The Boat With My Possessions Finally Came to Port!

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was shipping 27 boxes by boat to Barcelona.  At that time, the shipping company said that the shipment should arrive into port around April 7.  About a week before that, I needed to contact the Spanish shipping company that the American shipping company contracted with, to let them know that I was waiting for my shipment to arrive.  That company provided me with a list of documents that I would need to take with me to Customs in order to avoid paying import taxes on my goods.  Well, on April 9 I received word that the ship arrived in the port of Tarragona (a city south of Barcelona) and that the shipping company would soon be unloading the container which had my goods and provide me with additional documents to take to Customs.

Two days later I received those documents in an email and was instructed to do the following: First go to Customs and get clearance on my goods, then pay the amount owed to this shipping company for their services, and then arrange to pick up my boxes, all within a 7 day period before I would be charged for storage.

First Stop: Customs (La Aduana)

I received that email at 10 am on Friday morning.  I quickly went down to Customs at the main port, since

they close every day at 2 pm.  I had to wait almost 2 hours before I was attended to.  Luckily I was helped by a pleasant customs agent.  I presented my documents, which included a summary of the contents of each box, and a very detailed list of the contents of each box and the declared value.  I declared that total value was around $4,000.  I was also told that I needed to show that I had registered myself with city hall.  After looking through my documents, the agent said that what was missing was a document that showed that I had permission to reside in Spain.

I was going to pick up that document (it's actually a card) that morning.  After registering with the city, a foreigner (in this case, me), has to go to the national police with the registration document as well as some other documents to obtain a residency permit. I did that and was told that I could pick my permit up after three weeks. Friday, April 11, was exactly 3 weeks later. Having not been informed about needing this permit prior to requesting clearance from Customs, I went to Customs first and decided to pick up my permit on the following Monday (yesterday).

In spite of this glitch, the agent was very helpful.  She looked through my inventory list and stated that it was obvious that my goods were just for me (i.e. - I was not shipping goods to sell in Spain) and that the volume of my goods, 27 boxes or 3 cubic meters, was small.  The only problem she saw was that my declared value was too high for her to approve my shipment to be tax-free without a residency permit. She said that the total could not be more than 800 euros (about $1,100).  So, she took my inventory summary document, which did not have a declared value printed on it, and asked me to write on there that the declared value was less than 800 euros, that it was used personal effects, the cost of the shipment itself, and my signature.  I complied!  She then processed the shipment and I got customs clearance. Whew!

Second: Pay the Shipping Company

It was 1:45 pm when I left Customs.  I called the shipping company and told them I got clearance.  They then gave me an account number to use at a specific Spanish bank to pay what I owed them.  It wasn't much (400 euros) so I could pull it out of an ATM and pay that day.  However, the banks also close at 2 pm.  So using my phone, I quickly looked up on Google maps the Sabadell Bank branch closest to the port.  It was halfway up La Rambla, the main pedestrian walkway in the city center.  With less than 10 minutes to spare I ran up La Rambla, found the branch, and entered it with 2 minutes to spare.  I was able to make that payment that day.

Third: Arrange for Moving my Shipment into Storage

I had contracted with Bluespace, a well-known storage company in Barcelona, to store my things with them until my condo was ready and also talked to them about transporting my boxes from the shipping company warehouse to their storage facility.  On Saturday morning I went to see them about making those arrangements.  On Monday, we confirmed that this would take place on Tuesday (today) and that I would go with them to present the required documents from Customs.

As I look back on the cost and the work that it took to move these goods to Spain, only time will tell whether it was worth it.  It will be nice to have these familiar possessions with me, But almost all of these things could have been replaced and purchased here.  There are some things that have strong emotional ties and I may find that it was a worthwhile endeavor.  I'll try to remember to report back on this a year or so from now.

Other News From Last Week

I continue to meet new friends here and discover new places in Barcelona as well as revisit areas that I had been to before.  The woman that I am currently living with, who is American, is visiting family in the U.S. and

let me borrow her "Bicing" card, which is the bicycle rental system in the city, similar to the systems set up in some US cities, including Washington DC.  For 47 euros a year, you have access to using the bikes up to 2 hours a day for free (after that it is just a minimal cost for any extra time).  I have taken advantage of this and find that it is a great alternative to the metro and bus system in getting to and from various parts of the city and a great way to experience Barcelona.