andyrich666

I totally agree with HBG, in my street there is about 5 Lithuanian / Russsian families / couples, but why do you think the Ruskies do not bother with the Padron ?

cricketman

How do you know what documentation they have submitted?

HBG

Both my wife and I have had regular contact with the functionarios running the various government offices over many years and that's what they're telling us. And they've been told not to bother them.

Spain could absorb an extra couple of million Russians into their vast country without blinking an eyelid.

Perhaps an expert could come along and say whether Spain is better off with Russian rather than British immigrants.

steviedeluxe

Well I'm no expert on expat communities (never claimed to be) but I understand the average Russian tourist in Spain spends a lot more than that of a Brit. So probably likely that Russian expats are richer than Brit expats in Spain? Also, I suspect the Russian would be more likely to learn Spanish than a Brit expat - that's just a guess though and based on the fact that English would already be spoken (to a degree) by local businesses and few will know Russian.

Big disadvantage? If you upset the Russians, Mr Putin may come calling...

Neptuno

It's the" mind your own business" and "live and let live attitude" that is the problem, as those who pay taxes and abide by the rules are subsidising those who don't. Why should they do whatever they like, with impunity?
Those who condone their fellow expats behaviour should remember the old saying, which is something like this:
In order for evil to flourish, it just takes good men to sit back and do nothing!

Lenox

The Spanish, if they move town, will re-register on the new padrón and the town will inform their old place, who will remove their name accordingly.
The Brits of course (if they ever bothered to get on the padrón) will hardly be arsed to go up and get their name removed before leaving in a hurry for the ferry for Chipping Norton.
What happens is that the Ministry of the Interior now checks to see who has departed - the foreign foreigners every two years, the Europeans every five. They did it a couple of moths back, so these figures, wrong anyway, are for the past five years, not one.

tebo53

So what bridges are burned

Anyone who has left the UK and gone to live anywhere in the world and for any length of time is within their rights (assuming they haven't given up citizenship) to return to the UK and resume their lives.

Anyone who does return to the UK has the right to the healthcare services as before they left. Rental options are fully available to all to those who chose to sell their houses.

So what options should have been kept open?

jackytoo

It's a bit ironic leaving the UK cos it's rubbish and full of immigrants and then living in a street full of Russians and other East Europeans.

Actually the official figures do not back up that the Russians are very big buyers of property...way, way below the Brits and they aren't buying much either.

HBG

It's comforting and it's true and everyone I know who has returned has done so successfully and I'm in frequent touch with many of them.

Unfortunately the horrendous fall in Spanish house prices over the past six years will prevent them from returning to the status quo when they left the UK all those years ago, the Euro in their pocket had been severely devalued against the pound Sterling.

But they'll never be on the floor because of the British benefits they will be entitled to.

me me

I remember a British woman who moved away from an urb because she was sick of little Englanders. And was really nasty about those who liked fish and chips etc.

She sold up and moved, only to find that 6 month's later a load of gypsies moved into the two properties bordering hers.

Now she has abandoned her house and works in the UK looking after old people in their own home.

She should have stuck with the little Englanders.

Guatemala to guatapeor!!!!!

Dick Dasterdly

Yes, they're within their rights to return, but if they've sold up in the UK and no longer have close contacts as is the case with many, then unless they are loaded with surplus cash, it may be impossible to go back into the UK house market, most especially those who would be standing to make a huge loss on the sale of their Spanish property, if indeed they can sell it at all.

There have been countless such cases in the past few years of people once secure in the UK having either to go back cap in hand or stick it out in Spain under difficult circumstances and much reduced income to what they expected after finding that their pensions had also reduced dramatically in value to what the were during the years of much better exchange rates.
Many found themselves unable to maintain mortgage payments in Spain and simply had to walk away with nothing leaving everything they had previously to the Spanish banks and even then still possibly be deep in debt.

So maybe that helps you understand why it's not advisable to burn bridges in the UK if it's at all possible to retain a foothold there after moving to Spain.

tebo53

Everybody always put the emphasis on bought and sold property in Spain. Many Brits move out to Spain, and much more so now, and rent property.

We are all learned long ago not to buy property in Spain as we all know it will never sell again.

Many people sell up in the UK for other simple reasons such as being dissatisfied with the area they presently are living and not wanting to keep a property there. Very often it's not a clean cut case.

As I previously stated, there are many, many properties in the UK for rent and at reasonable rental rates so there is always ways to regain that 'foothold' in the UK.

andyrich666

You do not subsidise anybody, it's possible to think that way but in reality no .

Dick Dasterdly

Not really, unfortunately most did not learn a long time ago and having bought at peak prices left themselves in a no-win situation and never gave any serious thought to a possible dramatic change in the exchange rate.

Granted many are now much wiser after the crash.

However the recent UK property boom has left most hoping to buy again back in Blighty with an even bigger hurdle to climb

It probably doesn't matter quite so much now as neither the exchange rate or the house prices are likely to suffer any more really dramatic changes for the worse and buying maybe appears a tad more attractive, though unfortunately thanks to Rajoy and co. there are now new and more sinister negative factors affecting thinking.