Fred James

The same rules about CGT exemptions apply to UK property and Spanish property.

If the property has been your habitual residence for 3 years and you reinvest all of the proceeds of the sale in another property there is no CGT.

If you are over 65 then there is no CGT on your habitual residence and you do not have to reinvest the proceeds.

These exemptions only apply to Spanish tax residents.

Algorfa1950

That's great, that's what I thought. Also can you tell me if there are any British banks which will allow you to run your British bank account from Spain as we have pensions paid into ours and we are with Santander and have just been told we would have to close our UK Santander bank account and open a new one with
Santander in Spain but I am not sure if you can get your pensions paid by the DWP into a Spanish bank account. Do you know ?

snikpoh

State pensions can be paid directly into any Spanish bank - in fact you get very favourable rates by doing so.

For a UK bank as a foreign resident, try NatWest

Rosemary

I have a Santander (UK) account which was opened many years before I moved to Spain and now it is registered under my Spanish address with all post coming to this address. I also have an account with a Spanish bank which my state and private pensions are paid into. If you have any use at all for the UK account it is advisable to keep it as you will not be able to open a new one if resident in Spain.

Rosemary

bobd22

We had this problem with UK banks following Brexit. Barclays who we had been with 45 years told us as non residents we couldn't keep our joint current account which has been operating fine for 3 years living in Spain up to then. My wife already had her own UK Santander current account and I opened one with HSBC who said yes could have current account but not savings ? I have no problems since withi using my HSBC. Account. My wife with her Santander accoount spoke with them , they said she couldn't keep the standard current account but could change it and retain a Basic current account account number before etc stayed the same . Only difference between basic and standard I can see is she can't have an overdraft. It's worked fine for her for last 3 years no issues whatsoever. So worth speaking to santander when the time comes. Santander UK is a separate but linked company to the Spanish Santander so make sure you sort it out with your UK bank in uk
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Lynn R

You can certainly have your state pensions paid direct into a Spanish bank account. Some private pension providers, however, will only make payments into a UK account. My largest pension, a former employer's final salary scheme, is one of them.

I have kept my First Direct accounts, both current and savings, ever since I moved to Spain 17 years ago. They use my Spanish address to send correspondence to. I find them very good as if I need to speak to them about anything I can just ring and speak to a human straight away, they are always very helpful. They always score highly in surveys about customer service.

UK: leading banks by customer satisfaction 2023 | Statista

Fred James

Agreed. I have no problems with Natwest. They have not made any noises about closing cards or accounts.

Once resident in Spain they will not allow you to open an account, so get any accounts set up before you become resident.

bobd22

That was problem I found when Barclays gave notice of closing the account. It was difficult to find a UK bank that allowed one to open the account once non resident. Hence I asked HSBC and they said I could . I wouldn't say process was difficult couple of things proving identity but resolved by getting a notary to say it was true likeness of me on passport and a nother signature from a neighbour. All worked fine since. Mind as the question is being asked by a Santander holder from what they did with my wife's UK account they just change it to basic account which is same account but no overdraft nothing else seems to change and if happy with a bank better to stay with them if you can.

Algorfa1950

Just rang Santander and their agent told me we couldn't keep the current account or indeed any Santander UK account after we move to Spain and would need to open up new Santander accounts with Santander in Spain ! Yet as you have just said and I read just the opposite on one of their websites. I don't know who to believe, if their own agents on the phone don't know and he didn't seem to know much of anything but kept going off to ask someone and it seems that he still has the wrong information.
I also asked about getting 3rd party access to deal with my husband's phone queries with Santander on our joint account as he is very deaf and as I had a problem recently when they wanted him to answer questions on the phone and he couldn't hear them. I was taking the phone and after she asked the question I was repeating the question to him and she said I couldn't verbally prompt him in the background and she could hear me, so I said "so how does he answer a question he can't hear !!!", to which I was told today on the phone with another agent, I can write it down but NOT tell him out loud !!!!! I find it extraordinary. I said what if he was completely deaf and he replied well someone could assist as a 3rd party at the time of the call, when I told him our recent experience, he said some bank agents are more strictly security conscious than others ????? So I am still nowhere on that particular issue other than getting a property Power of Attorney which I don't need as we have a joint account as I say so as long as I am alive I can do the banking for both of us but if I go before him, then our daughter needs to do it and I mentioned this to the Santander agent and he said the same thing applies to her as me ! Makes me wonder if anyone in these banks are giving out ANY genuine advice to customers.

tebo53

One of my private Pension providers will not pay into a Spanish account only accounts with a UK IBAN so I have it paid into my "Wise" account (with UK IBAN) who then transfer the money changed into euros into my Sabadell account, no charge.

Steve

Algorfa1950

Yes we may come up against that with my husbands small private pensions with Prudential.

tebo53

Have a look here at "Wise" accounts which may help. Many poster use Wise to transfer money to Spain.

https://wise.com/

Steve

Algorfa1950

Actually I already have a Wise account for when I transfer money over to my daughter before we go and stay over there. I was under the impression though it was a currency exchange house more than a bank for receiving things like pensions into them.

tebo53

yes, exactly that, but I was suggesting the Wise account in answer to your comment:
"Yes we may come up against that with my husbands small private pensions with Prudential"

Steve

Algorfa1950

Yes well as I say I don't know if Prudential would allow pension payments to be made into a Wise account but I will enquire obviously, thanks for the suggestion.