Anyone got any sympathy whatsoever?

We've got a prolific poster on here who is of that mindset, so ask him. He'll probably call you names though, while simultaneously claiming that everyone else on the BBS is abhorrent for calling people names and he will never stoop to that level, even though they're' not calling people names and he is.

 

Ignoring my British illegal immigrants post....as per usual.

 

In a word NO you reap what you sow.

 

The criteria for gaining legal residency in Spain up to December 31st 2020 was very simple. You had to have 6,000 euros in a bank account, (UK or Spanish, doesn't matter) and if you didn't work, a health insurance policy. These are anything from 60 euros a month to 100, depending on level of cover. If you had a legal job with a contract of employment, your employer paid your health cover. You also had to either own or be buying a home, or have a legal rental contract on a property.
Nothing too difficult as everyone had 4 and a half years to prepare, if they were "flying under the radar"
Also you only had to take a photocopy of your bank statement on that particular day, as part of your application. Many people borrowed it from friends etc, then paid it back immediately after being granted residency. The problem was that a lot of people did not bother to apply at all and worked and lived there hidden from the authorities.
Spain turned a blind eye to EU citizens who went over and into the black economy, paying no taxes, working cash in hand etc. Not just Brits, all EU citizens.
Then the UK left and immediately became just another country like the US, Canada, anywhere not EU, and that is a completely different set of rules.
And rigidly enforced. They're not getting at the Brits in particular, merely enforcing the laws around non-EU residencies.
The person in that report must be somewhat slow, to not realise or even bother to investigate the implications of his vote.
As has been said, turkeys and Christmas, but still on the farmyard theme, you can't educate pork.
And yes, Brexit is a disaster which will haunt this country for years to come, but at least the guy in the report can be content that he's taken back control

And he's back in Britain to enjoy his control...wonder what he'll do with it?

 

This is not about Brexit. This is about not declaring your intentions correctly. Similarly to if you moved to Brazil. If they have paid the correct tax, and registered themselves as permanent they are ok. If they dodged tax and have not been declaring residency, they should be deported. As they would from the UK. All Spain has done is tighten its rules, many countries were already like this.

You can still move to Spain or Italy if you want to... just follow the correct procedure! Guess what, you can even move to Brazil if you want to and follow procedures!

But Brexit, Turkeys, told you so, glee, etc....

 

Fair questions deserving a fair detailed response...
1 Yes, apart from having family (Daughter, Grand daughter, and Son- in -Law) and a UK bank account for Pensions to be paid and UK credit card for occasional (as if!) visits to the UK and buying presents in the UK for family etc) we made the decision to commit fully to life abroad with no intention (for better or worse) of returning to live in the UK
2 We have been through this before. I (we) no longer vote in either local or UK National elections apart from having a vote in any Govt decisions that may impact people living working abroad it does not make sense since your vote countsin the Constituency you last resided in or were registered to vote. It makes no sense in the same way someone moving to Cornwall from Barnsley can still vote in Barnsley by proxy or postal. Why should we have any right to influence the selection of an MP where we do not live?
Regarding the referendum, I have always been open about how and why I voted the way I did. I was not alone, I have a few friends here who voted the same way and some who voted remain. Notably the latter were mainly those with considerable assets in the UK and who seem to regard, (how can I put this respectfully?) how much money and property someone has accumulated over the years, as the sole mark of success. A few take pride avoiding (albeit .legally) in paying as little out in tax etc as possible , employing tax experts etc to do so. We have a modest property and not in the same income bracket as many we know but have sufficient resources and pensions to live without having to scrimp and save. I have never been driven by the desire to be wealthy. So, having lived here for a couple of years prior to the referendum I came to the conclusion that the 'benefits' of EU membership, whilst obviously beneficial in the short to medium term, given the way it was heading, would cease to be so and the UK long term would be better off leaving. Many on here disagree. Nevertheless it was my decision and I satnd by it. I voted, not for myself but for my families future. They voted the way they felt was right for them.
3 I voted in the full knowledge that, personally we would not benefit. On the contrary I fully expected (and it turned out to be the case) that we would be advesely affected. Since all our income is UK derived and all our expenditure is In Euros we took quite a hit when the exchange rate fell (albeit no more so than the 2008 crash when the same happened at the time when we had large bills to be paid for a major stage in the 8 year! house renovation plan ). Fortunately we had contingency built in, although some of the work I had to do myself rather than have the whole restoration completed by others.
It is ironic that I get pilloried by some on here for voting on the basis of genuine belief that in the long term the UK is better off out and even though I knew it would have an adverse impact on me and yet some people who voted (remain) purely through self interest (and we know some who did) are regarded as right and anyone else (like me) is an 'idiot' 'turkey voting for Christmas' racist, xenophobic etc etc. To re-iterate, at the time the relationship and status of the EU-UK relationship clearly implied REMAIN. The reason I voted leave was looking at how the EU was evolving. Living in the EU you soon realise the talk of 'Unity' is just that... talk. When things go bad, the unity fragments and National self interest and preservation take over (evidenced by what is happening with the vaccine -much unreported in the UK press)

Finally, I find it interesting how people who have never had any intention of moving or retiring abroad are those shouting loudest about someone like me 'gleefully??" voting to have having their rights taken away. Some seem to think when we were in the EU you could just rock up in a country and take up residence. This has never been the case. It takes time, commitment, perseverence and patience to up sticks and move abroad. YOu have top meet certain criteria and always have. Whilst true Brexit may have introduced a few more hurdles to overcome, it is nonsense to say that it has prevented anyone from chasing their dream. There are plenty of non EU expats /migrants from all over the World who have moved here before and since so unless the UK has been singled out the possibility still exists.

 

I’ve a cousin who decided to move to Spain to retire in Autumn of last year. By the end of December, she’d sold her house here, bought a house there and applied for and been granted residency.

So have I any sympathy for ‘illegal immigrants’ in Spain? When it’s so bloody easy to have played by the rules.

 

I have to disagree somewhat there Austiniho, though I do agree with the bulk of your post, but it IS about Brexit.
That's because if Brexit hadn't happened, people would still be flocking from the UK to Spain (and other EU countries) to work illegally, it's been happening for years
Benidorm was chock full of Brits working in bars and all manner of jobs and very many of them just got off a plane, and disappeared into that economy.
Spain has tightened it's rules because of Brexit
Rightly so you say that you can still move to Spain, though now the 31st December deadline has passed you need 26,000 euros in your account!
And full cover health plan
NIE number (Identification number for foreigners)
After 183 days residency, full fiscal residency and liability for tax
Empadronimiento (registration with the local town hall)
Biometric data given at the police station (fingerprints)
A police issued TIE card with your photo and residency number on it.

I can see why a lot of people will be or have already returned to the UK

 

I just cannot understand why anyone living on the continent would want to vote for Brexit, but there again I cannot understand why anyone who lives in Great Britain would vote for Brexit.

 

You'd think they'd be pleased as punch to be coming home, now that we've taken back control and that.

 

Yes i have nothing but sympathy for them. They made a mistake & now their lives are turned upside down. I'm a remoaner (& proud), but I don't see why you wouldn't have sympathy for them.
If you asked me about the politicians that fed them the lie ... then not so much (but I doubt they are affected in a negative way).

 

Apart from being from the EU what other criteria was there? (A genuine question not a dig).

I moved to the EU roughly 6 years ago and it was very straight forward and happened in a matter of days.

All I really needed to do when I arrived here was to sign up for a bank account and register my details for a tax code/social security number.

For full disclosure I did have a job already, but this wasn't something that was a required criteria for me being permitted to enter the country.

 

I moved from the EU on 31st December, without even going out of the front door. Happened in a second

 

Expected that from someone .

 

Fair enough TT.
But a few points.
1. I personally didn’t make my mind up 100% on Brexit. When it first reared its head. Listening to the benefits ( not aware of any yet) and cons. But I based it not on business. (I’m not clever enough to get involved in that side of it. only the basics) But on workers rights and the fact. Barnsley were worst on the list of funding from central government. Lots of regeneration has come from European coffers as one of the poorest regions in Europe. So in effect that is why I believe it should have only been a vote among residents of the uk. Obviously you don’t agree. That’s your prerogative.
2. As for Turkey’s voting for Xmas. It has never been about Brexit for me. It’s about how any working class individual can vote Tory. I struggle to get my head round that. And for that. I will use that phrase. We are a broken society where the thoughts of the individual override those of a social common goal. Which is the end of poverty.
3. It’s quite obvious how companies are treating workers with contempt. There is so much going on in the background. Hidden by Covid. Some Companies are taking advantage.
4.I’ve no doubt Covid has done more damage than the initial stages of Brexit. That outfall, has yet to be realised in full.

 

Didn't think ex pats living abroad could vote in the referendum, oh well every day is a school day, reading the article many forgot to get their paperwork in on time, tough luck tbh, can't fault their immigration policy though, well done Spain

 

Sorry.. not ignoring. See my subsequent post. I agree 100%. However I find It odd that those people who compared me to illegal economic migrants (not genuine asylum seekers I hasten to add) and even said there was no such thing as an illegal migranti calling me hypocritical are now accusing some Brits breaking the law albeit rightly of being just that

 

This just isn't true. When we were in the EU you could just rock up in a country and take up residence - I know plenty of people that did it. There were a few things to apply for once you got there, depending on the country, but we all had the right to live wherever we wanted. You could go over to Germany or Spain, rent a flat or stay with friends and find a job once you'd learned enough of the local language to get by.

Brexit hasn't "introduced a few more hurdles to overcome", it's fundamentally changed the situation. I know that you're fully in favour of "strong" immigration policies so maybe fully support the idea of people having to have highly-paid work already guaranteed before they're allowed to live in a country (?), but don't pretend that it's a minor matter that can be handwaved away. As somebody who has looked into emigration to various countries both pre- and post-Brexit, I can guarantee that it is not. You can think that this is a better system or not, but pretending that the rights we've lost are inconsequential is intellectually dishonest.

 

But Brexit means Brexit, or sumat.

 

Those that abided by the rules and had residency in an EU country didn't get to vote. My sister and her partner included, they have lived in Spain since the 1970s (Madrid whilst they were working and now in Lanjaron, Andalucia) and are now Spanish citizens. They never intended to become dual nationals as they were both proud of their British heritage but Brexit made up their minds and they may even give up their UK citizenship. They certainly will never return to the UK except for holidays now.

Those that kept their homes in the UK, renting them out for big money, didn't apply for residency and effectively pretended they still lived in the UK whilst happily "living the dream" on the Costa Del Sol did get to vote in the referendum. I'm guessing that a lot of them voted leave.