property while remaining UK-resident is a standard import assessed on declared value and is declared as such.
Can the goods wait in Kent?
Routinely, and it is usually the right answer. The load sits inventoried in store here and exports when the Spanish file is genuinely complete rather than nearly complete.
Begin the NIE. The rest can be sequenced.
Once that number exists the Spanish file becomes a series of manageable steps rather than a queue behind one missing item.