Thinking of moving to Spain...
Aug 24th 2013 | 3:14 am
#16
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,426
From: Velez-Malaga
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
Thanks for the explanation of the French system Porth, very interesting.
From what I have read, the situation re the double taxation treaty is to change soon, so Government pensions may well not be taxed at source in the UK any more but will definitely need to be declared and the tax paid in Spain. At least everyone will know where they stand, and really that would be fairer than someone in receipt of a Government pension effectively benefiting from two sets of personal allowances, one in each country, which has been the case up to now, whereas someone with only private and state pensions would not. It will affect me as one of my pensions (none of which are yet in payment) will be a Civil Service one.
From what I have read, the situation re the double taxation treaty is to change soon, so Government pensions may well not be taxed at source in the UK any more but will definitely need to be declared and the tax paid in Spain. At least everyone will know where they stand, and really that would be fairer than someone in receipt of a Government pension effectively benefiting from two sets of personal allowances, one in each country, which has been the case up to now, whereas someone with only private and state pensions would not. It will affect me as one of my pensions (none of which are yet in payment) will be a Civil Service one.
Aug 24th 2013 | 3:21 am
#17
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 977
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
That too is interesting for both my wife and I have only private and state pensions. I also continue to work part time and declare my fee income as well as everything else in France.
My fees vary both in volume and dependent upon the relationship between the £ and the euros and treated when in my hands. All my fee income is derived in the UK.
The French have problem with this and I am not sure what the Spanish guys will do seeing a profile which could be relatively high one year and not so good the next?
Then rental income which varies for the same reason and equally if a 'bad' year due to repairs and the like France has problems but my Accountant sorts all of that. Again Spain may not like that sort of thing. May believe that I am ducking and diving.
My fees vary both in volume and dependent upon the relationship between the £ and the euros and treated when in my hands. All my fee income is derived in the UK.
The French have problem with this and I am not sure what the Spanish guys will do seeing a profile which could be relatively high one year and not so good the next?
Then rental income which varies for the same reason and equally if a 'bad' year due to repairs and the like France has problems but my Accountant sorts all of that. Again Spain may not like that sort of thing. May believe that I am ducking and diving.
Aug 24th 2013 | 4:43 am
#18
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 614
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
My advice is to wait until you graduate and then consider what options you have.
Don't bother learning spanish now. With a degree to get you have enough on your plate (and without constant reinforcement and practice you'll probably forget most of what you learn).
If you have spare cash during the holidays, maybe make a few exploratory visits to possible locations: either in Spain or in other suitable countries. Remember that Spain isn't always hot, inland winters can be a lot colder than in the UK, so it's probably worth checking if the R.A. gets better in the winter, as well as in the summer. One other thing: I would expect where you live will be almost totally decided for you by where you or g/f can get work. If you want to be away from tourist areas, remember that in the spanish countryside internet access is decidedly spotty.
If you want an extra-curricular activity, I'd suggest making sure that both of you have driving licences.
Don't bother learning spanish now. With a degree to get you have enough on your plate (and without constant reinforcement and practice you'll probably forget most of what you learn).
If you have spare cash during the holidays, maybe make a few exploratory visits to possible locations: either in Spain or in other suitable countries. Remember that Spain isn't always hot, inland winters can be a lot colder than in the UK, so it's probably worth checking if the R.A. gets better in the winter, as well as in the summer. One other thing: I would expect where you live will be almost totally decided for you by where you or g/f can get work. If you want to be away from tourist areas, remember that in the spanish countryside internet access is decidedly spotty.
If you want an extra-curricular activity, I'd suggest making sure that both of you have driving licences.
Last edited by pete_l; Aug 24th 2013 at 5:11 am.
Aug 24th 2013 | 5:12 am
#19
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 6,912
From: Puente Esuri
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
Hi the system in France is covered by a Carte Vitale which is a plastic card with a chip and you use it wholesale apart from those medics who prefer cash. It is used extensively in Pharmacies so they can see your prescription background but not medical.
From memory there are those illnesses in France and which amount to say twelve which are recognised by the state as being of longue duree (yes long duration) and everything connected with the illness comes with 100% cover. Such as Consultants medication blood tests Xrays and indeed Spa treatment.
Heart and cancer top the list but RA is reckoned as being third or 4th. In addition you are taxed in France in parts so husband and wife two parts but where someone suffers from an illness LD then you get .5 of a part to help for day to day needs. I suppose a sort of DLA in the UK. That makes a major impact of one's taxation.
Outside there is the conventional system and where the state pays 70% cover and you obtain top up for the balance. The cost provided by Groupama AXA the Banks and the like varies with age!
Doctors charge 23 euros per consultation and the state pays 22 euros.
Very seriously the GP says you need to see a specialist urgently I would say max of three to four days. Blood tests in the morning back to specialist and GP by this pm via the internet.
They are big on preventative medicine in France and whilst of short duration my experience particularly of the salud in Javea is not good and it is miles apart from France hence one of the reasons of moving back. So I do not compare with the UK I compare with France.
That said lots to commend Spain but on health and tax I have grave doubts and moving here without a cast iron guarantee of the availability of the drug would be absolute madness. Again have nothing to hide but someone I know and know well has been subjected by the tax guys to huge pressure simply because his pensions being of Govt UK origin teaching and police are taxed at source and covered by double taxation treaties. He tells me that your guys really take a dislike to such things and are making life somewhat tough.
So taken in the whole France it has to be (I am afraid)
From memory there are those illnesses in France and which amount to say twelve which are recognised by the state as being of longue duree (yes long duration) and everything connected with the illness comes with 100% cover. Such as Consultants medication blood tests Xrays and indeed Spa treatment.
Heart and cancer top the list but RA is reckoned as being third or 4th. In addition you are taxed in France in parts so husband and wife two parts but where someone suffers from an illness LD then you get .5 of a part to help for day to day needs. I suppose a sort of DLA in the UK. That makes a major impact of one's taxation.
Outside there is the conventional system and where the state pays 70% cover and you obtain top up for the balance. The cost provided by Groupama AXA the Banks and the like varies with age!
Doctors charge 23 euros per consultation and the state pays 22 euros.
Very seriously the GP says you need to see a specialist urgently I would say max of three to four days. Blood tests in the morning back to specialist and GP by this pm via the internet.
They are big on preventative medicine in France and whilst of short duration my experience particularly of the salud in Javea is not good and it is miles apart from France hence one of the reasons of moving back. So I do not compare with the UK I compare with France.
That said lots to commend Spain but on health and tax I have grave doubts and moving here without a cast iron guarantee of the availability of the drug would be absolute madness. Again have nothing to hide but someone I know and know well has been subjected by the tax guys to huge pressure simply because his pensions being of Govt UK origin teaching and police are taxed at source and covered by double taxation treaties. He tells me that your guys really take a dislike to such things and are making life somewhat tough.
So taken in the whole France it has to be (I am afraid)
Both GP's are taxed at source absolutely no choice HMRC ALLOWS THE FULL UK Personal allowance against each. Both SP's are exported tax free from UK and taxed in Spain each is below the Spanish personal allowance so no tax to pay.
Our problems rose when we tried to get off the HMRC hook and onto the Spanish hook. We took the FD9 issued by Nottingham and Modelo 030 to the Hacienda to the Ayamonte office and thought it would be simple but no it took nine months and entirely our fault. We had made slight differences between my 030 and Kaths 030. We had to take an interpreter to find this out but once corrected we had no problems and certainly save considerably on Spanish and UK tax. At no time did we feel they disliked us or that life was tough just that we were confused since we thought we had done everything correctly but one slight mistake threw us out of kilter but once one question was not quite right. But every thing was backdated to our first submission.
Aug 24th 2013 | 5:30 am
#20
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 6,912
From: Puente Esuri
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
Thanks for the explanation of the French system Porth, very interesting.
From what I have read, the situation re the double taxation treaty is to change soon, so Government pensions may well not be taxed at source in the UK any more but will definitely need to be declared and the tax paid in Spain. At least everyone will know where they stand, and really that would be fairer than someone in receipt of a Government pension effectively benefiting from two sets of personal allowances, one in each country, which has been the case up to now, whereas someone with only private and state pensions would not. It will affect me as one of my pensions (none of which are yet in payment) will be a Civil Service one.
From what I have read, the situation re the double taxation treaty is to change soon, so Government pensions may well not be taxed at source in the UK any more but will definitely need to be declared and the tax paid in Spain. At least everyone will know where they stand, and really that would be fairer than someone in receipt of a Government pension effectively benefiting from two sets of personal allowances, one in each country, which has been the case up to now, whereas someone with only private and state pensions would not. It will affect me as one of my pensions (none of which are yet in payment) will be a Civil Service one.
Aug 24th 2013 | 6:02 am
#21
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,426
From: Velez-Malaga
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
Yes the new DTT is agreed but implementation is not yet declared. There is no way HMRC or Hacienda will allow their pensioners paid with national money be taxed elsewhere but what is proposed is that you declare the GP's in the overseas jurisdiction. There has always been a box on the 210 for this. It will affect the amount of tax to pay but it is a very complex calculation carried out by the PADRE programme. However I shall claim for my mortgage which I have not done until now so I think the result will be neutral.
I wonder why state pension aren't treated the same way, though? After all, they are paid with national money too.
Aug 24th 2013 | 6:17 am
#22
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 6,912
From: Puente Esuri
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
Different pot of money I suppose GP's include all the public sector except for some NHS PENSIONS and some are contributory and some non-contributory so they want as much back as they can get. With SP's they operate the same system across the EU so I think it would be too difficult to try to be different.
Aug 24th 2013 | 6:44 am
#23
Im a 77 year old nutcase
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 4,774
From: Playa del ingles...Gran Canaria..
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
Your only 21 so dont worry yet about the pension Tax talk on here as it will be differnt when you retire..As said come on holiday and look around..Goodluck to the two of you..
Aug 25th 2013 | 7:08 am
#24
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
hello
im new to all this expat stuff, just wondering if anyone can give me some information on moving. my fiancé works in England and comes home every 20 days and I am here in Ireland with my 2 year old son, we are considering moving to spain to have a nicer life. can anyone recommend an good and safe area in spain to start looking. I was looking at the Malaga area as it has good quick routes for me to pop home and for my fiancé to fly back to England to work. is there anywhere nicer for when me and my son are alone the 20 days. would love nice beaches and houses with a pool. thanks
Also do we need visas for living in spain, want to give it ago before my son starts school age as don't want to be moving him in and out of school
im new to all this expat stuff, just wondering if anyone can give me some information on moving. my fiancé works in England and comes home every 20 days and I am here in Ireland with my 2 year old son, we are considering moving to spain to have a nicer life. can anyone recommend an good and safe area in spain to start looking. I was looking at the Malaga area as it has good quick routes for me to pop home and for my fiancé to fly back to England to work. is there anywhere nicer for when me and my son are alone the 20 days. would love nice beaches and houses with a pool. thanks
Also do we need visas for living in spain, want to give it ago before my son starts school age as don't want to be moving him in and out of school
Aug 25th 2013 | 7:16 am
#25
Moderator
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 15,149
From: Costa Valencia
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
hello
im new to all this expat stuff, just wondering if anyone can give me some information on moving. my fiancé works in England and comes home every 20 days and I am here in Ireland with my 2 year old son, we are considering moving to spain to have a nicer life. can anyone recommend an good and safe area in spain to start looking. I was looking at the Malaga area as it has good quick routes for me to pop home and for my fiancé to fly back to England to work. is there anywhere nicer for when me and my son are alone the 20 days. would love nice beaches and houses with a pool. thanks
Also do we need visas for living in spain, want to give it ago before my son starts school age as don't want to be moving him in and out of school
im new to all this expat stuff, just wondering if anyone can give me some information on moving. my fiancé works in England and comes home every 20 days and I am here in Ireland with my 2 year old son, we are considering moving to spain to have a nicer life. can anyone recommend an good and safe area in spain to start looking. I was looking at the Malaga area as it has good quick routes for me to pop home and for my fiancé to fly back to England to work. is there anywhere nicer for when me and my son are alone the 20 days. would love nice beaches and houses with a pool. thanks
Also do we need visas for living in spain, want to give it ago before my son starts school age as don't want to be moving him in and out of school
BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.
Please let me know if you need any further help.
Rosemary
Aug 25th 2013 | 8:18 am
#26
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 6,912
From: Puente Esuri
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
hello
im new to all this expat stuff, just wondering if anyone can give me some information on moving. my fiancé works in England and comes home every 20 days and I am here in Ireland with my 2 year old son, we are considering moving to spain to have a nicer life. can anyone recommend an good and safe area in spain to start looking. I was looking at the Malaga area as it has good quick routes for me to pop home and for my fiancé to fly back to England to work. is there anywhere nicer for when me and my son are alone the 20 days. would love nice beaches and houses with a pool. thanks
Also do we need visas for living in spain, want to give it ago before my son starts school age as don't want to be moving him in and out of school
im new to all this expat stuff, just wondering if anyone can give me some information on moving. my fiancé works in England and comes home every 20 days and I am here in Ireland with my 2 year old son, we are considering moving to spain to have a nicer life. can anyone recommend an good and safe area in spain to start looking. I was looking at the Malaga area as it has good quick routes for me to pop home and for my fiancé to fly back to England to work. is there anywhere nicer for when me and my son are alone the 20 days. would love nice beaches and houses with a pool. thanks
Also do we need visas for living in spain, want to give it ago before my son starts school age as don't want to be moving him in and out of school
Aug 25th 2013 | 8:57 am
#27
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
thanks for your info
can you recommend an good websites to search for nice properties to rent
can you recommend an good websites to search for nice properties to rent
Aug 25th 2013 | 10:24 am
#29
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 10
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
My apologies for not getting back, unfortunately mygirlfriends ended up in hospital for a few nights so things have been a bit hectic.
Thank you everyone for your replies, medication isn't really a concern we'd thought about as we'd assumed (because Spain is in the EU) that the UK would simply continue to fund it...obviously an assumption we were wrong to make.
It looks like making the move to Spain is going to be more than just packing our bags, I do own a business so work wouldn't be an immediate urgency once we got over there but I know my girlfriend would go crazy being stuck in the house all day without a job.
I still think we'll consider it, but we really need to look into it a lot more before getting excited and consider other locations.
We also like the idea of Australia, but the issue is family, the flights are just so expensive we would hardly be able to see our family.
Thanks again,
Sean
Thank you everyone for your replies, medication isn't really a concern we'd thought about as we'd assumed (because Spain is in the EU) that the UK would simply continue to fund it...obviously an assumption we were wrong to make.
It looks like making the move to Spain is going to be more than just packing our bags, I do own a business so work wouldn't be an immediate urgency once we got over there but I know my girlfriend would go crazy being stuck in the house all day without a job.
I still think we'll consider it, but we really need to look into it a lot more before getting excited and consider other locations.
We also like the idea of Australia, but the issue is family, the flights are just so expensive we would hardly be able to see our family.
Thanks again,
Sean
Aug 25th 2013 | 3:17 pm
#30
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,518
Re: Thinking of moving to Spain...
My apologies for not getting back, unfortunately mygirlfriends ended up in hospital for a few nights so things have been a bit hectic.
Thank you everyone for your replies, medication isn't really a concern we'd thought about as we'd assumed (because Spain is in the EU) that the UK would simply continue to fund it...obviously an assumption we were wrong to make.
It looks like making the move to Spain is going to be more than just packing our bags, I do own a business so work wouldn't be an immediate urgency once we got over there but I know my girlfriend would go crazy being stuck in the house all day without a job.
I still think we'll consider it, but we really need to look into it a lot more before getting excited and consider other locations.
We also like the idea of Australia, but the issue is family, the flights are just so expensive we would hardly be able to see our family.
Thanks again,
Sean
Thank you everyone for your replies, medication isn't really a concern we'd thought about as we'd assumed (because Spain is in the EU) that the UK would simply continue to fund it...obviously an assumption we were wrong to make.
It looks like making the move to Spain is going to be more than just packing our bags, I do own a business so work wouldn't be an immediate urgency once we got over there but I know my girlfriend would go crazy being stuck in the house all day without a job.
I still think we'll consider it, but we really need to look into it a lot more before getting excited and consider other locations.
We also like the idea of Australia, but the issue is family, the flights are just so expensive we would hardly be able to see our family.
Thanks again,
Sean
Give it a go if you wish, you have plenty of time on your side to recover if it doesn't work out. If it does then hey presto, you've cracked it.
