Route · Putney to Spain
Removals from Putney to Spain
The longest overland route of the four, and the one where the conversation at survey is least about logistics and most about editing. A Putney flat is furnished for a cool, damp climate and small rooms. Neither of those assumptions survives the journey.
Madrid and Barcelona are work moves into apartments. Andalucía and the Costas are households with more space than they have had in years.
Who takes this route from Putney
- Work relocations to Madrid and Barcelona, generally into an apartment reached by a lift installed decades ago.
- Households leaving SW15 for the Costa Blanca or inland Andalucía, with far more space at the far end than they are used to.
- Second-property owners in Valencia and Murcia shipping part-loads out and sometimes back.
Getting out of SW15
South Circular and A3 out to the M25, round to the M20, and the Eurotunnel shuttle at Folkestone. For Spain the shuttle is almost always the right call — the vehicle has the whole of France ahead of it and the driver needs the hours intact.
From Calais the A26 and A10 run south past Paris and Tours to Bordeaux, then the A63 to the border at Irún. From there the AP-1 and AP-68 head towards Madrid, or the coastal AP-7 continues through Catalonia and down the Mediterranean side to Valencia, Alicante and Murcia. Andalucía is the A-4 running south from Madrid.
Where we deliver
Customs and the file
Spain applies the same principle as France with a good deal more paperwork. Household goods enter free of duty under transfer of residence relief, but Spanish customs is particular about the inventory and about your registration status, and the order of events matters before loading.
Who obtains what
| Document | Obtained by | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Detailed inventory (valued, often in Spanish) | Us | Prepared at survey and translated where the entry point requires it. Loose wording is behind most delays. |
| NIE number | You | The Spanish foreigner identification number. Very little proceeds without it, and it takes arranging. |
| Padrón or proof of Spanish address | You | Town hall registration, or deeds or a lease for the property. |
| Proof the UK residence has ended | You | Completion statement or closing council tax bill from the Putney address. |
| Baja consular or equivalent | You | Depending on your circumstances — we will tell you whether your case needs it. |
| Export declaration and Spanish import entry | Us | Both raised against the same inventory through our agent on the Spanish side. |
Rows marked You are the ones that stall a load when they are left late — begin those first. Rows marked Us are prepared here and lodged against the inventory taken at your flat.
The editing conversation
This is the route on which we are most likely to suggest leaving something behind, and it is worth explaining why rather than just doing it. Waxed and oiled furniture, glued veneers, and anything upholstered for an English winter all behave differently in a Mediterranean summer. Paying to carry a piece across a continent so that it can warp in August is a poor exchange.
The second point is a happier one. Most people leaving a Putney conversion for a Spanish house gain space for the first time in years, and the instinct is to take everything. Take the things that suit the climate and buy the rest there — Spanish furniture is built for Spanish rooms, and it is frequently cheaper than the freight.
Third, the NIE gates almost everything including the customs relief. Start it the moment you are serious, not the month you move.
Putney to Spain
Questions on this route
01 Will a Madrid lift take our furniture?
Measure the car and the door opening — they are different numbers, and the opening is the one that stops things. It is the same check we make on a Putney mansion block, and the same answer applies: the opening wins.
02 How long does a move to Spain take?
It depends on the destination, whether the load has a dedicated vehicle or shares one, and how the border and clearance are running. The written quote carries an estimated window for your actual route rather than a headline figure.
03 Is a shared load worth it?
For anything short of a full house, usually. It costs less and departs when the vehicle fills. Where the dates cannot move, pay for a dedicated vehicle.
04 Should we take everything?
Probably not, and we would rather have the conversation at survey than invoice you for moving something unsuitable. Climate and Spanish room proportions both argue for taking less than instinct suggests.
05 Do I need an NIE before you can move me?
You need it for the relief, so effectively yes. Goods can be collected and held while the application runs — that is how most of these are sequenced.
06 Can you deliver to the Balearics?
Yes, with a ferry leg from the mainland, booked into the plan rather than added at the end.
Moving from Putney to Spain?
Both addresses, the floor at each end, and whether the far end has a date yet. We will come back with the route, the documents to begin, and a written quote.