Spanish ex-pats



Monty Pigeon said:
We left in 2018 because we knew the crunch was coming. Had countless arguments with leave supporters there, with their 'they need us more than we need them' mantra. We urged everyone we knew there to get residency, but only a few did. Reality has now dawned for the rest.

There are some horror stories. Cancer patients relying on charitable help in Spain who've got notice to leave and won't automatically qualify for NHS healthcare when they come back to UK. People who've invested everything they own over there, and stand to lose thousands in taxes and other duty as they attempt to sell up and leave.

A couple we know thought we were being ridiculously over-cautious when we left. Now we're using our contacts in Turkey to try to set them up with something over there. They haven't had the knock on the door yet, but they'll be illegal immigrants in Spain at the end of the month.
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Not wish you stopped out there, or was it only ever going to be a temporary thing?
 
Lambchops said:
The WA is if you can prove you've lived there, were in employment etc prior to 31st December and applied you should have been ok.
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You had to have a job, or sufficient income to support yourself and private health insurance.
the dark one said:
That will rule most out then. Working for 5 euros an hour to sell pirate ship tickets for their mates fathers from Essex. 😂
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Lots would be working on the fiddle, lots others will be pensioners
ozz said:
Are we doing the same with Europeans living in the UK?
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Pretty much

Huge numbers have already left. We are facing the largest ever contraction in our labour market. Bad news for future economic growth
 
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Lankester Merrin said:
You had to have a job, or sufficient income to support yourself and private health insurance.


Lots would be working on the fiddle, lots others will be pensioners
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Thought the WA was the same europewide? You lived there and prove you've lived there then your rights including healthcare are preserved
 
I wonder if this is the same half-wit who insisted he was an 'ex-pat' and not an immigrant on TV before the vote.
The brtish embassies* organized meetings in different places throughout each country- I went to two here.
 
David M said:
Not wish you stopped out there, or was it only ever going to be a temporary thing?
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Would love to have stayed, but even before Brexit there were complications due to me being freelance. I'd have had to pay tax in advance - not really viable when my earnings tend to be in bursts, sometimes with months of nothing in between. But also, there are other places to experience. Pandemic apart, our aim is now to spend 3-6 months in different places, then move on.
MoreSouthAmericans said:
I wonder if this is the same half-wit who insisted he was an 'ex-pat' and not an immigrant on TV before the vote.
The brtish embassies* organized meetings in different places throughout each country- I went to two here.
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We went to one before we left Spain. Not many of the trailer park expats turned up - it clashed with bingo night.
 
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Comment on the article.....

"On April 1he Spanish National Police and the Guardia Civil Military wILL run OPERACIÓN MONTANA to detain and move to the immigration detention at Aluche Madrid around 500 known people who they suspect are wanted in the UK and other EU countries and their fingerprints will be taken and sent on for checking . At the same Time the Social Security office will using policia local check bars owned by UK citizens for paperwork regarding their and their workers their status in Spain "
 
Lambchops said:
Thought the WA was the same europewide? You lived there and prove you've lived there then your rights including healthcare are preserved
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No. I got my residency, and i had to prove that I had private healthcare as part of the application.

The process was boring and bureaucratic, but the requirements weren't excessive. People who were turned down must have either not been able to show employment/income and/or insurance.

Or maybe they just couldn't be arsed filling the forms in and assumed that the Spanish would just be OK with that
 
Lankester Merrin said:
You had to have a job, or sufficient income to support yourself and private health insurance.


Lots would be working on the fiddle, lots others will be pensioners


Pretty much

Huge numbers have already left. We are facing the largest ever contraction in our labour market. Bad news for future economic growth
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just needed to be legally resident- a continuation of fom rights in country of residence without onward fom- you don't need any other proof, it's a right

This was known. How people react when it becomes a lived reality is another question but this was all forecast in 2016
 
Lankester Merrin said:
No. I got my residency, and i had to prove that I had private healthcare as part of the application.

The process was boring and bureaucratic, but the requirements weren't excessive. People who were turned down must have either not been able to show employment/income and/or insurance.

Or maybe they just couldn't be arsed filling the forms in and assumed that the Spanish would just be OK with that
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Nice one on the residency I know it was taking a while.

Only advice we were given was make sure you've got at least temp residency by the end of the year and your rights were maintained - I know oldies needed the S1 form but that's all I've seen mentioned.
 
JonJon said:
They're not 'chucking you out' for fun mate. You voted to make yourself an illegal immigrant and the Spanish authorities have to act accordingly now that you've won that status.

Hai voluta la biciletta? Adresso Pedala.

Italian, not Spanish, but I still think it applies.
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This is exactly it like.

Been reading people banging on about being caught up in "new rules", no lads, these have been the rules for forever, we've just opted ourselves (or yourselves) into them.
 
Monty Pigeon said:
Would love to have stayed, but even before Brexit there were complications due to me being freelance. I'd have had to pay tax in advance - not really viable when my earnings tend to be in bursts, sometimes with months of nothing in between. But also, there are other places to experience. Pandemic apart, our aim is now to spend 3-6 months in different places, then move on.


We went to one before we left Spain. Not many of the trailer park expats turned up - it clashed with bingo night.
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It was Horrific, the first one was mainly pensioners trying to work out what was happening with their income (not great after 2023) and a load of questions the rep couldn't answer. He said 'what we know is that we are leaving the EU...' in answer to almost every question and that we should keep checking a website.
The second one was more informative since it was after the WA was signed
 
MoreSouthAmericans said:
It was Horrific, the first one was mainly pensioners trying to work out what was happening with their income (not great after 2023) and a load of questions the rep couldn't answer. He said 'what we know is that we are leaving the EU...' in answer to almost every question and that we should keep checking a website.
The second one was more informative since it was after the WA was signed
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Ours was in early 2018, and yes, most of the questions couldn't be answered. But the one certainty was that it would no longer be viable to live under the radar. We knew people who'd been there 30 years and still didn't have an NIE number. So many basic aspects of daily life require one - including receiving a signed-for parcel from Amazon.
 

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