British homeowners in Spain can still apply for a Golden Visa and potentially avoid needing a fresh €500,000 – this is how

British homeowners in Spain can still apply for a Golden Visa and potentially avoid needing a fresh €500,000 – this is how

SPANISH prime minister Pedro Sanchez recently announced his intention to cancel the Golden Visa scheme.  The Socialist PSOE leader said the move would stop speculation of the property market. The programme grants any foreigner residency if they buy a home worth €500,000 or more.  The law was approved in 2012 in the middle of a recession following the real estate crash in 2010. Its main aim was to reactivate the Spanish property market and attract foreign investors to buy all the real estate portfolio left with the banks, especially in those days when prices were extremely low and economies were suffering across the EU. During its first years, the main […]

Spain rejects 2,000 residency applications after Brexit – these are the most common reasons

Spain rejects 2,000 residency applications after Brexit – these are the most common reasons

Many Britons wish to retire in the Mediterranean country, looking for sun, warm weather and delicious food. This year, however, many UK nationals who applied for Spanish residency under the Withdrawal Agreement had their applications rejected. Many even received notices saying they had to leave the country within 15 days or they could be classified as illegal. Why? According to recent data by the EU’s Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights, Spanish authorities received 168,700 applications for residency in September 2021. Out of these, 141,700 have now been concluded. According to the report, 81,200 applications were approved for permanent residence, meaning it was granted to those Britons who had been living in Spain […]

Residency in Spain for UK nationals: Can a lawyer fix application problems and speed up the process?

Residency in Spain for UK nationals: Can a lawyer fix application problems and speed up the process?

Diego Echavarria of Fairway Lawyers in Marbella has recently been interviewed by The Local Spain after several of their British readers have contacted them to say they’re having problems getting their residency in Spain, and questioning why there are so many delays. The reporter spoke to several lawyers to find out what most the common residency issues are, how to correct them and why getting legal help might speed up the process. Gerard Martínez from Balcells Group in Barcelona explained to The Local that the vast majority of residency problems they are seeing now involve foreigners not knowing the best path to residency and not being sure about what their options are. Most […]

BREXIT: All you need to know… but were afraid to ask!

BREXIT: All you need to know… but were afraid to ask!

Back in January 2020 the EU Council and the United Kingdom signed and ratified the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, which contains the highlights regarding how the Brexit affects nationals of the parties who are living in the UK or in the EU territories. In general terms, the said agreement laid down a transition period whereby the things shall basically stay as they are, in order to enable people to make decisions and take measures on time. That is, the transition period buys time in order for those affected (EU citizens who want to stay in the UK and UK nationals who want to stay in the EU) to get the paperwork […]