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Taking Fido to España

June 18th, 2011 | Posted by Courtney in Customs [Aduanas] | Guiri Guest | Pets - (1 Comments)

Guiri Guest Janine talks about how life brought her to Madrid. Answering the question “Where are you from?” has never been easy for me … after being born in England and raised all over the United States, I finally decided on a home in New York city with my partner Will and our beagle, Ella.  Earlier this year, we decided to complicate things further and move to Madrid!  An avid traveler, I love exploring new places, tasting different foods and digging through markets and boutiques to find something unique.   Some of my favorite spots are the Cyclades islands in Greece, Machu Picchu in Peru and both the north and south islands of New Zealand.  I am excited about our move to Malasana, Madrid where I’ll be working part-time at my job in Management Consulting, taking much-needed Spanish lessons and taking some time to explore this beautiful city.

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When moving to Madrid, many people consider bringing the furry members of their families along for the experience.  As many have commented on this blog, Madrid is pet-friendly and dogs abound in the parks and barrios.  I recently moved to Madrid from New York and while I found a lot of information on the requirements to exit the USA, I was not quite prepared for how to clear my beagle, Ella, through customs after arrival.  But don’t be afraid, while it may take a little time and patience on the day you enter the country, it’s well worth it to have your favorite pet learning the ways of Madrid at your side!

Most airlines in the US have guidelines on their websites on the paperwork, kennel requirements and logistics of travelling with your pet (check these links for Continental, Delta, United and British Airways).  A couple of key things to note:

  • A health certificate from your vet must be dated within 10 days of travel.  Some websites state 6 weeks, but to avoid the extra vet fees, check in with your vet closer to your day of travel.
  • There must be 3 inches of clearance above your pet’s head when they are standing in their kennel.  It’s only 1” for domestic flights, so, you may need to upgrade.  My research found that the Petmate Sky Kennel was the brand used by most airlines and I purchased one online from FuturePets.com.  Some hub cities do sell kennels if they deem your kennel is too small at the airport; however, availability is not guaranteed and prices are up to 50% more.

Check with your airline to ensure you understand all the rules … I found Continental’s PetSafe staff were helpful and happy to chat to ensure I met the requirements.

Now on to the more challenging and less explained portion of the journey.  Once I arrived at Madrid-Barajas airport, I claimed my baggage and cleared customs prior to picking up Ella.  Luckily, I found a Continental representative in the baggage claim area to ask about retrieving my pet since there were no signs or information readily available (nor was any provided in the US).  The rep provided me with a phone number to call WFS*, the transportation company who handle pets for several airlines.  I was then given very basic instructions on how to reach the facility … luckily, my taxi driver, David, was a lifesaver and helped me navigate the stops required to claim Ella.

So here’s what you need to do …

  1. Head to the WFS office in the Terminal de Carga (Cargo Terminal) … it’s a bit hard to spot since it’s not on the main road when you enter the Cargo Terminal area.  As you drive in, there will be a large Correos (Postal) building on your left.  You must drive past the building, to the roundabout and back down towards the Correos building.  Before reaching it, turn right to a parallel road and from there you should be able to see the sign for WFS.  Unfortunately, there’s not an easy way to get directions, so I’ve marked up the map below to show where the office is located:
  2. Provide your reference number and pay the requisite documentation fees and taxes to import your pet into Spain.  This is an additional Spanish charge on top of what you paid in your departure city.  For my 35lb dog it cost about €70.  Credit cards are accepted.
  3. Next, take the paperwork from the WFS office, to another building a couple of doors down (Centro de Carga Aerea de Madrid) to get them approved and stamped before returning to the WFS office to claim your pet.  Note that you may be asked for proof of travel (boarding pass) by the agent if you travelled on the same flight as your pet.
  4. Once you return to the WFS office they will review your papers and approve for your pet to be released.  Before long, you’ll be happily reunited with your furry little friend.  Be prepared that pickup is on a loading dock, so watch out for moving cargo!

Now it’s time to head off to your new home and start exploring Madrid side-by-side!

Worldwide Freight Services (WFS)

Centro de Carga Aerea, Aeropuerto Madrid-Barajas

Edificio WFS, Parcela 1.2b

28042 MADRID

Tel: +34 91 746 15 80

Fax: +34 91 746 15 92

E-mail: wfs@wfs.es

Bringing a pet to Spain

June 30th, 2010 | Posted by jodiehop in Courtney | Customs [Aduanas] | Pets - (7 Comments)

I have two Rhodesian Ridgebacks back at home in the States that we seriously considered bringing to Madrid.  In the end it wasn’t the right move for us, so instead they stay with my parents in San Diego (quite happily). Despite the unfulfilled trip, plenty of research was done prior to our move on what steps needed to be taken to ensure their [non-quarantined] entry.  In addition to our research, I have learned a bit of information from those in IE who did follow through in bringing pets (well dogs in our case) into Madrid.

Luckily the process is not difficult.  With the correct paperwork and shots, you will most likely not run into any issues bringing your pets into Spain. And then once here, you’ll quickly find that there is a dog culture here, so they’re be quite accepted.  I think the only point of difficulty I ran across was dogs, cats or ferrets under 3 months of age are under no circumstances allowed in.

There are many sources online that can assist you in the step-by-step process.  There are even companies out there who for a [hefty] fee will do all the work for you – door to door service. But, in my opinion, this is not necessary as the process is simple enough. There are a few steps of logistics you’ll have to get through as you prepare your pet, the most important of them being the certificate from its Veterinarian which will include the following:

  • Identification of person responsible for the animal(s)
  • Description of origin of the animals(s)
  • Microchip or tattoo number, location and date of insertion.
  • Rabies vaccine information

For simplified information, broken down specifically for those from the USA/Canada and EU, check out SpainExpat. For those from the EU and Norway, you are lucky enough to fall under the blue Pet Pass rule (requiring a blue pet passport documentation) which eased restrictions since 2004. Here is another site that you may find useful. This blue document contains the same information as mentioned in the bullets above and is accepted in all EU nations.

As for flying your pets in, I would suggest you check the rules of your individual airline, as each has varied costs, rules and restrictions.

For information on pet passports, updated rules, pet friendly hotels…etc.  see Pet Travel.com

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What to Bring to Madrid

March 5th, 2010 | Posted by Courtney in Customs [Aduanas] | Food and Restaurants | Stephanie - (3 Comments)

When my husband and I moved to Hawaii we thought we were moving to the ends of the earth.  So, we brought extra everything toothbrushes, socks, etc. only to find that there was a big Walmart by our house and a Costco down the road.  So, when moving to Madrid we had learned our lesson the first time, we’re not going to a third world nation, so we don’t need to bring everything, just what fits in a couple of suitcases.  Well we were wrong again.

First off, we don’t care about the brands of toothpaste or mouthwash as long as it does the job.  The problem became that we would try the  local brands of toothpaste here like Licor Pollo, and they just didn’t have the same affect or taste as Colgate Total.  I have also had the hardest time finding solid roll on deodorant here, especially for women.  Also, if you do happen to stumble upon a US brand toiletry, they end up charging an arm and leg, because they know they have the market cornered.  So, at Christmas when we went back to the states we stocked up on a couple of items from Sams club and Target.  I would suggest this instead of trying to ship the items to Madrid, for a reminder of this read Courtney’s post Conquering Madrid’s Customs.

Here’s just a minimum list of things we wished we would have brought to Spain the first time:

-toothpaste, toothbrushes (2.5 euros per toothbrush), floss, mouthwash (7 euros for a small bottle of Listerine)

-deodorant-unless you like the roll on kind or aerosol which they have at Corte Ingles

-DVDs- keep in mind if you buy them in the states then they can only play on a computer or DVD player from the states

-socks and leggings-this sounds obvious, but there is not a lot of selection here, except at Corte Ingles

-Vitamins, cold medicine, headache medicine- they some of these items  in the farmacia or pharmacy, and what they do have is not as affective as in the states

-razors-both men’s and women’s, they’re almost double here for the same brand in the states

-Soap and body wash-they have great local brands here, but they’re pricey

-school supplies and envelopes-Folders store and Corte Ingles here are about the only stores to find school supplies for my husband, otherwise he would have to settle for Speed Racer folders and cheetah print notebooks from the supermercado (supermarket)

- Peanut butter-I know it takes up a lot of room in the suitcase, but when you love peanut butter as much as I do, especially if you like the organic kind its worth in the long run.  Corte Ingles, though, does has small American brands of peanut butter for 3.50 euros.

-Baking ingredients- powdered sugar, brownie mixes you can find here, but they’re not cheap

-If you can fit it in your suitcase and you plan to cook a lot, then I would suggest kitchen utensils.  We only needed a new spatula and a baking dish all of which you can find inexpensively at your neighborhood suppermercado, but then they only last a couple of months, or there is always Corte Ingles.  I knew of some friends who thought that their kitchen would be fully furnished, and yet they still had to spend over 300 euros at IKEA to stock their kitchen with the basics like plates and cups.

These were just a couple of items that my husband and I thought were a little overpriced here and/or hard to find.  I figure as long as they are consumables that you are bringing over, then that means more room in the suitcase to bring back more shoes.

Conquering Madrid’s customs

January 31st, 2010 | Posted by Courtney in Courtney | Customs [Aduanas] - (16 Comments)

About 2 weeks after we moved into our new apartment Madrid was hit with a cold front in mid-September.  That caused me to slightly panic – not quite knowing what Madrid’s Fall weather was like, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be in the cold for the long haul.  If this was perhaps the case it was not good news as our boxes had not yet arrived from the USA – in these boxes were ALL our winter clothing.  Then a few days later we got the call we’d been waiting for …our things had arrived in Madrid.

I won’t bore you with the rip-your-hair-out details of first figuring out who called, why they called, what they wanted, what they needed (vs what they said they needed) and how/when we could get our things…no no, I’ll spare those gory details.  I’ll simply tell you what we [over a very long period of time] figured out so that you might one day receive a package and have it in your home in lightning speed to enjoy.

Customs [Aduanas]

Once your items arrive, you will be contacted and then provided a form from Aduanas (one per box) to fill out.  The first order of business was to verify all the shipment information – receiver name, sender name, tracking number, contents…ah contents…we were told to list all the items in the boxes.  Basically they had to determine if our items were being sent to us for resale here.  While that may be seemingly clear – my advice is still to remove/have removed any new price tags on items and perhaps separate bulk items (once you see the costs of basics over here you may want items sent regularly).  Once this information is gathered and filled out – fax it back to Aduanas (Fax: 91 747 10 83).  Make sure you keep the form as you will also need to take it to Aduanas where they will hopefully have your goods and then hopefully hand them over.  You will have to pay an import tax which for each of our [20 - 30 lb] boxes was about €4.

Much of the headache in obtaining our things was in simply reaching someone – anyone – to help find our things.  Given their short office hours, inability to pick up a phone, or leave a message when phoning (with proper call back number) combined with basic disorganization meant once we discovered our items were in fact in Spain, it still took nearly 3 weeks to get them home.

In September of 2009 we dealt with Silvia (postales@speedtrans-int.com) who could speak very basic English.  She was very kind and patient with us.  However, she was not easy to reach.  If she is still working there – try to reach her.

The most difficult thing for us with Aduanas was figuring out their open hours and then locating them.  So here you go – a walking map from Metro Alameda de Osuna (end of the 5 Line).  Their hours are from 9-2pm, Monday – Thursday.  Note that Aduanas is in a Correos building which you will instantly see once crossing the highway.  And for all your mailing needs, The Spanish Post - Correos.

Aduanas in the office of Correos de Madrid Barajas, sita en la Calle Trespaderne s/n C.P. 28042 de Madrid.  Information Tel: 91 833 10 00.

To this day I can not explain why 2 of our boxes were at Aduanas for declaring and pick up (at separate times) and the third was delivered right to our door.  I suppose it will just be one of life’s little mysteries that I must simply live with.