Moving to Spain after Brexit
The coronavirus has brought a lot of sorrow to our lives.
It arrived and took away in just a few weeks many of our most beloved habits.
Eating out, travelling, watching live cultural and sporting events, visiting friends and family…
Worst of all, it has taken many lives and many jobs.
But, if there’s always something positive about everything, the coronavirus has also brought the possibility of working remotely.
For many, living in Spain was a dream which must wait until retirement before it could come true.
Now it’s no longer necessary to wait for so long.
Working remotely has opened a myriad of opportunities. In many cases you just need a connection to the internet and a computer to do your job.
You can now move to Spain and continue to work for your same company.
I mean, this is something you need to agree with your boss, but it’s clear that the arguments against this option will become weaker with time.
Insurance policies and tax systems will have to include this possibility and countries will have to cooperate even more closely within the EU.
But what happens with the UK now that it’s exiting the EU?
There’s still a lot to agree upon, negotiations are still taking place at the time of writing this post.
Many like me believe the relationship between Spain and the UK will be flexible.
Why? Because we need each other.
Let me explain.
Spaniards need to go to the UK in order to learn good English and the British people need Spain for the sun, stunning beaches and tasty food.
It sounds too simplistic but it’s the way it is.
We need each other and I’m sure we will find ways to make sure this wave of people coming and going keeps happening.
True, Spaniards could go to Ireland to improve their English, but places like London, Edinburgh, Bristol or Brighton will always be very attractive for foreigners.
The British could move somewhere else where there’s sun, beaches and good food.
But let’s be frank, most British prefer Spain because of the atmosphere, the weather, the relaxed approach to life, the vibrant way of living, the mountains, the sea, the gorgeous ancient cities…
And things here more or less work, Spain has great infrastructure, highways, high speed trains, cheap and efficient public transport and a bureaucracy which is more efficient than other Mediterranean countries.
Access to the Spanish healthcare system
This is one of the best regarded advantages of living in Spain, the easy access to the Spanish healthcare system.
It’s no secret that it’s been (until now) one of the best public healthcare systems in the world, but like all things public it’s also in jeopardy.
I really hope some politicians’ intentions of privatising it don’t succeed.
Before Brexit UK nationals living in Spain could also access the national healthcare like any other Spanish citizen.
This link from the Spanish government informs, in English, about the rights of UK nationals in Spain following Brexit.
On the website we can read that the right to healthcare will not be affected, the Community Regulations will continue to apply.
These rights apply to workers, students and pensioners living in Spain.
The problem is that in the introduction it’s stated that these rights are guaranteed until the 31st December 2020 and after that nobody knows.
Because there isn’t any agreement yet on the table.
We want to think that there will be some kind of agreement but everything depends on the UK’s posture on welcoming citizens from other countries of the EU.
If the UK makes it difficult for other nationalities to work and live in the UK it’s reasonable to think the other members of the EU will do the same for UK nationals.
As I mentioned earlier, I believe we need each other too much to let a difficult situation for all take place.
But taking in consideration that we have adamant and sometimes short-sighted politicians participating in these negotiations, feeling hopeless can be absolutely normal.
Looking with hope to the future
The coronavirus has put Brexit negotiations into second place but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
We need to have some hope and expect that at the end agreements will be reached and we’ll keep our arms open to welcome each other.
Nobody wants this breakup to be a bitter one, we want to keep being able to experience life abroad.
For now, if you are thinking about moving to Spain from the UK, keep an eye on this link from the Spanish government to follow up on any updates on the rights of UK nationals living in Spain.
We only have to wait 2 more months to finally find out what’s going to happen!
While we wait, make the most of your time and learn to speak Spanish.
Learning Spanish was never this easy!
Bespoke one-2-one online classes designed for you.
You can be fluent in Spanish faster than you think!
