International Removals to the Canary Islands
Removals to the Canary Islands follow a different tax rule from the mainland: IGIC replaces VAT. Here is what the official pages say, and what they leave out.
A few short questions. Nothing is sent until you check and confirm.
What changes when your move ends in the Canary Islands?
Three things differ from a move to the mainland: the islands sit inside the customs territory but outside the VAT area, IGIC takes the place of VAT on imports, and a car brought in from elsewhere in Spain has its own declaration. The Canary Islands are one set of rules for every island, so this page applies whether your address is on Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or another island.
We move nothing ourselves; we introduce you to removal companies. Your enquiry goes to a removal company in our partner network. It will say what it needs from you, and when.
The conditions for Spain’s relief on belongings are on our customs page for removals to Spain, and the order of a move from the UK is on our UK to Spain page. This page covers only what the islands change.
Are the Canary Islands inside the EU’s customs territory?
The European Commission’s page on territorial scope (opens in a new window) (no date shown) lists the Canary Islands as part of the territory of the EU, with customs rules applying, VAT rules not applying and excise rules not applying. Ceuta and Melilla show customs rules as not applying, so the islands are not in the same position as those two cities. How the tax and import clearance work for Ceuta is on our Ceuta removals page.
The Agencia Tributaria’s VAT manual (opens in a new window) (updated 30 September 2026) agrees on VAT: it says the tax applies in the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands and excludes the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. Our Spain overview by territory sets all the territories side by side.
What is IGIC, and does it apply to household goods?
The Canary Islands tax authority describes IGIC (opens in a new window), the General Indirect Canary Tax, as part of the islands’ own economic and fiscal regime. It taxes deliveries of goods and services by businesses and professionals in the islands, and it also taxes imports of goods into the islands, whatever the importer’s status: a business, a professional or a private individual (page modified 30 October 2026).
That page lists no rate for imports and no exemption for household goods, so this page quotes no rate. What the Agencia Tributaria does say is on its relief page, updated 12 May 2026: for a qualifying transfer of residence, the declaration records code 303 for IGIC in box 37.2 alongside code 101 for VAT and C01 for customs. Whether IGIC is due on your belongings therefore depends on that relief, and our customs page sets out its conditions.
We did not find an official page on how belongings that come from mainland Spain, rather than from outside the EU, are treated when they reach the islands. Ask your removal company to confirm that with customs before you ship.
What does a car brought in from mainland Spain need?
The Agencia Tributaria’s page on definitively introducing a vehicle into the Canary Islands (opens in a new window) (updated 7 August 2026) says that a vehicle coming for good from another EU state, the Peninsula or the Balearic Islands needs an introduction declaration in VEXCAN, the islands’ foreign-trade window, so that IGIC can be settled. The value used is the customs value of the vehicle.
The same page sets out an IGIC exemption for a change of residence. These are its conditions:
- you are a private individual moving your habitual residence to the islands
- you used the vehicle for six months at your previous residence
- if you come from the Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla or another EU state, you stayed at the previous residence for 185 days in the calendar year
- the vehicle arrives within 12 months of the change of residence
- if you are not yet resident, you register on the municipal register within six months of the vehicle’s arrival
- you do not transfer, lend or rent it in the 12 months after import, except for a justified reason
The page also mentions a 12-month period for vehicles from third countries, but we could not tell from the page how it works, so it is left out. Our car shipping page for Spain covers the Spanish rules for a car arriving from the UK.
How does registering a car in the islands differ?
The Agencia Tributaria’s page on first registration in the Canary Islands (opens in a new window) (updated 3 March 2026) says the steps are similar to those on the Peninsula and in the Balearic Islands, with tax rates one point lower for the different headings.
It adds that a vehicle later moved for good to the Peninsula or the Balearic Islands within the first year leads to the difference between the two rates being declared and paid, unless the tax already paid in the islands was at a rate no lower than the mainland one.
The page lists conditions for not paying the tax on a change of residence: at least 12 consecutive months of habitual residence in the Canary Islands before the move, six months’ use of the vehicle at the former residence, and no transfer in the 12 months after. The vehicle must also have been acquired under normal Canary taxation, without exemptions or refunds on leaving. It does not mention the UK, so ask your removal company or vehicle shipper to confirm how it applies to your car.
Which ports serve the islands?
The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s ports page (opens in a new window) (no date shown) names six ports in its charge: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Los Cristianos, Santa Cruz de La Palma, San Sebastián de La Gomera, La Estaca on El Hierro, and Granadilla. Its menu lists passenger, cargo and container terminals, but the page gives no detail on any of them.
We could not read the Las Palmas port authority’s own site, so we cannot name the ports of Gran Canaria, and we found no official page on freight or ro-ro services. Ask your removal company which island port your goods would use and whether the crossing is included in its quotation.
What do the official notices say about Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro?
Lanzarote and Fuerteventura both have a port run by the Las Palmas port authority. The State Official Gazette of 4 March 2024 (opens in a new window) records that the authority’s board renewed, for six years, the licence for the port service of goods handling at the Port of Arrecife on Lanzarote. The Gazette of 2 February 2026 (opens in a new window) records a six-year licence for the same service at Puerto del Rosario on Fuerteventura.
For Lanzarote there is one more official fact. In 2020 the authority published an agreement with the island’s chamber of commerce (opens in a new window) for the joint management of the border inspection post and the bonded customs area at the Port of Arrecife, with a term of four years. We did not check whether it was renewed, and none of these notices mentions household goods.
Arrecife (70,265 residents, INE, 1 January 2025), the capital of Lanzarote and the town of the port named above, has a council of its own. We have not confirmed a moving rule from it, so ask which office handles a request for a lorry outside a flat.
La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro each have a port in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife authority’s list above: Santa Cruz de La Palma, San Sebastián de La Gomera and La Estaca. We found no removal rule from any island government or council on these five islands, so street and access rules there are not yet confirmed. Name the island and town when you enquire.
What should you tell us when you enquire?
- The island and town,
because the rules above apply to every island but the port and the access differ.
- Where the belongings and any car are coming from,
because a move from the UK and a move from mainland Spain are treated differently.
- Whether the islands will be your main home,
because the relief and the vehicle exemption are for a change of habitual residence.
- Any pet,
which has its own paperwork, set out in our guide to moving abroad with a pet.
For the general steps of shipping a car, see our guide to shipping a car when moving abroad.
What about Santa Cruz de Tenerife, La Laguna, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde?
The IGIC and vehicle rules on this page are the islands’ and apply on every island. Street and zone rules are a different matter: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna on Tenerife, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde on Gran Canaria, each have a council of their own. Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria now have pages, removals to and from Tenerife and removals to and from Las Palmas; La Laguna and Telde have no guide here.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the first port on the Santa Cruz port authority’s list above. We have read no street-permit or zone procedure from La Laguna or Telde, so those rules are not yet confirmed. Name the island and town when you enquire.
Questions about moving to the Canary Islands
Do the Canary Islands charge VAT?
No.
The Agencia Tributaria says Spanish VAT applies in the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands and excludes the Canary Islands. The islands’ own tax, IGIC, applies to imports.
Does IGIC apply to a private person’s imports?
The Canary Islands tax authority says IGIC taxes imports whatever the importer’s status, including a private individual.
A qualifying transfer of residence has its own exemption code, 303, on the declaration.
What does a car from mainland Spain need in the islands?
The Agencia Tributaria says a vehicle introduced for good from the Peninsula or the Balearic Islands needs an introduction declaration in VEXCAN, so that IGIC can be settled.
A change-of-residence exemption has its own conditions.
Is registering a car cheaper in the Canary Islands?
The Agencia Tributaria says registration-tax rates are one point lower there for the different headings.
If the vehicle moves for good to the mainland within a year, the difference may have to be paid.
Tell us about your move to the Canary Islands
Send the island and town, your collection address with the floor and access, a rough list of what is going and your dates. Say whether a car or pet is coming and whether the islands will be your main home.
About International Removals Companies
International Removals Companies is an enquiry and introduction service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, in partnership with AGM Group. We don't move goods ourselves: the removal company quotes for your move and carries it out, so check its credentials and terms before you book. Our service is free. Discuss the quotation and booking terms directly with the removal company.
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