Relocating to Spain from South Africa. - Page 3

You havn't said whether your re-application for residency will carry penalties.

I am aware of the 183 days making you a fiscal resident, but the 180 days is to satisfy the first year of residency ruling.

I'm not aware of any penalties I just lose the pre brexit benefits, will have to apply again like anyone applying post brexit. 

The tax year in Spain runs from January to December. So the optimal date for becoming  resident would be anytime from mid July which means you miss the 183 days and have an extra year before you are required to make a tax return and get your house in order with sale of property in your home country. You pay tax a year in arrears in Spain. As a resident you are required to declare your worldwide assets so  a sale of property will be flagged to the Spanish authorities. You really need the advice of a good Spanish accountant who is well versed in these types of tax transactions and knows what allowances apply under the different tax treaties with different countries. 

I am puzzled as to why someone has to sign on the Padron to buy a property as a non resident. You are only supposed to be on the Padron if you are resident or are applying for Residencia. In which case you will be signed off the Padron if you don't return within 3 months with your Residencia card. 

Bee

Many thanks for your comments.

We were advised to obtain a Padron on the purchase of our property in Oct. 2019. We have come to realise we should not have done that.

We had to submit an updated Padron to obtain our residency card on 18th Jan.2021. Unfortunately, the udated Padron still carries the original date of Oct 2019. Our shipping agent in Spain informs us that this is the date Customs use to determine whether we qualify for zero duty on importing our household effects.

Our other concern is the fact that having been unable to sell our house in South Africa, we have exceeded the 180 days out of Spain during our first year of residency. Still not clear on what is the definition of when that first year starts.

Did you get an official letter to pick up your Residencia Cert?  Surely that is the official date it commences. I wonder how closely are your comings and goings monitored as a Resident.

Bit of info here on reviving an extinguished residencia

https://www.immigrationspain.es/en/maximum-time-outside-spain-without-losing-residency/

Bee

G'day MikeEsp, regards your original post and question (of which I have only just read today)  regarding bringing into Spain household goods from a 3rd Country of which South Africa is classified as, identical to my country of origin- Australia.

I was advised all different stories by my clearance agent regarding weather or not I would be taxed duties on my shipped second hand household effects, ALL my household items were second hand and certainly not going to be used for anything other than using in the house.

I was advised exactly the same as you regarding the padron date once they levied a HIGH duty on my 2nd hand household items! So I asked my clearing agency why they never advised me of this criteria before I shipped the goods. To which they answered me and that it depends on the customs officer, if they had a good coffee that morning or a bad coffee etc. etc. if the items would be tax exempt or duty payable.

I was hit with a duty of around 2,500€ once the container containing my goods was unloaded at Valencia Port.

So basically, it does not matter wether the goods imported are NEW OR SOLELY personal items of no value only to yourselves. The Spanish customs agent may let it through "Duty Free" OR impose an import TAX / DUTY.

The only way to guarantee a tax exempt entry on your shipped items from S.A. is find out the name of the Customs Agent before your items arrive and bribe him / her!

This of course is an almost impossible task, so basically the choice is yours.

Best of luck

Hi , Are you still bringing a container in 2022?

Yes, after many delays in packing, due to flight availability and Covid restrictions, we are bringing a 20ft.container in January.

Could you advise me who you used as we want to bring ours in from Cape Town . Any indication of the costs would be appreciated?

After obtaining 3 quotes, we chose  AGS / FRASERS. They have a local depot in Durban, but Frasers are countrywide, so I guess they operate out of Cape Town also. The cost of packing and transport of a 20ft container is R26,500 and the estimated shipping cost is R116,256. This is subject to fluctuating exchange rates and ever changing costs in shipping. Insurance costs are additional at 3,5% of my estimated valuation of the household effects.

It seems, due to our circumstances, we will also be facing import duties of 2000 - 2500 Euros.

After all the stress of the present day issues, hope it's all going to be worthwhile in the end !!

Hope this helps with your planning and please keep in touch. We can hopefully meet up one day in Spain and enjoy a beer or Sangria !!

All the best,

Mike G.