Hi all,

In light of the United Kingdom voting to leave the EU (huge mistake in my view) I am left in turmoil!
My family and I have been saving and planning to move to Spain next year to live and work.

Now though with the UK voting to leave, what does this mean for us? Can we still move? As I understand it, the British people were upset about the freedom of movement, so do this mean we now can't move freely over to Spain? Will we need visas and have to sit qualifiying tests similar to Australia?

I hope someone has some good advice or good news for us, right now this seems as though Britain has entered some very dark times!

Thanks for reading

Kevin

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Hi, I am also in the same position as you. We were planning to move there next year also. I do not have any answers for you sorry, I think it will be a point of waiting to see.
I guess it will be a while before we w can now make the decision, as it will all ake time to get all in order to know just how it will all turn out.

Nobody knows, but I'm sure there will be some sort of agreement. When it comes to property owners in Spain, maybe the ones already living there, or the ones who buy now have better chances than those waiting even longer.
We don't know.

Kevin,

We're now in unchartered waters. Nobody knows what's going to happen. There could be punitive measures taken against the UK as a threat to other EU members wanting to take the UK path? Maybe Article 50 (formalising the exit) could be blocked by pro-EU MPs?

Or it could be anything in between....

Who knows? It's a waiting game, I'm afraid

Will there be brits selling up and slashing prices and returning back to UK I hope not. I want to move to Spain as well but think it will take a couple of years to sort out. In the short term if anyone is buying a property your money won't go very far.

Do Spain even want Brits anymore I hope they do

Of course they will want brits! We contribute millions to their economy

Well, we will still be in the EU for at least the next 2 1/2 years so you will still be able to come under free movement rules. If you decide to stay you will become a Spanish resident and subject to Spanish laws etc (just as before). So far all sources say that those who have already moved in either direction will not be repatriated or anything of the sort. Of course you will become an alien in Spain (unless you naturalise) and there may possibly be changes in the way Spain handles aliens but there are no signs of that. In essence you will see very little change EXCEPT if you are transferring funds or income and then you will be even more at the mercy of currency exchange rates. Sterling will take a big hit in the short term so you will be looking at a cheaper house purchase possibly, and if you have a UK pension then you will get a lot less euros. What happens to sterling in the longer term is in the lap of the gods. It may even thrive and soar against the Euro!

Of course if you wait until after the deal is done you will be subject to Spanish immigration laws, visas, work permits etc etc and it will probably be a lot more difficult to move to Spain - and back again if it doesn't work out.

Some forecasts are saying it will take up to 7 years to sort the mess out, and the likelyhood is that, in order to protect our traders, we will join the EEA, which means, of course, signing up to the freedom of movement agreement.

What about holiday home owners who have their main residency in the UK and planned to move to Spain for retirement etc.?

Moses, I think Spain will just take all holiday homes away from the Brits for being such idiots..

Well said ....

I am sure that we will make bilateral agreements as we have with say Norway + Switzerland.

There may be more paperwork, after we finally exit, but if one is coming next year.... Its still open doors. So I agree ....go for it. Get your foot in the door, before it starts 'revolving'

Re ex rates, they have always been variable as you say. The only thing I am not sure about is your statement about the sterling hit making Spanish House prices cheaper. I think a weaker pound would need more pounds to buy the same number of euros....so making Spanish house prices in sterling more expensive.

If you are right about a sterling hit, then yes I agree with you that your pension will buy less euros when you are living here.

However right now its knee jerk. Its the first day after a HISTORIC decision that surprised the markets. In a years time things will have sorted IMO. And the Euro itself is under structural stress as well so there is also a possibility that our exit and other EU problems may weaken the euro. In time. Losing a G7 country... In fact 'G5' as the 5th biggest world economy, means that the 'average EU strength' is lower.

Who knows, I say carry on with your plans, there is no crystal ball especially with exchange rates. If there was I'd be a rich man!

Jon

PS a brave person would wait a bit till say Monday, or a bit later, short silver (more volatile than gold... But gold OK).... Go long on blue chip EU companies with good fundamentals who have taken a big hit on the knee jerk reaction, of today ...... and for a bit of safety at low cost go long with tracker ETF's. I haven't the cahoneys, as of today, as I've seen a hit on my savings, and so Im more risk averse. But the weekends ruminating and post change discussions, may make me 'grow a pair'

That's useful

Jon, I wasn't suggesting that house prices would be cheaper but that as the OP will get less Euros for his pounds he would have to look for a cheaper house than before Brexit.

OK sorry Mike, didn't read it that way.

Let's see how the currency tracks over time.

Jon