Europe

Insurance
 
We recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling especially full “dangerous sports” insurance cover.  You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake.  For more general information see Travel Insurance.

 

If things do go wrong when you are overseas then this is How We Can Help.

 

Registration

 

Register with our LOCATE service to tell us when and where you are travelling abroad or where you live abroad so our consular and crisis staff can provide better assistance to you in an emergency.  More information about registering with LOCATE can be found here.

Money
 
Since 15 June 2007 new legislation on the controls of cash entering or leaving the EU apply in all Member States.  Any person entering or leaving the EU will have to declare the cash that they are carrying if this amounts to €10,000 or more; this includes cheques, travellers' cheques, money orders, etc.  This will not apply to anyone travelling via the EU to a non-EU country, as long as the original journey started outside of the EU nor to those travelling within the EU.
 
Contacting a British Consulate office in Spain
 
For telephone numbers and the location of British Consulates in Spain see: http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en.
 
Opening hours, telephone numbers and addresses of all British consular posts in Spain can be found by clicking on “consular offices”.  For urgent consular assistance outside office hours (e.g. arrest, death, rape, hospitalisation). see 'Contact Details' below.
 
Purchase of Property, Time-share Ownership and Holiday Clubs
 
If you intend to purchase a property in Spain you are advised to engage an independent local lawyer. A full list of English speaking lawyers can be found on the British Embassy's website - http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en.  British nationals purchasing property in Spain are recommended to deal only with established and reputable estate agents or with other contacts whom they know to be reliable and genuine, and to make all payments within bank premises and/or through banking channels.  Make sure that the full purchase price of the property is reflected on the escritura (deeds) and do not pay 'black money' in cash to the seller, even if persuasive arguments about taxes are advanced: you could end up having to pay the capital gains tax that should have been paid by the person from whom you bought your new home.
 
In the Valencia Autonomous Community (the Provinces of Castellon, Valencia and Alicante) and, increasingly, in other parts of Spain your land tenure rights can be severely curtailed by local legislation.  Should your ownership of property in these Provinces be threatened by local legislation you should engage the services of a lawyer immediately. Also, you should contact the NGO, Abusos Urbanisticos No for more information and details on how they may be able to help.  Please note that the British Consular Services cannot help specific property cases.
 
Time-share ownership is well established in Spain with many known and respected companies, agents and resorts operating legally, fairly and successfully.  However, there are equally many unscrupulous companies in operation, some of which claim to provide various incentives (including stock market investments and discounts on airfares and accommodation) when exchanging existing time-share ownership or taking out membership of holiday clubs.  More often than not, such inducements do not materialise once a deal has been signed and sealed.  If you are approached by agents operating such schemes, you should treat the approaches with the utmost caution.
 
Further information and advice is available from:
The Organisation for Time-share in Europe (OTE)
Time-share Consumers Association (TCA) and
European Consumer Centre (ECC)

 
Purchases of Tobacco products for export
 
Regulations on import of tobacco products into the UK vary from the amount allowed to be exported from Spain, particularly for cigarettes.  You should check this carefully before you leave Spain.  If you do not have the right documentation to export more than the normal limit, you may be fined and your consignment seized.
 
Outdoor Sports
 
If an accident occurs whilst mountaineering, canyoning, potholing or climbing, or if you become lost in the mountains or other areas requiring mountain rescue, call the Emergency Services on 112, or dial 062 for the Civil Guard.
 
For advice on safety and weather conditions contact:
 
Tel.  0207 486 8077
Fax.  0207 486 8034
 
Further information can be found on:
 
http://www.goski.com/weather/
http://www.avalanches.org