What does Brexit mean for UK citizens residing in Spain?
Here is a summary of the main points that you should be interested in.
According to Lucía Abellán (El País), by September 2019, there were almost 366,000 Britons officially residing in Spain. This means that there is an important amount of people who are going to be affected by Brexit. Currently, Spain and Britain governments are working hard to reach a Withdrawal agreement. It would be really reassuring if the two parties were able to do this in the end.
However, as Boris Johnson, backed up by British citizens’ support, is determined to accomplish Brexit by the end of January 2020, it does not seem likely. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned that the Brexit transition deadline leaves very little time to reach trade agreements (whereas trade deals are a priority). This means that agreements on other points would possibly be put aside to be processed later still.
The distressing outcome is “hard Brexit”. If the two parties don’t reach an agreement, British citizens will have to pay the price. However, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in his open letter (October 2019) to UK citizens residing in Spain, assures that they will be able to continue living, working, studying and accessing healthcare in Spain. The transition period will last until the end of 2020. Both Spanish and British governments’ official websites address the issue in a lot of detail.
The main points to make sure you are covered:
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Don’t forget to register for residency (you will have until 30th of June 2021 to submit your application (book an appointment here))
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Check your healthcare cover and/or register for healthcare in Spain
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Verify your passport validity
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Exchange your driving license for a Spanish one. Here, the deadline to book an appointment with the DGT is the 31st of January 2020.
(you can do it in Clínica La Siesta. Call us to book an appointment today: +34 966 784 195)
