CLEARING CUSTOMS BRITTANY FERRIES UK TO SPAIN - Moving to La Alfoquia: tips and advice - La Alfoquia forum - Costa de Almería forum in the Almeria province of Spain
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CLEARING CUSTOMS BRITTANY FERRIES UK TO SPAIN

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 3:17pm
22 replies498 views8 members subscribed
ChrisnPaula

Posts: 46

7 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 May 2022

Hi Guys, 

Can somebody please explain how to go about clearing customs when you move to Spain via Brittany Ferries?

I've tried to find out about it on Google but to no avail, somebody must've done this before us, so I'll ask the lovely people on the forum, they'll know.......   

We're sailing from Plymouth - Santander 25th October 23, with all our worldly possessions plus 2 x dogs in the back of Ford Galaxy, yeah I know...... big ask eh? 

So, my question is, how do we clear customs? The vehicle is gong to be cleared by a company we're using (car-registrations-spain.com), and the dogs paperwork will all be completed prior to the move but how do we clear the other items, such as, clothing, a drill, screwdrivers, pots n pans keepsakes, bedding, photo's etc? What is the routine and do we need any paperwork to do it?  

TIA

Chris n Paula

Alicia 11

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 5:10pm

Alicia 11

Super helpful member

Posts: 2097

1773 helpful points

Location: Mojacar

Joined: 30 Sep 2019

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 5:10pm

if you're lucky you will just drive straight through with no questions asked.  You need to prove that the items you are bringing are old and if you can provide receipts for them if asked.  Anything new you may be asked to pay import tax but I've never heard of anyone experiencing this yet.  We travel back and forth every year and buy what we want and have never been stopped either end yet.  With dogs on board you could find that the UK end they don't want to see you in the customs booth and again in Spain most people drive straight off.

Good luck with the journey to your new life here.

ChrisnPaula

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 5:35pm

ChrisnPaula

Original Poster

Posts: 46

7 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 May 2022

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 5:35pm

Alicia 11 wrote on Fri Apr 28, 2023 5:10pm:

if you're lucky you will just drive straight through with no questions asked.  You need to prove that the items you are bringing are old and if you can provide receipts for them if asked.  Anything new you may be asked to pay import tax but I've never heard of anyone experiencing this y...

...et.  We travel back and forth every year and buy what we want and have never been stopped either end yet.  With dogs on board you could find that the UK end they don't want to see you in the customs booth and again in Spain most people drive straight off.

Good luck with the journey to your new life here.

Hi Alicia 11, 

That's reassuring, so no paperwork required, just show receipts for certain items if required. 

That's brill news. We were so worried that if we were stopped, we'd be made to look stupid because we don't know what we're doing. 

We'd rather try to get it right first time. Thank you very much for your quick reply. Much appreciated. 

Chris n Paula

truenudisttoo

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 7:34pm

truenudisttoo

Helpful member

Posts: 137

145 helpful points

Location: Turre

Joined: 9 Apr 2023

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 7:34pm

I've done the trip many times in the car and have never been questioned about whats on board despite there was not even any room on one trip for a passenger! Yes, it was before 31 Dec 2020 but I dont think anything has changed.

Just to add that I have done trips on trucks taking race cars and was one of the first to go through the export / import procedure at Sevington , Ashford,Kent after Brexit. I never saw any private vehicles. It will be highly unlikely you will be questioned. 

I'm sure, as Alicia says you will 'sail' straight through no problem. 

ChrisnPaula

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 7:52pm

ChrisnPaula

Original Poster

Posts: 46

7 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 May 2022

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 7:52pm

truenudisttoo wrote on Fri Apr 28, 2023 7:34pm:

I've done the trip many times in the car and have never been questioned about whats on board despite there was not even any room on one trip for a passenger! Yes, it was before 31 Dec 2020 but I dont think anything has changed.

Just to add that I have done trips on trucks taking race cars and was one of the first to go through the export / import procedure at Sevington , Ashford,Kent after Brexit. I never saw any private vehicles. It will be highly unlikely you will be questioned. ...

...

I'm sure, as Alicia says you will 'sail' straight through no problem. 

That's good to hear, however, I am probably the most unlucky person ever, so it'll probably be me that gets pulled!  

Fingers crossed we get through unscathed. 

Thank you for your kind message. We really appreciate hearing of others' experiences. 

Kind regards,

Chris n Paula

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Kevin666

Posted: Mon May 1, 2023 10:50am

Posts: 8

Location: La Alfoquia

Joined: 24 Jan 2020

Posted: Mon May 1, 2023 10:50am

ChrisnPaula wrote on Fri Apr 28, 2023 7:52pm:

That's good to hear, however, I am probably the most unlucky person ever, so it'll probably be me that gets pulled!  

Fingers crossed we get through unscathed. 

Thank you for your kind message. We really appreciate hearing of others' experiences. 

Kind regards,

Chris n Paula

You can't be that unlucky, your moving to Spain. 

ChrisnPaula

Posted: Mon May 1, 2023 11:18am

ChrisnPaula

Original Poster

Posts: 46

7 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 May 2022

Posted: Mon May 1, 2023 11:18am

Kevin666 wrote on Mon May 1, 2023 10:50am:

You can't be that unlucky, your moving to Spain. 

Hi Kevin666, that's very true and it can't come soon enough! 

MaggieB

Posted: Tue May 2, 2023 11:37am

MaggieB

Helpful member

Posts: 308

214 helpful points

Joined: 10 May 2020

Posted: Tue May 2, 2023 11:37am

Keep all of your documents handy to show where you are staying etc There is lots of info  on Moving to Spain on the Gov.uk website about bringing items into Spain.  Is worth taking a look if you haven't already done so.  Hope the journey goes well.

em68

Posted: Wed May 3, 2023 10:38am

em68

Helpful member

Posts: 124

73 helpful points

Location: El Cabo de Gata

Joined: 28 Feb 2019

Posted: Wed May 3, 2023 10:38am

One possible thing to watch for is to make sure you don’t try to bring any plants over with you.  When travelling through in 2021, I was sent through the dog channel as expected.  But there was another car there which not only had a dog, but about £200s worth of different plants which all got confiscated as he did not have the necessary phytosanitary certificate or other checks!

ChrisnPaula

Posted: Wed May 3, 2023 10:58am

ChrisnPaula

Original Poster

Posts: 46

7 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 May 2022

Posted: Wed May 3, 2023 10:58am

em68 wrote on Wed May 3, 2023 10:38am:

One possible thing to watch for is to make sure you don’t try to bring any plants over with you.  When travelling through in 2021, I was sent through the dog channel as expected.  But there was another car there which not only had a dog, but about £200s worth of different plants whic...

...h all got confiscated as he did not have the necessary phytosanitary certificate or other checks!

Hi Em68, that's good to know. We'll only be taking the 2 x dogs and I'm assuming wet dog food is OK to take through? 

Other than that, just clothes, a few DIY tools, only my drill and a load of screwdrivers and some personal things like photos and paperwork for life insurance etc. 

Kind regards,

Chris

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