When I moved from the UK to Gran Canaria I did it the easy way. I sold most of what I had before I came over and brought the remainder in a large suitcase, but this is not going to suit everyone moving to Gran Canaria.
What if you want to bring over furniture, electrical goods, kids, dogs, cats, pretty much everything except the kitchen sink? Then it is going to be a bit more complicated, a bit more expensive, and a bit more to organise.
Recommended Companies
A friend of mine used Phoenix for her UK to Gran Canaria move. They are based in Gran Canaria but are happy to move you from the UK to the Canaries (or the other way around). I moved to the mainland with Migrate Global and they were great too.
Photo by Jo Bourne
Taking pets to and from Gran Canaria is also possible, and you can find more information here and here about that. Some airlines let you fly cats or small dogs in the cabin. Others put them in the cargo hold and some airlines won’t let you transport pets at all. There are also companies who do it all for you but I haven’t used one so can’t recommend one.
Driving Yourself Over
If you are thinking about doing it yourself rather than getting a removals company to move your possessions this is another option to consider. Not many van hire companies are going to let you rent a van and take it to Gran Canaria though (in fact none) so you will need to use your own or buy one. Get it MOT’d and check whether your insurance covers you for driving around Europe and in the Canaries.
You will need to get the ferry between the UK and Europe and then the ferry from Cadiz to Gran Canaria. You can find some information here about importing a vehicle to Gran Canaria. You can drive it on British plates for 6 months, then you need to get Canarian ones for it.
Photo by El Coleccionista de Instantes
Checklist for Moving
It really helps to learn Spanish before you come over, and that applies to your kids too. Unless your Spanish is very good, you will probably want to live in a major inland resort or on the coast in the south of the island. Summer is always a good time to move to Gran Canaria because most schools will not accept new pupils partway through the school year. You might want to head over in May or June to give you a good chance of securing their places in September.
Fill in a ‘not ordinarily resident’ form at your bank so you don’t have to pay taxes on your savings, and make sure the bank has your address in Gran Canaria. You will also need to pick up the new E111 card if you are British (for heathcare) and fill in form P85 then take it to your employer or nearest tax office. Unless you’re moving in April you will be due a tax rebate, since you can claim your full year’s tax allowance.
Hi Victoria! I know we’ve been in touch a bit before, so just thought I would follow-up on this post. We have had a VERY unpleasant experience with the Phoenix removal company moving out of Gran Canaria recently, so I would be hesitant to endorse them publicly. We have received so many broken items that they are taking absolutely no responsibility for and being unfortunately extremely rude in the process of resolving our claims. I know this isn’t your area exactly, but I’d hate one of your readers to have the same experience based on your comments here! Feel free to email me if you have any questions, I’d be happy to give you more details if you’d like. In the meantime, hope all is well in the beloved GC! Best wishes, Marguerite Svendsen