Patsy1947

Hello can someone clarify the new rules for Brits wanting to move to Spain pls? ALso, why are so many Brits leaving Spain? We can't trust the news anymore. Thank you.

Moses2013

Brits have always left Spain for various reasons. Since Brexit the new rules just make it more difficult, especially when it comes to finances and healthcare many won't get a visa.
Financial means required to cover the living expenses and, where appropriate, those of their family members,
for one year, in accordance with the following amounts:
- For the support of the main applicant, monthly, 400 % of the IPREM (Indicador Público de Renta
de Efectos Múltiples), which in 2021 amounts to 564,90 €, being 2.259,6 € or its legal equivalent in
foreign currency.
- For the support of each of the family members in charge, monthly, 100% of the IPREM, which in
2021 amounts to 564,90 € or its legal equivalent in foreign currency.

Notdunroamin

Reports of Brits leaving Spain I find tend to be overblown and sensationalised.

The few I personally know have left have done so because of years living under the radar making it too risky to now expose themselves and to them I say good riddance.

The situation with driving licences has seen some up sticks and quit the country before one random roadside stop brought their dodgy houses of cards tumbling down.

Lynn R

It depends on what kind of visa the UK citizen wanting to move to Spain needs. A full list of all the different types of visa available can be found on the website of the Spanish Consulate in London. The figures Moses2013 has quoted are for a Non Lucrative visa, the one which is needed for people who want to live in Spain but will not be working here (ie retired or early retired). However, they were increased (as happens annually) on 1st January 2022 and the IPREM figure is now €579.02 per month, making the annual income needed for a single applicant €27,792.06 and €6,948.24 per year for each additional family member.

https://www.iprem.com.es/2022.html

Comprehensive health insurance with no co-payments or exclusions is also needed - in the case of UK state pensioners I have read that an S1 form from the DWP which means that the UK Government will pay their healthcare costs is now being accepted, but as up until now the DWP would only issue an S1 to an individual's address in Spain I am not sure how this works as the visa has to be applied for in the UK before the applicant moves to Spain.

For people who want to work in Spain, they must first find an employer who wants to give them a job. It is the employer who must apply for a work permit for them, and in the process they have to prove that there is no suitably qualified EU citizen available to do the job. Only when that work permit has been issued, which can take quite some time, can the individual then apply for a visa.

In either case, once they have obtained their visa and moved to Spain, the individual and their family members must then go through a separate process to register as residents and be issued with a TIE (residence permit for foreigners).

I think these tales of large number of Brits leaving Spain has, as usual, been exaggerated and misinterpreted by the media. Certainly in my area I am not aware of any more than the usual percentage of people leaving for the usual reasons amongst permanent residents. Some people who had been living here previously but had never registered as residents (as they should have done), normally because they wanted to evade Spanish taxes, may have decided to leave rather than be compelled to register. However, a proportion of British holiday home owners have, I believe, decided to sell up as they don't want to be restricted to only being able to spend 90 days out of every 180 in the Schengen zone.

Lou71

From my experience there are far fewer UK nationals in Spain. We first bought land back in 1998 and from then on, there were huge numbers of Brits buying property/moving to Spain but from about 2008 onwards, it slowly started to dry up an now I hardly ever come across the British. I have noticed a huge increase in other nationalities like Dutch, Belgian, French and German nationals who have bought properties from the departing British.

​​​​​​The dreaded Brexit means that this is the direction of travel. Gone are the days of UK nationals being able to move to EU states with ease. I read posts on here from people applying for visas in various EU states and it looks like a nightmare on wheels, ouch!

astera

This has all been one, huge, terrible mess. A large chunk of the nation coaxed into believing that shooting oneself in the foot is actually a beneficial thing.

Apart from the number of people leaving Spain, the main statistic I'd like to see is the influx of new people coming over from the UK. Surely this number has been hit the hardest given that a UK passport is treated the same as an Albanian or Algerian one in current times?

I wouldn't say that we are doomed forever though. Keep mind that it was the old generation who mostly voted for this, whilst the youngest voters opted to stay. Soon 6 years will have passed so there will be a noticeable shift in demographics when it comes to EU membership sentiment. Plus the damgage done to the economy should convince quite a few people anyway that this has been just a smokescreen to cover up a power grab.

Give it a few years and EEA membership alongside the likes of Norway will be on the cards, and if that happens then more and more of us will be basking in the sun again.

Lou71

Bravo, top post, I agree with all of that!

The numbers of incoming UK nationals will be miniscule because so many people will not meet the strict, third country criteria. It's not just difficult to retire in EU states, work permits are a complete nightmare.

When my (British) partner and I came through immigration at Malaga recently, I thought it was telling when the Spanish border official held up my Irish passport and said "this passport is better" while my partner was ferreting around assembling paperwork! He wasn't wrong.

I agree that demographics will play a huge part in the UK rejoining the EEA and my age group (Generation X) will increasingly resent not having the same opportunities as older people who voted Leave.

It's a horrendous mess.

Moses2013

Speaking about basking in the sun, I think a lot of younger people will be looking at a different type of Spain in the future. For a lot of the older generation it was about most possible hours of sunshine, cheap booze and apartment blocks near the beach. Now you see a lot more people who value what the North of Spain has on offer and it's not just sun, sea and sangria. Even inland areas that are greener and cooler seem popular now. It will take a while but there are signs that it's changing.

Fred James

There is nothing new about the attractions of North Eastern Spain. In the 60s it was the only place to go.

I love the area well and love it, but the south is where the weather is best and that is important if you are living here full time. Less than 10c down here on the Costa del Sol now and that is cold!

Dxf

Hola,
I speak as one whose house is up for sale; I will be moving back to the UK permanently after 19 years here in Spain. I believe the numbers of people moving here will be decimated, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. People do not believe the annual income required nor do they believe they will have to take a driving test in Spanish (it will all be agreed),

I believe the days of retirees coming to Spain are over and that eventually, another set of countries will take over as the main ain for retirees. I could suggest that Portugal may be of choice but I still think people are deluding themselves if they think that at 65 they will be able to pass a driving test having driven for forty plus years picking up all the bad habits possible.

Therefore, for people living here legally, the Brits around you will diminish naturally over time although I do believe that holiday homes will rise

Davexf

Moses2013

Not talking about us the old. As you say better weather and for a younger people that has a different meaning. Just like people used to burn in the sun and not use sunscreen, you get less of that today. Add in global warming and different generations just value different things. Younger people now also drink less alcohol than their parents did.

Lynn R

I agree with Lou71 that many Brits left Spain from 2008 onwards (when the global financial crash happened). Those of working age found that either jobs weren't available or if self-employed their businesses were severely impacted, and the large fall in the exchange rate made it difficult for a lot of retirees living on modest pensions from the UK. There are definitely fewer Brits living in my area now than there were pre-2008. I also agree that there will be fewer Brits moving to Spain in the future as many who would have liked to make the move will not be able to meet the post-Brexit requirements. However, I do now see people posting on social media who are going through the process of applying for NLVs, and some who have already obtained them, so some are still coming.

It does not bother me at all that there will be fewer of them around in the future, though, and I don't agree with the people who say that Spain will suffer terrible economic damage because of it. We are not seeing (unlike the situation post 2008) large gluts of unsold properties, there is strong demand from Northern European buyers and they will gradually replace the Brits who leave.

As for the older generation preferring to live in the South of Spain, I am 65 and have been here just over 15 years. The weather was definitely one of the reasons I chose to be in the South, when leaving the rainy, grey and cold North West of England where it was dark by 4pm in winter, the last thing I wanted was more of the same. But since we moved here permanently I have never sunbathed (I used to when we only used our Spanish house for holidays but never felt the need to when I was living here full time) and never sat on a beach although I have walked along a few on occasions. There are no British owned bars or restaurants in my town, and we have never taken part in activities aimed specifically at expats so would not miss them if they disappeared. The foreign born population in my municipality is around 10% and the number of UK citizens registered as residents around 1% of the total population, so would hardly make a dent if all of them left. The population of the municipality has been growing steadily over the last few years.

bobd22

The new rules for moving from the UK to Spain to live are readily available online I wouldn't take UK news or media as a good source. Its more difficult but not impossible following Brexit. As for why people are going back to UK. Yes it happens and always has as mentioned previously in the thread. Certainly financial crash 2008 caused many to return for personal financial reasons. Brexit and 3rd country rules for UK citizens has made it difficult for those that didn't comply with the legal requirements of residency etc. It was really quite easy to avoid residency requirements etc before Brexit not very easy now. As for UK eventually returning to EU via the EEA route? I'm not saying it won't happen but I would guess it will not be easy or guaranteed? The UK seems to me to have acted in a very antagonistic way in its negotiations over leaving and NI, some of that is clearly usual negotiation procedure some trying to get political advantage in UK with voters and much pot stirring by media. UK will only get back in if all EU countries want us back in the EEA. I certainly don't think that will happen in the near future.

Fredbargate

Many EU countries will miss the UK's financial contributions.

bobd22

I'm sure they do but uk won't be getting back in on anywhere near same terms as we left. Main thing is it won't happen quickly if at all.