Originally Posted by growinspain

If you purchase a €500,000 home... A little out of the price range of the normal brit pensioner .

Originally Posted by ValTay0607

I DID NOT vote for Brexit. Sorry, idiots voted Brexit, not knowing the implications. I knew the implications, ergo voted to REMAIN. So there!

Originally Posted by Moses2013

Well technically any British person who bought property in the EU and planned to retire there could sue the British government. If you sell and are faced with extra taxes, you could also argue that the British government would have to cover the extra cost. Very few will do it though.

Originally Posted by Barriej

Not wishing to be antagonistic but why should Spain give the Uk any preferential treatment?
The 'concerns' are from a small number of British citizens, who should be lucky they can afford to spent 90/180 days away twice a year.
The Brexit vote happened ages ago and it was easy to get the information that explained what the consequences would be for the removal of the 'freedom of movement'
There were umpteen threads on here and the other forum's, so none of this should have been a surprise to anyone.
Some of us, used that information to move our retirement plans forward, others decided to modify them.

The financial requirements are not 'excessive' you should count yourself lucky you can afford two properties in different countries (many cannot or ever will afford one property in their home country)
And once you sell that home in the UK and with your OAP most of you should have more than enough to satisfy those requirements. After all Spain is not asking you to give them the money, just prove its available to you.
Driving licences again, yes Spain and the UK could come to an agreement but its not important to the Uk government at this time and I doubt its ever going to be a concern to Spain (make more money getting you to take a test, than the €47 for the medical and the whatever for the form, every 5 or 10 years).
Pet passports (you should have done what some friends of ours did and got the passport from a Spanish vet) as this is still valid for travel....

And while Im being honest, the current situation was not the 'current bunch of incompetents' fault. Its the fault of those who voted for it under a different bunch of incompetents (not that I have any love for the current bunch). And most of the people who voted were just normal people who wanted to restrict the 'free movement' of others to the UK but didn't understand, or care that it meant the same for them.
People were moving to Spain and the rest of the EU before there ever was a freedom of movement and thinking in purely financial terms to me is a stupid way to make a decision about where to live out your old age.

And with regard to the money the retired and second homers give the Spanish economy, I doubt that would be a strong enough argument for a change. Its pennies (or cents) in the grand scheme of things.

Most of the money Spain gets comes from tourists on their two week summer holiday. And these people dont and wont care about the 90 day rule.
I would think that 99% of them would not be thinking of retiring here (or anywhere else for that matter).

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/new...r-december-31/
Current data shows that the number of British passport holders who visit Spain per year is about 17 million on average, which makes the latter the most popular holiday destination in the world for Britons. Moreover, the number of those who own a home somewhere in Spain is between 800,000 and 1 million.
How many of these have purchased property to rent out isn't stated but its probably a few.

And as to your last statement. Thats how wars start, nobody wins. The saying 'cutting your nose off' springs to mind.


My 2c and it may not be agreed with.

Originally Posted by UKMS

Interesting take on the situation ....... is that your opinion or sound legal advice ? ....... Id be interested to know what you would sue the government for and on what basis would they have to pay taxes ?

The reality is that any non resident owner (including me) has to suck it up and move on.

Originally Posted by bobd22

Wasn't suing government etc part of the Brexit Repeal Bill? I really don't see anyone who owns property in the EU winning such a case against UK Government.

Originally Posted by UKMS

Interesting take on the situation ....... is that your opinion or sound legal advice ? ....... Id be interested to know what you would sue the government for and on what basis would they have to pay taxes ?

The reality is that any non resident owner (including me) has to suck it up and move on.

Originally Posted by Moses2013

I'm still in the EU but the reality is that anything is possible and any person has the right to make a case. You could argue that you bought property as an EU citizen and a non resident EU citizen continues to pay 19% income tax, so why should I pay 24%? If I buy a car with 5 years warranty, can the car dealer now force me to pay extra money to keep the warranty? If my plan was to retire to Spain as an EU citizen next year and I invested a lot of money in that property, maybe I can claim Capital Gains Tax? Don't want to argue about it but there are many examples: https://www.leighday.co.uk/our-servi...sh-government/ After all the government is not the law.

Originally Posted by Moses2013

I'm still in the EU but the reality is that anything is possible and any person has the right to make a case. You could argue that you bought property as an EU citizen and a non resident EU citizen continues to pay 19% income tax, so why should I pay 24%? If I buy a car with 5 years warranty, can the car dealer or government now force me to pay extra money to keep the warranty? If my plan was to retire to Spain as an EU citizen next year and I invested a lot of money in that property, maybe I can claim Capital Gains Tax? Don't want to argue about it but there are many examples: https://www.leighday.co.uk/our-servi...sh-government/ After all the government is not the law.

Originally Posted by Moses2013

You could argue that you bought property as an EU citizen and a non resident EU citizen continues to pay 19% income tax, so why should I pay 24%?.

Originally Posted by DaveLovesDee

Every Brit in Spain who would have been resident there for more than 3 months at a time were given a route to continue to be legally resident in Spain for longer than 3 months after the UK left the EU, even if they'd not registered previously. That route closed on 31st December 2020.

For those that chose not to register, that's not Spain's fault, nor the UK government's (no matter how incompetent I think the latter are)...

Originally Posted by Moses2013

The point is that many couldn't become legally resident.

Originally Posted by DaveLovesDee

Why would that have been? Becoming legally resident as an EU national in Spain to reside longer than 90 days doesn't make you non-resident in the UK.

​​​And the procedure would have been fairly simple at the time.

Originally Posted by DaveLovesDee

Why would that have been? Becoming legally resident as an EU national in Spain to reside longer than 90 days doesn't make you non-resident in the UK.

​​​And the procedure would have been fairly simple at the time.

Originally Posted by Moses2013

You can only be legally resident if you are living in Spain. If I'm 60, employed in the UK and have a few years left until I get the pension, how would I be a Spanish resident?