Lou71

I agree, it's a bit like shooting yourself in both feet.

I would imagine there are a lot of UK nationals like me who are fortunate enough to have Irish passports.

As for the future, I think you will see a very different type of UK national moving to Spain ie wealthy, professional people.

mikelincs

The current government said in the budget that the 15 year rule would be scrapped.

Mustard

Have you any idea why they have decided to scrap the rule?

mikelincs

who knows why this government does anything, BUT, it has been on the cards for a number of years, and has never got past the mentioning it phase.

agree_to_disagree

https://www.thelocal.es/20210304/15-...-uk-elections/

They are going to scrap the time limit on voting which is 15 years, so it becomes indefinite entitlement to vote, not scrap the right to vote entirely.

Red Eric

It's to remove the limit, so long-term emigrants would have a right to vote in UK elections for life.

Just guessing here but I'd say it's possibly because they think more of the types who'd exercise the option would be Conservative voters. Wouldn't be surprised if they've done some homework on that score.

They're also proposing to introduce obligatory in-person voter photo id on some spurious excuse about voter fraud, which is at such vanishingly low levels as to be of no concern whatsoever and therefore fairly obviously has an ulterior motive, which isn't too difficult to guess at given who is more likely to already possess acceptable photo id than not.

Red Eric

There are quite a number regularly contributing on this forum.

DaveLovesDee

And not forgetting the gerrymandering of constituency boundaries.

Stingychips

So there will be no mass deportations after all according to the Spanish government. Well find out this week what will happen to expired British. Probably nothing at all lol

spainrico

Yes, I saw the Spanish government looking to play it down.

agree_to_disagree

It is definitely a moment of truth for expats that will have overstayed their welcome.

But I don’t think that the Spanish government will want to be seen to target such expats in a malicious way.

More likely some such expat is going to inadvertently come to the attention of the police and I guess that if they are deemed to be illegal, they will be dealt with in like with the normal procedure, whatever that is… Anyone know???

Get shoved on a plane and told to bog off and not come back..?

Joppa

Normally, when dealing with Western illegal travellers/overstayers, in most Schengen states you are given a few days or a week to leave voluntarily, having been told next time to apply for a proper visa. If you don't, then they may be forced to take a tough line and arrest and deport you.

mikelincs

Those who have been long term overstayers have had almost 4.5 years to regularise their position, so the tough line seems appropriate.

spainrico

I have a feeling both the Spanish and UK governments are probably disappointed with some of the headlines that some of the UK press has generated and some of the appalling inaccurate reporting completely confusing residents/non-residents/tourists rights to live/enter Spain.

Today the UK Embassy Madrid has issued this press release:-An update for UK Nationals

From 1 January, UK Nationals have been able to spend 90 days out of every 180 within the Schengen area for tourism or other specific purposes, such as business meetings, without needing a visa. Any stays beyond the 90 days will be dependent on Spain’s visa and immigration rules and any UK Nationals who would like to discuss extending their stay should contact their local extranjería office or call 060.

All foreign nationals intending to stay in Spain for longer than three months have always been obliged to register for residency – whatever their nationality. Therefore if you arrived in Spain before 1 January you must take steps to become resident if you consider your home to be here. Otherwise, you should be arranging to return to the UK. If you are trying to become resident and are in the process of registering or appealing against your application having been rejected, the 90-day rule does not apply to you.

HMA Hugh Elliott said: “I’m aware that many second home owners are concerned about overstaying as we reach 31 March. The Spanish Government has been clear that it will take a pragmatic approach to anyone who is stuck in Spain due to circumstances beyond their control, so I don’t want people to be overly worried on that count. However, if people do not intend to become resident here in Spain and see the UK as their base, we do expect them to take steps to return to the UK as soon as they can.”

A Spanish Ministry of Inclusion spokesperson said: “The Spanish Government is working to provide maximum legal certainty for British citizens resident in Spain. Throughout the negotiations, the issue of citizens’ rights has been, and remains, one of the main priorities. Spain is the country of residence of the largest community of UK nationals in the EU.

“The Spanish Government has no plans to deport British citizens who have made Spain their home and, for this reason, Spain has been one of the first EU countries to establish a documentation procedure under the Withdrawal Agreement, which consists of a declaratory system to apply for the new residence permit (TIE). We remind British citizens that, although there is no time limit, it is important to make this application as soon as possible as, among other things, it will facilitate the administrative processing and the crossing of the external borders of the European Union.”

If you are in the UK and considering travelling to Spain or are in Spain and have friends or family wanting to visit, you should be aware of the continuing travel restrictions on both leaving the UK and entering Spain. UK Nationals must make sure that they meet both the requirements to leave the UK and those to enter Spain, bearing in mind that they are not the same. From 30 March, entry to Spain will only be granted to those passengers who can demonstrate that their journey is essential, as well as to those who are already legally resident in Spain. Entering merely to visit, even if you have a second home here, is not a justified reason for entry. You may be questioned on arrival by Spanish border authorities to ensure you meet the entry requirements and they will only grant entry if they are satisfied that your journey to Spain is essential and reserve the right to deny passage. Ultimately, the decision on whether to grant entry into Spain is made by Spanish border officials as set out in our Travel Advice. For the latest information and links to the restrictions on leaving the UK and entering Spain, we advise people to visit our Travel Advice page on gov.uk and sign up for alerts, so that they are notified of any changes: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain

Stingychips

In other words just say you over stayed just to covid then everything will be honkey dorey. What people forget is a lot of these rules were in place before brexit it’s just the Spanish very rarely enforced them. I could understand Spain cracking down on overstayers if they were a burden on Spanish society but most are not. They are the one paying Spanish people to live in their properties and paying Spanish bars and restaurants to eat and drink. It makes no sense for the Spanish to even attempt to try it post Covid.