By Claire Gordon • Published: 17 Oct 2021 • 17:41
Image: Pixabay
Expats are getting seriously annoyed at the rising rate of rejections occurring during the post-Brexit Spanish residency application process. Recent statistics show 2,400 applications were rejected so far this year. The original deadline to apply and still be covered under the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU was December 31, 2020. Many expats were based in Spain at the end of the year but for some of them the time ran out. However, those who consider they are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement may still apply.
For those not covered by the agreement who are looking to make a fresh application for residency, the process must begin in England, through the Spanish Consulate. But according to Diego Echavarria, a legal expert speaking to The Express, The Consulate is being very strict, “turning down a lot of applications for stupid reasons.” He says English citizens now have the entry requirements of other countries not in The EU, such as Asia or Africa, and these are “very tough to achieve.”
The residency deadline was widely reported in expat newspapers, especially in the Costa Del Sol region where Diego is based. However, some Britons did not think the ramifications would be so big. If you can prove that you resided in the country before the deadline there is still an opportunity to apply, but the mountain of paperwork is more than some people can acquire.
Diego said some applications have been turned down for reasons he considers “nonsense”.
“We have cases that have been turned down for nonsense. We have been requested to show that the person had property here or was renting here and they have requested a copy of the letting contract and the supermarket bill etc. “But they didn’t believe the person was in Spain, so it was turned down. They’ve appealed and been rejected again.”
He hopes the two countries can reach an agreement on residence permits so that Spain can welcome Britons fully again.
He said: “Spain is a touristic country, it’s a big part of the economy. At the end of the day, the Brits are spending their pension here.”
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Brexit means… brexit?
I mean… After Brexit they are not expats anymore. They are inmigrants now. So they should be treated as such.
yah, you don’t understand what those words mean. Expat has nothing to do with being EU vs non-EU.
Expats is a nice way to refer to rich immigrants who immigrated mostly for fun/adventure
For a Brit, “expat” is (1) a Brit regardless of income or wealth – applies to a junky in Goa, a retired British Rail conductor in Javea or the CEO of British Petroleum US… for as long as they are Brits (2) international managers from Western countries on a temporary secondment or retired in Monaco. A “migrant” is everyone else.
Someone who understand the hypocresy of brits when they are “expats” vs when you are an “inmigrant”, it is sad but for many of them it’s a slap of reality
But their pension is shit. British go home!
Enjoy Brexit!
Play bitch games….
“He says English citizens now have the entry requirements of other countries not in The EU”
Well, duh! The UK is not in the EU now – what are they complaining about?
I can only laugh at these donkeys. You reap what you sow
<>
Because the UK is not in the EU anymore, duh. Also, Asia and Africa aren’t countries.
Are these people from the same UK that recently detained Italian au pairs in prison cells for several days before deporting them?
They should be pleased Spain does not apply equal treatment.
So, let me get this straight. UK votes to secede from the EU. EU now treats UK as non-EU member. People from UK say this is “nonsense”?
You misspelled immigrant repeatedly. What’s an expat?
Like a cowpat but more sunburnt
UK is welcome to vote and ask to join the EU again, the EU will decide whether to let them in or not
“But this isn’t the brexit we voted for, because we were too stupid to understand what it meant!”
“At the end of the day, the Brits are spending their pension here.”
Yeah right… In businesses owned by British,enjoying Spanish healthcare having never paid for it.
True. We don’t want them here, it should be clear by now.
Your comment re healthcare is inaccurate. I paid NI for 47 years, and when I retired to Spain the British government provided me with a form S1, which assures the Spanish healthcare system that they will be reimbursed for my care.
For me, at least 70% of my expenditure is with locally owned firms. It’s what I came here for. Can’t vouch for everyone else in this.
Still, I have friends who have been living here “under the radar” for 15+ years, paying no tax, driving their UK registered cars, some without MOT, and now getting upset because they are not finding it easy to get residence.
First part right, second part not, pensioners with S1`s are paid for by UK, non pensioners have to have private health policies.
Roy your ignorant rant about the British getting health care for nothing in Spain is totally wrong…the UK Government pays the Spanish government €4,500 for every British pensioner that has submitted a S1 …the UK government did this before the Brexit.. please get your facts correct next time you fancy a ignorant rant.
Bunch of hooligans lacking basic culture. Decent Brits holiday in the Cotswolds or Cornwall. It’s the white trash that, despite living abroad for years, didn’t even bother to pay taxes or learn the language.
With your coment you show you are no better than those you are rating about
If they want to live legally in Spain, they should follow the same procedures as any other immigrant.
The thing with “expats” is that many pensioners wanted to live in Spain under the radar, to avoid paying taxes in neither UK or Spain, So no wonder they’re having a hard time trying to demonstrate they actually lived there.
Also, many fail to understand that Spain has no problem welcoming pensioners that went legal since the very beginning.
Who Spain is not welcoming is those that didn’t want to pay taxes, went under the radar, but also wanted to use spanish health care system and other public services. It’s mostly those the ones that are being rejected.
Expats? You mean immigrants rights?
If you are white anglosaxon you are expat. If you don’t you are inmigrant… how curious…
PD: No, Spain does not survive either thanks to the pensions of english retirees or thanks to english low-cost tourists, that’s what you want to believe. Stop that nonsense
No use crying over spilt milk. I can only hope that a lot of the people whose application has been turned down voted pro-Breixt. For the rest, I am really sorry you need to live with more than half of your citizens being short-sighted morons. Try and organize yourselves and maybe you can get into the EU again in due time. Would you like some cream on that humble pie?
Expats finding out that after all they are only inmigrants in a foreign country
First of all, they are immigrants, not expats.
Second, they are being treated as non-EU citizens because they are non-EU citizens. That’s what Brexit means, doesn’t it?
Third, if they have been living in Spain and can prove it, their applications are being accepted. The cheaters, the ones who avoid paying taxes, are the ones being rejected. I’m sure that a Brexit voter, considering their ‘immigrants are coming to abuse our welfare state’ dialectics, can get on board with this, can’t they?
Expats = Inmigrants. Write with the corrects words, please. Also… Brexit means Brexit.
Extra extra “Furious immigrant doesn’t go back home”
“However, some Britons did not think”
This line explains the last five years of self punishment. Good riddance
This news is bad for the 16,141,241 (48.11%) people who voted remain. Some of those might be the ones suffering the consequences of the leave vote, like the bureaucratic struggles reported in this article. Some of those remain voters might be friendly retired folks rooted in Spain after years enjoying bearable weather. They do not deserve it. I despise some of the hatred comments towards British as whole. Do not get distracted with governments rhetoric. Do not get drawn to geopolitical fights that transcend individuals. Be more careful, for leave voters, stay and die in your island, for remain voters, I hope Spain continues being a friendly country for you.
Enjoy your vote!
No son rentables los britanicos que viven en españa . la gran mayoria son ancianos que viven de chupar de nuestra sanidad. gastan demasiado. que se vayan a sus paises y vivan alli. vienen ancianos solamente. los Españoles que van a reino unido van a estudiar o trabajar de camareros para aprender el idioma y son muy muy jovenes y no van a sus hospitales. van a trabajar. yo me alegro de que se vayan.
Brexit means brexit!
We don’t need more immigrants. Thank you very much.
Yop..what a ignorant statement to make… aren’t you part of the so called EU that has absolutely no internal border control…that allows people from all over the so called EU to wonder all over the so called EU like headless chickens with totally unregulated migration .
Well done EW for lifting a story from an utterly bias, pro BREXIT, far right-wing, fascist loving media source, The Express. Are you trying to enter the league of gutter press also? Keep going if so.
If I rent an apartment in UK, and I pay in the supermarket with my VISA, do I own the right to stay in England forever? Of course not. Why do expats think they have that right in Spain? They can demostrate they lived in Spain for several years, and that helps, but it’s not definitive.
Each comment is better than the last. I can’t stop laughing Brexit is Brexit, in both ways…
1.They are inmigrants 2. Most of them ilegal inmigrants as they refused to apply the residence in Spain (even as EU you must submit after 3/6 months. 3. They spend some mone in Spain, that is true. They waste our money in healthy care. 4. UK is welcome to come back to UE, this time better with Euro and international metric system.
British are terrible drivers, i am a cyclist and i really do not want them to drive anymore in my country unless they prove they can. I hope the goverment do something about this. Thanks.
British elders who abuse of the Spanish public health without paying taxes. Basically parasites.
Brexit means brexit.
You need to have more respect for your elders. I would assume that you are a racist The pensioners have to pay the Spanish government a tourist tax once a year. They do not abuse your health system. The N.H.S pay for all their pensioners in Spain. If they are not pensioners then they have to pay as a private patient.
Brits go home!
Plenty of people here seem to be unaware that the British government pays the health care costs of British pensioners who reside in Spain. Brits who work in Spain pay via their taxes. Other Brits require private health insurance in order to gain residency (as even EU citizens do if they’re self-sufficient applicants).
Congrats, you won. Brexit is brexit
Comments are closed.
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.