Official information for UK nationals moving to or living in Spain including guidance on residency, healthcare and more

Day 136 Spanish News Brexit Special! For those who still don’t realise The UK left the EU at 11 p.m. GMT on 31 January 2020. Deal or no deal the UK is out of the EU on the 1st January 2021. Just 58 days to go! So, what now for those living in Spain. Don’t panic, todays Spanish news will be tomorrow!

FROM UK GOV WEBSITE Official information for UK nationals moving to or living in Spain, including guidance on residency, healthcare, passports, and the Withdrawal Agreement. Visas and residency

Residency If you are legally resident in Spain before the transition period ends on 31 December 2020, you will be able to stay. You must register as a Spanish resident if you want to stay in Spain for more than 3 months. Children must also be registered with their own residency document. If you are living in Spain before 1 January 2021 and register as a resident after 6 July 2020, you will be issued with a biometric residence card called a Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE). This card will prove your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. If you registered as a resident before 6 July 2020, you will have a green A4 certificate or credit card-sized piece of paper from Extranjeria or the police. This is still a valid document and will prove your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, including after the transition period ends. You can exchange your paper residence document for the new TIE but you are not obliged to. The green paper residence certificate and the new biometric TIE card will continue to be equally valid in proving your residence status and rights in Spain. But, the Spanish government advises that the biometric card is more durable and may simplify some administrative processes. If you move to Spain after 31 December 2020, different immigration requirements will apply. We will update this page when further information is available.

Healthcare If you are living in Spain or move there permanently before 31 December 2020, you’ll have life-long healthcare rights in Spain as you do now, provided you remain resident. State healthcare: S1 If you live in Spain and receive an exportable UK pension, contribution-based Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or another exportable benefit, you may currently be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK. You will need to apply for a certificate of entitlement known as an S1 certificate.

Passports and travel The rules on travel will stay the same until the transition period ends on 31 December 2020. During this time you can continue to travel to countries in the Schengen area or elsewhere in the EU with your UK passport. Check your passport is valid for travel before you book your trip. Your passport should be valid for the proposed duration of your stay. You can apply for or renew your British passport from Spain.

Passports from 1 January 2021 Check your passport is valid for travel before you book your trip. From 1 January 2021, you must have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland). This requirement does not apply if you are entering or transiting to Spain, and you are in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement. If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed. You will need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport. As a non-EEA national, different border checks will apply when travelling to other EU or Schengen area countries. You may need to show a return or onward ticket and that you have enough money for your stay. You may also have to use separate lanes from EU, EEA and Swiss citizens when queueing. Your passport may be stamped for visits to these countries.

Entry requirements From 1 January 2021, you will be able to travel to other Schengen area countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa for purposes such as tourism. To stay for longer, to work or study, or for business travel, you will need to meet the entry requirements set out by the country to which you are travelling. This could mean applying for a visa or work permit. You may also need to get a visa if your visit would take you over the 90 days in 180 days limit. Periods of stay authorised under a visa or permit will not count against the 90-day limit. Travel to the UK and Ireland will not change.

Different rules will apply to EU countries that are not part of the Schengen Area. Check each country’s travel advice page for information on entry requirements.

Driving in Spain Driving licence rules will stay the same until 31 December 2020.

If you are resident in Spain, exchange your UK licence for a Spanish one. If you do this before 31 December 2020 you will not need to take a driving test. You will need a valid residence document to exchange your licence. To start the exchange process, book an appointment with the Spanish Traffic Authority (DGT) online or by calling 060 (Spanish language only). You can request an appointment to exchange your driving licence in a different province to the one you live in.

Make sure you request the correct appointment option:

• if your licence has expired or is due to expire in the next few months, you should choose ‘renovación’

• if you have lost your licence or it has been stolen you should choose ‘sustitución’

• for all other instances choose ‘canje’

• You should get a photocopy of your UK licence certified by a notary prior to initiating this process in case there are any delays. You will have to hand over your UK licence to the Spanish Traffic Authority when applying to exchange it for a Spanish one.

You will be issued a temporary driving permit (“Autorización temporal para conducir”) to use until your Spanish licence is processed. This document is only recognised by traffic authorities in Spain and is not a valid document in any other country. You can instruct a ‘gestor’ to carry out this exchange process on your behalf if you wish. These rules may change from 1 January 2021. We will update this guidance once more information is available.

Driving in the UK with a Spanish licence Until the end of the transition period, you can still use your Spanish licence in the UK for short visits or exchange it for a UK licence without taking a test. These rules may change from 1 January 2021. We will update this page once more information is available.

Lost, stolen or expired UK licences If you live in Spain and your UK driving licence is lost, or stolen, or if it expires, you will not be able to renew it with the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). You will need to apply to the DVLA for a ‘certificate of entitlement’ in Spanish to be able to apply for a Spanish driving licence.

Working in Spain If you are resident in Spain on or before 31 December 2020, your right to work will stay the same, as long as you remain resident in Spain.

Read our guidance on working in an EU country.

To apply for a job, you may need to provide a:

• UK criminal records certificate

• Spanish criminal records certificate (in Spanish) (Certificado de Antecedentes Penales)

• certificate from the Spanish sex offenders registry (in Spanish) (Certificado de Delitos de Naturaleza Sexual) to work with children

• record of your employment history in Spain from Seguridad Social (a Vida Laboral certificate)

Pensions

You will need to tell the UK government offices that deal with your benefits, pension and tax if you are moving or retiring abroad. If you retire in Spain, you can claim:

• your UK State Pension or new UK State Pension

• your Spanish and UK State Pension from the Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social if you worked in Spain

• pensions from working in other EU countries

• Life Certificates for UK State Pensions

If you get a life certificate from the UK Pension Service, you need to respond as soon as possible. Your payments may be suspended if you don’t.

Pensions after 31 December 2020 There will be no changes before 31 December 2020 to the rules on claiming the UK State Pension in the EU, EEA or Switzerland as a result of the UK leaving the EU. If you are living in the EU, EEA or Switzerland by 31 December 2020 you will get your UK State Pension uprated every year for as long as you continue to live there. This will happen even if you start claiming your pension on or after 1 January 2021, as long as you meet the qualifying conditions explained in the new State Pension guidance. If you are living in Spain by 31 December 2020, you will be able to count future social security contributions towards meeting the qualifying conditions for your UK State Pension.

If you work and pay social security contributions in Spain, you will still be able to add your UK social security contributions towards your Spanish pension. This will happen even if you claim your pension after 31 December 2020. If you are considering moving to Spain on or after 1 January 2021 and you are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, the rules depend on negotiations with the EU and may change. Check our guidance on benefits and pensions in the EU. You can continue to receive your UK State Pension if you live in the EU, EEA or Switzerland and you can still claim your UK State Pension.

Banking Most people living in Europe should not see any change to their banking after 31 December 2020. Your bank or finance provider should contact you if they need to make any changes to your product or the way they provide it. If you have any concerns about whether you might be affected, contact your provider or seek independent financial advice.

Returning to the UK Tell the UK and Spanish authorities if you are returning to the UK permanently. To help prove you are now living in the UK, you must deregister with your:

• local town hall (padrón)

• the Spanish National Police (Residencia)

• your local health centre

Check if your tax status will change if you return to the UK.

If you get UK State Pension or benefits payments, you must tell the International Pension Centre and the Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social.

If you get healthcare in Spain through the S1 form, you must contact the Overseas Healthcare Team on +44 (0)191 218 1999 or Seguridad Social to make sure your S1 is cancelled at the right time.

Read the guidance on returning to the UK permanently which includes information on, amongst other things, tax, access to services and bringing family members.

RECAP All of the above is official info found on the https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain website. Its now the 4th Of November those wanting to go from NIE to TIE , I honestly think you are out of luck for this year. There are just no appointments in Alicante! This is also the case for people who have NIE and need to change your driving licences to Spanish, if you don’t have a residencia you can’t change your driving licence. Not once has a brit been allowed to travel through Europe without a passport! But never fear you are all still EUROPEANS , that cant be taken away!