Brexit is already a reality. The United Kingdom will definitively leave Europe. But it’s also true that more and more English people are deciding to live in Spain for the whole year and not only for the holiday period. If you’re one of them, you probably have a big fear: what is going to happen to you?

How Brexit affects you if you’re a British citizen residing in Spain

It seems that it’s not in the best interests of the United Kingdom to stop receiving European people to work in their country and boost their economy. Therefore, it seems that the measures they’ll impose won’t be too restrictive, favouring negotiation by both parties. In any case, you should consider a number of issues:

1. First of all, if you’re a British citizen and have been residing in Spain for more than five years, but plan to return to your country one day, you’ll need to change your European Union Citizen Registration Certificate for a Long-term Residence Permit.

2. Secondly, as you know, one complicated aspect for British citizens living in Spain is driving licences. In this case, Spain will recognize licences granted in the United Kingdom for a period of nine months, so you can relax if this is your situation. After this time, you must exchange it for a Spanish licence, following the rules for driving licenses issued in countries outside the EU.

3. Thirdly, one of the most important issues is healthcare. Therefore, Spain has decided it will continue to provide medical care to British citizens living in this country, while the United Kingdom does the same with the Spanish people there. The most important thing is that this change does not negatively impact healthcare or the health of citizens from both countries.

4. Likewise, customs requirements and measures regarding financial services will also change. The controls in Gibraltar will be strengthened. If you’re a resident anywhere other than Gibraltar and you don’t have a business that imports British products, you don’t have to worry in this regard. Otherwise, it’s important that you get information from official sources such as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

5. Last, workers and pensioners who are currently covered by the social security systems of either of the two countries will be supported as thus far, until there’s a new agreement in this regard. However, you should know that this issue has yet to be addressed.

To sum up, the United Kingdom leaving the EU is still a very recent event, so there’s some uncertainty about how negotiations will evolve. However, it’s hoped that British residents in our country do not suffer major changes in their way of life, since what’s certain is that the United Kingdom will not actively support modifications that harm their economy in the least.