Wanting to move to Majorca from UK within the next few months

Hi everyone, we're wanting to pack up and move to the island of majorca within the next few months giving time to prepare everything and learn stuff we need to know for the move, obviously with not living abroad before what are the most important things we should know? We will be renting long term 6-12 monthly or whichever is best.

We want to go there and try arrange a lot of viewings on some properties we have seen so far, what would you guys suggest we get in order first?

Do we need lawyers or anything?
How would we ship over some of our things, beds, tv's etc.

What about medical / dental stuff.

Would we need residency forms, or any kind of visa

I work on the internet, meaning it's quite easy to live anywhere aslong as it has wifi, I get paid into a US bank account, would that be a problem in spain?

How would i get a car insured and stuff, 

Any help would be appreciated, looking forward to replies, thanks.

You have to do a lot of the research yourself, by using the search facility on this forum and the many other forums online, just Google. There are many reccommendations about removal companies etc,  but in the end you have to choose.

We  know nothing about your circumstances, so it is impossible to give  specific advice.How on earth can we know where you want to live, what you can afford, whether you have children, whether you like a lively or quiet life etc, whether you have to work....there's so much to consider.

What I would say, is for information  about taxes, health, education, driving in Spain,go to the experts, the US equivalent of DWP, HMRC , DVLA, Spanish tax office, govenment websites, etc, otherwise you may get lots of confusing , conflicting info

In other words, go to the Horses mouth!

then, when you have sifted through the info, come back to this forum to ask for people's experiences

If you are a non EU resident you will need a visa to live and permission to work in Spain /take out private healthcare/pay for private education /pay tax on you're income earned in Spain and so on good luck.

Are you a US citizen? It doesn't say so in your post, just that you have your salary paid into a US bank account.

If you are British (or any other type of EU citizen) the questions you pose have been asked many times as Camposol says. If you are going to come for "6 - 12 months" then you should go on to the EU register residing in Spain and become resident. Anything over 6 months means you will become a fiscal resident and be liable for taxes on your worldwide income regardless of where your salary is paid. 

Under retirement age or not registered disabled will necessitate private healthcare. Costs will obviously vary depending on circumstances. All dental is private.

If I've got it wrong and you are from the US (I assume not as you wouldn't be shipping goods over like TVs on 110v) then you need a resident visa obtained from your own country.

Regarding paperwork, you ain't seen nothing yet. You will need a foreigners ID number (NIE), register on the EU foreigners residing in Spain, empadronamiento (equivalent to electoral roll in UK) and many other things. All will need appointments, form completing, visits to national police stations and town halls etc.

Best you make it a shorter, up to 3 months (which you can do with no paperwork as a EU citizen), visit first and contact a decent solicitor (and that's another subject) who will explain everything you need. You could then also check out the internet speeds which are getting better in large towns but can be pretty slow in the more picturesque areas. (For example, in the large town near us they are now fitting fibre optic with speeds up to 50Mbs. Us out in the boondocks are lucky to get 5 if the wind is in the right direction with under 1Mbs being pretty common).

Best of luck and hope it all works out.

 Best of luck and hope it all works out.

"If you are a non EU resident you will need a visa to live and permission to work in Spain"

I think all the Brits in Spain will be non EU residents by the time AnthL gets here, lol.

Thanks for all the replies, I know this wont be easy or happen overnight, it's going to be long and a challenge which makes it even more fun, i'm just 22 with my full life ahead of me, this is the start of experience because later on i'd be buying abroad not just renting. I think i'd be best off getting advice like mentioned in a reply, from the horses mouth about everything. What is that supposed to mean GuyT? Everyone starts somewhere and i'm glad to be in the position to easily do so, so don't criticize me like i don't have a clue, i probably don't but give me a few months i will. Just like anything in life we don't know about, we learn.

Thanks for all the other replies, seems there will be a lot to do within the next few months.

"What is that supposed to mean GuyT - so don't criticise me"

There was no criticim, and my tongue in cheek answer wasn't even addressed to you, AnthL, but you don't need to be a Rhodes scholar to understand that if - in a few weeks time - the EU referendum (are you aware there is one?) favours Brexit (which I am sure it will) then Brits will obviously no longer be "EU residents" as described by Windtalker. Because UK won't be in the EU. The clue is in the word "BrEXIT". Capisce?

This message was last edited by GuyT on 19/04/2016.

Just "packing up and moving to an island" sounds like a dream, but the reality is often a bit different. It's obvious you understand the need for lots of research, and yes, you have to start somewhere. Forums like this can provide a good insight based on others' experiences (I moved to Mallorca some years ago so have some relevant experience), but for some of the most basic stuff, you need to do a bit more searching yourself, otherwise you're just going to get more sarcastic replies.

For what it's worth:

Do we need lawyers or anything? Depends for what? You may well need a "Gestoria" to help with some paperwork, such as registering as resident, for tax etc. 
How would we ship over some of our things, beds, tv's etc. try Googling international removal companies (sorry, but there's no other way to answer that)

What about medical / dental stuff. Unless you become employed (or self-employed) in Spain and pay social security contributions, you need to get private health cover. There's no free dental cover in Spain.

Would we need residency forms, or any kind of visa You need to tell us your nationality, but really, just check the Spanish embassy/consulate website for your country.

I work on the internet, meaning it's quite easy to live anywhere aslong as it has wifi, I get paid into a US bank account, would that be a problem in spain? Not as such, but note comments by Bobaol

How would i get a car insured and stuff Contact a car insurance company (again, sorry but how else can one answer that?) Try Lineadirecta - they speak English.

"I work on the internet, meaning it's quite easy to live anywhere aslong as it has wifi, I get paid into a US bank account, would that be a problem in spain?"

If you have ordinary Visa or Mastercard debit card there won't be any problems, I think. But you can also need an account in Spanish bank.