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BREXIT

The ultimate No-Deal Brexit checklist for Brits in Spain

We don't yet know what will happen when the October 31st Brexit deadline arrives. But whatever the scenario, it's best to be prepared.

Published: 31 July 2019 10:12 CEST
Updated: 28 August 2019 10:12 CEST
The ultimate No-Deal Brexit checklist for Brits in Spain
Photo: zerbor/Depositphotos

Maybe Prime Minister Boris Johnson will succeed in negotiating a new withdrawal agreement maintaining European citizens rights. Maybe Britain will crash out of the EU and chaos will ensue. Maybe, Brexit will be cancelled all together. 

The good news is that Spain is prepared for a No Deal scenario and has made contingency plans to outline the rights of Britons resident in Spain.

READ MORE: Healthcare in Spain after Brexit: What you need to know

These were brought into law in a Royal Decree in March and guarantee that Brits legally here on Brexit date will be offered new permanent residency papers.

Just make sure you have all the paperwork you need and are prepared for whatever comes next.

Here's our 12-point check list with the help of British in Europe, which campaigns for the rights of British citizens in the EU.

1.  Make sure that you’re legally resident in your host country.

This is the ONE thing that all Brits living in Spain should make sure they do and has been repeated incessantly by British Embassy and consular staff in the run up to Brexit.

This will provide evidence the date of your arrival in your host country and provides proof that you were legally resident on October 31st 2019, when Britain exits the EU.

This will streamline the process when it comes to applying for whatever residency arrangement is decided after Brexit, whether there is a Withdrawal Agreement or dreaded No Deal.

READ MORE: This is the ONE thing Brits in Spain need to do ahead of Brexit


If you don't have either the A4 green piece of paper or the credit card sized certificate then you may not be officially registered.

2. Register with Hacienda

Make sure that you’ve submitted income and other tax returns if you’ve been there long enough to do so (even if all your income comes from the UK).

3. Check your healthcare


Photo: everythingposs/Depositphotos

Make sure that you are registered with Spanish social security and that you have a health card. Your rights may change if there is a no-deal Brexit and the Spanish and UK authorities have vowed to strike a reciprocal agreement so will easier to prove that you were entitled to it if you are already in the system.

If you have health insurance, keep it updated and see if you can guarantee your current rate will be maintained for at least the next year. Premiums might well go up for Brits after Brexit.

READ ALSO: British Embassy ‘reassures’ Brits in Spain over healthcare post-Brexit

4. Exchange your British driving licence for a Spanish one

If you’re still using a UK driving licence, apply to change it for a Spanish one as soon as possible because on October 31st 2019 the EU rules under which UK licences are recognised in the EU27 will lapse if there is no deal. 

In the worst case scenario, you could be required to sit a Spanish driving test.

READ MORE Exchanging your British driving licence for a Spanish one: What you need to know

5. Check your passport


Photo: Bellphotography423/Depositphotos

You’ll need to comply with different rules to enter and travel around the Schengen area post Brexit although we don’t yet know what they might be.

There are two important issues that may affect your right to travel or to live here legally after exit, so it’s really important to start thinking about this now.

  • Firstly, Schengen Border Code rules mean that existing passports which were renewed early and therefore have over 10 years validity will no longer be valid until the expiry date written on the passport, but will be limited to the 10 years immediately after their issue date. For example, if your passport was renewed (under the old rules) 6 months before its expiry date, it would show a valid period of 10 years and 6 months. After 29 March 2019, you will effectively ‘lose’ the last 6 months validity, as third country nationals’ passports must have been issued within the last 10 years. 
  • Secondly, your passport must have at least 6 months’ validity on arrival, after discounting the period above. More details HERE
  • Note: There have been reports that validity may affect you even if you don’t travel – with some speculation that to remain a legal resident in your host country you may need to make sure that the issue date on your passport is later than October 31 2009. The British Embassy in Madrid said they were not aware of this issue.

We don’t yet know what rights, if any, we will have to cross the border to or from any EU27 country if there is No Deal, but dealing with these two issues now is a sensible precaution.

6. Get the paperwork ready

Make a dossier as if you’re applying for a proof of residence or permanent residence document.

The following is advice from British in Europe:

  • Collate all your income, property and other tax returns and notifications since your arrival. You may need them to prove the length of your residence.
  • Put together a file of utility bills for at least 10 years if you can. This will prove your continued residence.
  • If your name is not on the income and property tax bills for your household or on any utility bills, get it added now. For anyone who has changed their name through marriage or otherwise: make sure that the name on bills, bank statements, pension statements, payslips etc. matches the name on your passport if possible.
  • Put together a file of bank statements, wage slips (if employed) or income and other tax declarations (if self-employed), proof of health cover and pension payments and/or pension statements for the last 5 years if you’ve lived in your host country that long. Longer is even better – 10 years is best. You may need these to prove the stability, sufficiency and regularity of your resources.

7. Prepare financially


Photo: JoaquinCorbilan/Depositphotos

The following is particularly relevant to those who derive their income or have savings in the UK in sterling, says British in Europe.

  • If you have bank accounts, savings or investments in the UK, consider moving them to your host country now. Sterling may drop suddenly in the case of a no-deal exit; there may also be temporary problems moving money in and out of the EU. If most of your savings and income are in the UK, try and make sure you have access to enough cash in euros to see you through two or three months, especially if your income is transferred monthly.
  • If you have a personal pension in the UK (this doesn’t apply to state or public service/occupational pensions) and have not yet retired, think about getting advice about how to deal with this and cashing it in if you’re old enough, or moving it. There may be issues with the rights of UK insurers/financial services providers to operate in the EU without having a formal presence there after Brexit and these could cause problems e.g. with insurers making payments to those living outside the UK. 
  • BASICALLY: Ask your insurer/private pension company in the UK what plans they have put in place for post-Brexit scenarios and whether you need to do anything to prepare. 

8.. Put in place contingency plans to secure your income and minimise your expenses.

Photo: andreypopov/Depositphotos

The following advice is from British in Europe:

  • This applies particularly if the bulk of your income is in sterling, which may take a serious hit after a no-deal exit. Create a personal financial contingency plan. Look at ways you can cut your spending temporarily, and how you could create additional income, particularly in euros. Get any potentially expensive dental, optical and hearing work done now, in case you have to reduce the cover on your private health insurance (if you have one)!
  • If you have a business that relies on attracting people from the UK, think about changing your client base. If there is a no-deal Brexit, people may not want to travel to the EU next year and you’ll need to find new clients in the EU 27 if you’re to survive financially. Make sure you have a website in the language of your host country, if you haven’t already, and that you begin to advertise NOW to attract EU27 customers.
  • If you have a business that relies solely or partly on UK customers/clients, put contingency plans in place now to deal with potential issues with VAT, excise, billing, professional insurance cover, etc.

9. Prepare for applying for long-term residence and think about citizenship.

If you have lived here for more than five years you can apply for permanent residency and if you have been a resident for ten years, you are eligible for citizenship, although you have to pass a language and citizenship test.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about getting Spanish citizenship 

10. Top up your medication before October 31st 2019.


Photo: ginasanders/Depositphotos

If you currently rely on an S1 form for access to the local health service and you need regular medication, think about making sure you have a good supply of it on October 31st 2019 – if the worst happens and the reciprocal health care system stops on that date it might take several weeks to get an alternative system up and running and there may be short term chaos. Making sure that you have the permitted 3 months of long-term medication would mean that you’d avoid having to pay full whack for your meds while the situation was resolved.

11. Get your professional qualifications recognised now.


Photo: alphababy/Depositphotos

The European Commission has said that, whatever the outcome of the negotiations, Brexit does not affect decisions made pre-Brexit by EU27 countries recognising UK qualifications under the general EU directive on the recognition of professional qualifications (Directive 2005/36/EC).  For details of which qualifications are covered see HERE

So if you have a UK qualification covered by that Directive and you need to be able to use it, apply to get it recognised before October 31st 2019.

12. Make sure that you’re in your host country on 31st October 2019.

This is probably not the best time to make a family visit to the UK! Transport could be chaotic, with no agreements on air or other travel between the UK and EU.

Ideally it would be best to be in your host country on those dates but if not possible, try to be somewhere in the Schengen zone: https://www.etiaseurope.eu/schengen-countries/.

13. Keep informed

Make regular check-ins to The Local Spain for updates about how Brexit might affect UK nationals. Become a member and sign up to our newsletter for updates straight to your inbox.

FCO website Living in Spain HERE and their Facebook page HERE

Spanish government dedicated Brexit information page HERE

Keep in touch via British in Europe via their website.

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BREXIT

REVEALED: Thousands of Britons still moving to EU countries despite Brexit

More than 42,000 British citizens moved to EU countries in 2023, with the largest groups recorded in Spain, France and Germany, according to data published recently by the EU statistical office Eurostat.

Published: 20 September 2024 16:44 CEST
REVEALED: Thousands of Britons still moving to EU countries despite Brexit

The data refers to the number of first-time residence permits being issued last year.

It’s defined as “any authorisation issued by the authorities of an EU country allowing a third-country national (non-EU citizen) to stay legally on its territory”.

Based on information provided by national authorities to the EU statistical office, 42,029 first-time residence permits were issued to UK citizens in 2023, a slight drop compared to the 45,794 in 2022.

The largest proportion of these permits were issued for employment reasons(13,423), followed by family reunions (11,074), “other reasons” (10,961), and then education (6,571). “Other reasons” include any option not covered by the other three, from retirement to international protection.

Spain and France the most popular

Spain is the country that issued the largest number of new residence permits to UK citizens (10,166), but only 1,266 were because of jobs. Most of the first-time permits (3,768) were issued for ‘other reasons’, followed by family (3,311) and education purposes (1,821).

The recent news that a British football coach was denied a dream move to Real Madrid due to work permit rules showed that Britons can’t move to Spain so easily after Brexit especially for employment reasons.

The coach found out the hard way that getting a work permit to live in Spain is now quite tricky, especially for young Brits, who will need to prove that they’re highly skilled while employers must demonstrate that there are no other suitable candidates.

To give some perspective, although the data is not exactly comparable, Eurostat’s immigration data show that some 23,900 British citizens moved to Spain alone in 2018, and over 33,900 in 2019 – so prior to Brexit.

READ ALSO: The reasons why Brits are moving to Spain post-Brexit

France followed, with 8,114 first residence permits granted to UK nationals (although France’s Interior Ministry released figures earlier this year that revealed a slightly higher number of Brits – 9,261 – had been given residency permits in 2023).

The largest proportion of permits received by Brits in France was for employment reasons (3,649), coming before education (1,798), other reasons (1,666) and family reunions (1,001).

READ ALSO: Thousands of Brits move to France despite post-Brexit hurdles

Germany reported 4,584 first residence permits to UK citizens in 2023, of which 1,765 for work, 1,468 for other reasons, 882 for family reunions and 469 for education.

READ ALSO: The reasons Brits are moving to Germany post-Brexit

The other two most popular countries for British nationals in 2023 were the Netherlands (3,750 first residence permits of which 1,713 for employment) and Portugal (2,565 of which 1,144 for other reasons).

Italy reported 2,177 first residence permits for UK citizens, of which 1,124 for other reasons 621 to join family, 278 for employment and 154 for education.

For Denmark, the total was 1,852, but the majority (1,264) were for work purposes, 280 to join family, 243 for education and 65 other reasons.

Sweden issued 1,632 first residence permits to British nationals, mostly for family reasons (710), followed by employment (474), education (247), and other reasons (201).

Austria reported 529 first residence permits to UK citizens, of which 201 for employment, 191 for family reasons, 70 for education, and 67 for other purposes.

Outside of the EU, but part of the free movement area, Norway registered 1,736 new residence permits to UK nationals, of which 1,033 for employment, 366 to join family, 146 for education, and 201 for other reasons.

In Norway, Britons were the third nationality for first residence permits and in Bulgaria the fourth, although the number of UK citizens moving to Central and Eastern Europe is much lower than in Western Europe.

The Eurostat database does not yet include 2023 data for Switzerland.

Data on first-time residence permits gives a general indication on the number of people who moved to EU countries in a given year, although Eurostat told The Local that “the date of issuance of a permit does not necessarily mean the physical movement of the person on that date, as non-EU citizens might have already temporarily resided on the basis of e.g. short stay visa” or due to irregular stays.

More than 3.7 million first residence permits

In total, in 2023 EU countries reported the granting of more than 3.7 million first residence permits, a 4.7 percent increase compared to 2022, and the highest number ever recorded.

Employment remained the main reason (1.3 million or 33.8%), followed by family (986,000 or 26.4% of the total), other purposes (956,000 or 25.6%) and education (185,900 or 14.3%). The increase compared to 2022 was due to permits issued for education, family reunification and other reasons, while those for employment slightly declined.

The top 10 nationalities receiving these permits were Ukraine, Belarus, India, Morocco, Syria, Türkiye, Russia, China, Brazil and Afghanistan.

Poland issued the largest number of first residence permits in the EU (642,789), followed by Germany (586,144), Spain (548,697), Italy (389,542) and France (335,074).

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