Are you thinking of moving to Spain after Brexit? If yes, this is your article, but it’s only for British citizens.
Regarding Spanish residency for non-EU citizens, please click on the options below:
- Are you from the United Kingdom? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from the UK
- Are you from the USA? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from the USA
- Are you from Canada? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from Canada
- Are you from South Africa? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from South Africa
- Are you from Australia? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from Australia
Or perhaps you would like to know more about:
The 2021 definitive Spain visa guide and types of Spanish visas for non-European Union citizens
Spanish residency for non-EU citizens married/family members of EU citizens
Are you ready to become a citizen of Spain? Please read my article Spanish citizenship
They are part of our lives:
Brexit.
Deadlines.
Moving to Spain before Brexit.
The transition period.
Moving to Spain after Brexit.
Confusion.
TIE card.
The “I have been told”.
The “I have heard”.
The “I have read”.
Conflicting information everywhere.
TV.
Newspapers.
The Internet.
Chaos.
Fear.
Tax implications when moving to Spain.
Spanish property.
But your real first step is called “Spanish residency”.
So, the big question here is: have you applied for Spanish residency yet?
We are at decision point
This has been going on since June 2016.
The First deadline was 29 March 2019.
The Second deadline was 31 October 2019.
The Third deadline was 31 January 2020 (the official day when the UK left the EU).
The Fourth deadline was 31 December 2020, the transition period.
Beyond 13/12/2020… everything is a total mystery.
But it seems that things are changing.
New requirements will be implemented.
Applying for residency will not be as easy as it is now for British citizens (it could be similar to applying for a Spanish non-lucrative visa).
There are some official rumours already of a new ID card exclusively for British citizens.
Even if it’s the usual residency card for non-EU citizens (TIE – Tarjeta de Identificación de Extranjeros)…
Now is the time.
Overthinking will lead to analysis paralysis.
Decision postponed.
Delayed action.
Overthinking.
The transition period coming to an end.
Stress.
Anxiety.
Month after month.
Losing opportunity.
Overthinking.
Should I…?
Must I…?
What if…?
Three…
Two…
One…
Game over.
About free advice on the Internet
Most people spend an average of 50-100 hours reading forums and Facebook groups, just to get more confused with conflicting information.
Many of those people will do whatever an anonymous person said just because it came from a familiar name from a Facebook group that has a lot of members.
Many people speaking about something = right information?
Nope.
I see it almost daily on emails I receive:
“I have read on whatever forum…”
“I have been told on Facebook…”
Wrong information about moving to Spain after Brexit.
Always the same story.
Then we have the smiley bloggers…
Many people will do whatever a smiley blogger advises in his personal blog, full of personal experiences (not professional).
It’s good information for entertainment, but not to pack your life and move to Spain following their free advice.
The usual outcome?
- Wasting time (and not getting Spanish residency)
- Spending money on cheap services (and not getting Spanish residency)
- Hiring finally a professional to have Spanish residency
It is what it is.
Free advice can cost twice (three, four, five, six times) as much.
You might be wondering: how do you know so much about that David?
Because it’s the constant since I started helping EU and non-EU citizens back in 2010.
Because I’m a member of a few of those forums and groups, and I see the wrong advice all the time about moving to Spain after Brexit.
Because many of my clients come to me after following incorrect free advice.
What I am telling you is not rocket science.
It’s pure experience.
It’s the mother of everything: the real professional experience (click here to visit my Hall of Happy Clients ?).
The 3 variables before moving to Spain after Brexit
You will not read this at any blog, forum or Facebook group because of… the mother of everything, the real professional experience.
A successful Spanish residency application has three variables:
Variable #1 – The 17 regions
There are 17 regions in Spain + 2 autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla).
Regions are divided into provinces (50 total all over Spain).
There are numerous police stations and foreign affairs offices within each province.
And guess what…
Variable #2: The group
Do you think everybody applies the same way?
That’s the wrong perception you will have after reading a bunch of articles and stories on the Internet.
Here are the main groups:
- State pension
- Private pension
- Own financial resources (savings, investments)
- Worker
- Business
- Self-employed
All of them have their little differences, especially…
Variable #3 – The requirements
Correct!
Depending on the region, and the group, the requirements vary greatly (click here to read the 3 essential requirements to apply for residency).
(Moving to Spain after Brexit could get this hard)
No more analysis paralysis: Are you ready to jump?
I wrote an article about Brexit using the epic fight between Mohamad Ali and George Foreman in 1974 as an analogy (click here to read it).
Boxers get tired and slower as the fight progresses.
When a boxer punches another, for a fraction, he lets his guard down.
Tiredness + slowness = opportunity.
That’s the moment to counterattack.
There is nothing you can do about Brexit. It’s real. The changes are happening.
But…
Brexit has opened and created the opportunity to apply for residency before the big changes… and the opportunity has been there since 2016 (yeah, four years).
Brexit has got his guard down.
Brexit is exhausted.
But would you jump with the wrong parachute?
I wrote another article about Brexit using the analogy of jumping of a plane using the parachute prepared by a jumpmaster or a complete anonymous person (click here to read the article).
The moral of the story:
- In the forums, you are getting advice based on personal experiences, from people who did their residency at a certain Spanish region, certain group, perhaps years ago (outdated information), when things were totally different.
- Anonymous and non-professional smiley bloggers are also sharing personal experiences.
- Besides your real friends, the rest of people on Facebook are not your friends (despite Facebook insists in calling them “friends”).
And…
My recommendation: stop reading about Brexit. Otherwise, here is the outcome: paralysis analysis.
Overthinking will freeze you.
The Spanish dream will vanish due to paralysis analysis.
All you need is the right advice from the right professional before you move to Spain.
Unless you are going to write a bestseller about Brexit, you won’t be able to do much with this information.
Take action instead before moving to Spain after Brexit is more difficult.
The time has come, you are moving to Spain after Brexit, now, during the transition period.
I will see you in Spain
(No more paralysis analysis… Spain is waiting for you at the other side)
Are you ready to move to Spain?
You are either from an EU or non-EU country… and chances are you don’t know where to start.
But, good news, we are relocation specialists
Here is the starting point.
Please click / tap on the image below:
Coverage areas
Alicante Province
Costa Blanca: These are my usual in-person coverage areas in Costa Blanca Spain, Altea, Calpe, Orihuela Costa, Guardamar, Javea, Moraira, Alicante, La Marina, Denia, Pilar de la Horadada, Benidorm, El Campello, Santa Pola, and, of course, Torrevieja; as well as other towns near Alicante.
Inland Alicante province: Orihuela, Elche, Pinoso, Almoradi, Alcoy, Orba, Rojales, Crevillente, Los Montesinos, San Miguel de Salinas, Benijofar, Algorfa,
Murcia Province
Costa Cálida: including Costa Calida Spain: San Pedro del Pinatar, Los Alcazares, Santiago de la Rivera, , San Javier, Mazarron, Aguilas.
Cities and towns in Murcia province:
Cartagena, Yecla, Sucina, Totana, Alhama, Molina de Segura, Fortuna, Murcia city.
Other areas in Spain
I have collaborators almost everywhere all over Spain, so no worries, I can assist you anywhere you are in Spain, in cities such as: Zaragoza, Vitoria, Bilbao, Albacete, Almería, Logroño, Avila, Badajoz, Caceres, Majorca, Zamora, Barcelona, Burgos, Oviedo, Cadiz, Santander, Castellon, Pontevedra, Ciudad Real, Cordoba, Cuenca, Gerona, Granada, Guadalajara, San Sebastian, Huelva, Huesca, Jaen, Navarra, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gijon, Leon, Lleida, Lugo, Madrid, Malaga, Orense, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Sevilla, Soria, Tarragona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Teruel, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid.