ThaiWai

Hello Forum

I am asking this question for my sister and her partner who are taking early retirement and wish to see out their time in Spain.

That was their plan before Brexit and Covid-19.

Unfortunately they have become demotivated because of the above issues, I guess what I am asking is, should they be letting this stand in their way?.. Spain accepts retirees from all over the world, not just the EU countries. Why would Brexit and Covid be insurmountable objects?

Would appreciate any comments from the Brit expat community in Spain.

Thanks in advance.

Rosemary

Due to Brexit their financial position is more relevant now than it was in the past because now they will have to have sufficiant funds to satisfy the government in order to gain residencia. In the past retiree were able to come here and settle without this obstacle. Use the search facility and you will see that this has been discussed several times so you should manage to read posts on this subject regarding the amount of money required.

Rosemary

ThaiWai

Thanks, I believe 2 government workplace pensions and 3 UK based rental properties will suffice them for residence. So if that is the only hurdle, then I think that is very easily overcome.

tebo53

Hi,
your sister and her partner will initially need to apply for a visa to be able to move to Spain. They will need to apply for a visa from the Spanish embassy while they are still living in the UK. They will both need to meet the income and healthcare requirements. The income requirements for a couple would add up to around €34,000 per annum. They will both need full healthcare paid for a full year. If they are successful in getting a visa they can then move to Spain and would need to apply for residency within the first month.

Steve

spainrico

More here

https://www.ageinspain.org/post/rout...JRmXdupYKDMT70

Dxf

Hola
I just followed the link and the documents are not for retired people who do not qualify under the withdrawal agreements

Davexf

spainrico

Sorry - when I looked at it I thought they had published a full range for all situations.

In which case pretty pointless as most know what to do with pre 31/12/20 rights - so who has a succinct guide?

This looks detailed - https://www.guidebookspain.com/guide...-in-spain.html

Dxf

Hola,

Much better, thank you - it doesn't say that it is 2,259.60€ is MONTHLY income but hopefully people will realise

Davexf

Barriej

This is from the Spanish consulate in Edinburgh (its the same for London)
Should be the only place to get info anywhere else will just be cutting and pasting this and saying things like they can get you a NLV and you can work....

Visa and Entry Requirements

Its all explained and they are fairly helpful (but like most Spanish they don't respond very fast to emails)

bob_bob

If they really want to emigrate to Spain they will, if they are looking for excuses for not going if they can afford it then Covid/Brexit is as good as any.

Barriej

Agree with the above comment, we moved our plans at quite a large cost to my income and future pension pot.
If we hadn't have moved last year I would have put it off until we retired (2029) and then with our OAP's and the much increased private pension the financial arrangements would have been easy.
But instead I reckon we would have moved to Australia or even the Caribbean (my first choice),
We only moved here so my wife could spend time with her father. And we had a holiday home here.

We talk to friends back in the UK and all of the ones who want to retire to the sun are now looking further afield to places that are English speaking now the requirements are similar and to ones with driving licence exchanges.
If you don't need to work there are many other places in the world that will welcome you than the EU.

Spain was only a good bet ages ago because of the cheap property, easy going lifestyle and its close proximity to the UK.
Now having to contend with learning the language so you can pass driving test will put people off.

June W

Make sure they have their potential tax situation calculated for them (if planning on living there over 180 days a year). It can have a few surprises I found. Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta and Turkey are offering good tax breaks at the moment (10 years), and Cyprus is very good tax wise.

Notdunroamin

​​​​​​​That's putting it a bit strongly, the theory part of the test can be done in English and the level of comprehension and vocabluary in Spanish requirerd for the practical test is pretty basic.

Notdunroamin

Actually it does. "For the support of the main applicant, monthly, 400% of the IPREM, which in 2021 amounts to 564,90 €, being 2.259,6 € or its legal equivalent in foreign currency."

Barriej

But not if you are in your late 60's and have little or no language skills.

There are people living near us who retired at 65 and some 15 years later still cannot say much more than Hola and ask for a beer.

Younger people with the ability and desire to learn are one thing. Those who just want to retire to the sunshine and continue every other part of their lives as if they were in the village in Surrey are another.
And if thats what they want, then thats fine, who are we to judge?

And if Im being honest, Ive not exactly pushed myself to learn the language, in our area a good number of people speak lots of languages but English appears to have become the common denominator.

For example we were in the Dragonet office last week (Internet provider) to ask about a new deal. Id worked out what to say and the expected answer in Spanish and was confident I could make myself understood.
Got no more than three words in and the lady started speaking to me in English (she is German) and she said that they prefer English in the office as there is Spanish, German and Swedish staff so the common language is English (I asked why not Spanish) and was told its easier and they all want to be better at speaking it.

Anyway all this is getting away from the OP's question.

If your family REALLY wants to come to Spain and its something they have been dreaming about, spending all their holidays here etc, then, as long as the financial side is taken care of then there should be no reason why not.
Having or not having a driving licence only changes where you will live.
And again I can't see why people would want to swap a nice modern home in the Uk for a house in the campo with a septic tank, maybe not electric or water as an upgrade. Yes it has land, but did you think about how you were going to look after it in 20 years time?

As posted before, there are many reasons to NOT come here and if they are considering any of them, then are they sure than Spain is actually where they want to be? Or is it that they just don't want to be OAP's in the UK?

And if it is the place you want to be, then why would you consider another EU country just because its rules are less strict, the financial consideration is lower?
You still wont be happy sitting in your villa in Croatia wishing you were in Spain...even though it cost less to go there.