Moving From Ireland to Spain: Choosing Who Moves Your Home

Moving from Ireland to Spain means getting a whole household across Europe by road. The best way to do it is with one removals firm that is a FEDEMAC member, holds an International Road Haulage Licence and packs the whole house for you, so you have one firm to deal with from start to finish.

We are J Hanway Removals & Storage, a Dublin family firm since 1982, and Spain is one of the European routes we cover. Below is how we think about a move to Spain, what to check before you book anyone, and the parts of the job we can take off your hands.

Why a move to Spain is different from a move to Australia

When people move to Australia, Canada, the USA or Dubai, we ship their household by full container or by groupage, a shared load. Spain is different. It is part of Europe, and we move households there by road.

That changes what you should look for in a removals firm. For a road move across Europe, the firm needs to be set up to carry goods outside Ireland, and it helps if it belongs to a European movers’ body. Two things we would ask any firm about:

FEDEMAC membership. FEDEMAC is the Federation of European Movers Associations. We are members.
An International Road Haulage Licence. We hold one.

We are also members of the International Association of Movers (IAM) and the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA). We carry goods in transit insurance and public liability insurance. Ask any firm you are thinking of using for the same details, in writing, before you pay a deposit.

You can read more about the route itself on our Dublin to Spain removals page, and see every country we move to on our international removals page.

Why full packing matters on a long road move

A move within Dublin is a few hours on the road. A move to Spain is a much longer journey, across the sea and then by road through Europe. Boxes packed in a hurry the night before tend to shift, crush or split on a journey like that.

That is why we suggest a full packing service for a move abroad. Our crew brings the materials and packs the house room by room, so every box is packed the same way and labelled for the room it is going to in Spain. You can find out how it works on our packing and unpacking page.

We have done this for European moves before. Michal Bierestowski left us a review in December 2023 after we moved his household from Ireland to Germany. He used our full packing service and wrote that there were no delays and no damage. Spain is a different country and a different route, but the approach is the same: pack it properly, load it with care and keep one firm in charge from start to finish.

We have also packed homes for moves much further away. In September 2024, Mary Kelly reviewed a move where we packed her belongings in Ireland and shipped them to two different addresses in the US. She wrote that everything arrived in perfect condition.

One firm from start to finish

The safest move abroad is the one with the fewest hand-offs. When one company packs, loads, drives and unloads, there is one point of contact and one firm responsible if a question comes up.

When a move is pieced together from several firms, your things can pass through several sets of hands. If something is broken, it can be hard to say where it happened, or who should put it right.

So when you get quotes, ask each firm:

Who packs the house, and who supplies the materials?
Who drives the lorry to Spain?
Who unloads at the other end?
What insurance covers the goods while they are on the road?

A clear answer to each of those is a good sign. A vague answer, or a price that only covers part of the job, is worth asking about before you sign anything. We give a clear quote with no hidden fees, so you know what you are paying for before the move starts.

What to bring, what to store and what to clear

You may not want to bring everything to Spain. Some things are worth the trip. Others are better kept in Ireland for now, or cleared before you go. It helps to sort the house into three groups early, well before packing day, so the crew knows exactly what goes on the lorry and what stays.

Bring

Furniture you love, family pieces and anything that would be hard to replace. If you have something special, like a piano, fine art, antiques or a wine collection, tell us when you ask for a quote. We move all of these, and they need their own plan.

Store

Not sure yet if Spain is for good? Renting first before you buy? You don’t have to decide about everything now. We have our own storage, on site, for household goods, short term or long term, and you can access it by booking. It is ours, not a partner’s, so the firm that packs your home is the same firm that looks after what stays behind. Read more on our storage page.

Clear

Whatever is left can be cleared before you hand back the keys. We hold a waste collection permit, NWCPO-25-13139-01, valid in all 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland. All the waste we clear is disposed of legally, and usable furniture is donated to Restore. Our guide prices for a clearance, including VAT, depend on weight and volume:

Studio or 1-bed: €200 to €400
Typical 3-bed house: €500 to €1,000

Doing the clearance and the move with the same firm means one booking and one crew who already know the house. See our house clearance service for more.

The paperwork on the Spanish side

Moving your furniture is our job. Registering in Spain is yours, and the rules come from the Spanish authorities, not from us. For up-to-date guidance for Irish citizens, start with the Embassy of Ireland in Spain.

What we can say is that it helps to have your new address in Spain, and the date you can get in, settled before you book the move. If the dates on each side don’t line up, storage can bridge the gap.

How to plan your move to Spain with us

Here is how a move usually goes with us:

Get in touch. Tell us where you are moving from in Ireland, where you are going in Spain, and roughly what you want to bring.
Get a quote. We give a clear quote with no hidden fees. During business hours, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm, we aim to reply to quote requests within an hour.
Decide what goes where. Bring, store or clear. We can do all three.
Packing day. Our crew packs the house and labels every box.
Loading. We load your packed home in Ireland and look after the move from there.
Delivery. Your things are delivered to your new home in Spain, with us as your one point of contact the whole way.

We have more than 12,000 happy customers, and we hold 4.8 stars from 42 Google reviews. Three generations of the Hanway family have run this business, and we treat your belongings like our own.

Questions people ask

How much would it cost me to move to Spain?

It depends on how much you are bringing, where you are moving from in Ireland, and where you are going in Spain. We don’t publish a fixed price for Spain, because every move abroad is different. Ask us for a free quote and we will give you a clear price, with no hidden fees.

Can you store some of my things in Ireland while I move to Spain?

Yes, we can store some of your things in Ireland while you move to Spain, in our own storage on site, short term or long term. You can keep things with us while you settle in, then decide later what to bring over and what to clear.

Do you pack everything for me?

Yes, we can pack everything for you: our full packing service covers the whole house, and we bring the materials. You can also pack some things yourself and leave the rest to us.

Get a free quote for your move to Spain

If you are moving from Ireland to Spain, talk to a family firm that has been moving homes since 1982. Get a free quote online, or ring us on +353 85 194 9801.