Some Useful Tips If You Are Going To Retire in Spain
Posted on 21st January 2021 at 23:17
If you are going to move to Spain from the UK, you are not alone. Many UK nationals have been to Spain for a holiday - some go every year. When it comes to time for retirement, the relaxed way of life, the wonderful weather in the South (although of course you can ski in the Pyrenees, and even around Madrid!), and the low cost of living can all be a big attraction. There are a lot of expats living in the South on the Mediterranean.
Even so, if you are planning on moving to Spain, it is a great idea to learn the language. It is not actually difficult to learn and you can do so at evening classes or online. In fact, the BBC has some classes available here. This will help you to get to know the locals more quickly, and will also be very useful if you want to explore areas that are less used by tourists. In addition, it will help you deal with all the bureaucracy that you face when first arriving.
If you are going to take your own car that is perfectly OK, but only for the first 183 days. After that it is illegal to drive it with a foreign number plate because you are regarded as a Spanish tax resident. You then have to register your car and that means that it needs an MOT, which in Spanish is an ITV. This costs around €120 and you may also need new lamps because you have to have fog lamps at the rear. When you have your ITV you need to pay import tax and obtain Spanish plates.
Property costs are quite reasonable in Spain, although more expensive in the cities and tourist areas as you might expect. Food is also reasonably priced outside the tourist areas, although utility costs are high, especially if you need bottled gas.
You might also want to get yourself a gestor when you first arrive. This is a clerk who is not a property solicitor or tax accountant, but who can do some of the work that they do. They can help you with all the Spanish bureaucracy that you will need to deal with and will save you a good deal of time. For the relatively low fees they charge, it is well worth it.
For buying a property you really need a conveyancing solicitor that fully understands Spanish land law. You will need to create a will in order to cover the disposal of your assets if you should die. It is also possible that you could be responsible for any debts associated with the property from the previous owner, because under Spanish law the debts stay with the property, so you need to be extremely careful about this.
Of course, you will want to know about the cost of removals to Spain, and at Movers International we can help you. Obviously, this depends on the amount of goods that you need moved, and to this end we always recommend getting rid of anything and everything that you are not going to need when you arrive. The less you take, the less it is going to cost. In fact, we can reduce the cost of removals to Spain even further if you only need a part load. This is because we run a regular weekly service to Spain, and you will save more money if you don’t need a whole removal van to yourself. We can also help you with storage if your new home is not ready, since we have depots of our own in Malaga and Alicante.
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