Living in Spain post Brexit

On the 31st of December at 11pm the United Kingdom finally completed its separation from the European union after the referendum held on 23rd June 2016.
I don’t think anyone can believe it took so long and that is probably the only thing that both sides will ever be able to agree on. It was an incredibly divisive and bitter affair and for that reason we at White Sand Homes offer no opinion at all on the subject. The purpose of this post is to point in the right direction any UK citizen wishing to buy, visit or live in Spain under the new rules.

The first thing to say was that mass deportations did not take place and it is still – for now – safe for British citizens to walk the streets without fear of being rounded up. We have however been left with a raft of new regulations that Franz Kafka would’ve considered being overly bureaucratic and I will only give an overview of these here but I will provide links to other sources should you wish for some light reading later on. Possibly the most comprehensive source is that from the UK government and it is really the best place to start.

Under the new rules, UK passport holders now won’t be able to stay in the country (or anywhere else in Europe) for longer than three months out of any six-month period. British citizens are now treated in a similar way that non-Europeans are, which means that the process of moving and obtaining a resident permit is also more complicated. For this reason, particularly for anyone who cannot speak Spanish using an Abogado (lawyer) to guide you through the process is possibly the most sensible course. Luckily the rules are simpler for UK citizens who have been living in Spain before 2021. For anyone wishing to acquire a visa for one or more years but has no need to work there are financial requirements in place and should be considered.

The Withdrawal Agreement protects the rights of UK citizens in the EU (and vice versa) and broadly gives guarantees that people already resident can stay with some caveats. This means that anyone who has been living in Spain before 1 January 2021 will be able to stay – although they will need to register as a resident – at this point they will have to submit themselves to Spanish red tape which if it is like most dealings with Spanish officials be incredibly complicated and deliberately frustrating or quite straight forward depending on where you go and who you deal with. For those already living in Spain looking for advice on their legal position and changing their NIE to the new TIE version guidance can be found here.

All in all life for those already living in Spain or for those wishing to move over life has become a little more complex but it is not entirely impossible and the dream of starting a new life in Spain is still achievable – which is good news for us and for anyone wishing to make that leap. There remain a considerable amount of British living in Spain – it is the most popular destination for those moving abroad, Spanish appreciate the input to their economy and are a very welcoming people. Whenever a raft of new regulations are introduced it is only with time they prove to be workable so there is hope that some of these restrictions may be eased in the future.