Will it be harder to obtain Residency with Brexit?

It is understandable that UK citizens living in Spain are worried about what will happen to their right to reside in Spain after Brexit.

Currently, Spain houses the largest community of British citizens in Europe with more than 300,000 people registered as living here, although there are also an unknown number of British citizens who are not registered. Plus a significant number of Spanish people reside in the United Kingdom, approximately 150,000.

The European Union has negotiated a ‘Withdrawal Agreement’ with the United Kingdom that opens up a transition period during which the rights of citizens are maintained in accordance with the EU acquis (this is the EU law in general); at present, this agreement is at the approval stage, both by the European and British institutions.

Whether an agreement is reached or not, on 30th March 2019, the United Kingdom will become a third State, which is why citizens must familiarise themselves with the consequences of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

There are two scenarios that could possibly happen in the event of Brexit taking place on the 29th March: Either the UK leaves with a Withdraw Agreement in place with the European Union, or the UK leaves without a Withdraw Agreement.

The Withdrawal Agreement provides for a transition period until the 31st December 2020, which may be extended. During the transition period your rights under EU Law will be maintained, with the following exceptions:

•           The right to vote and stand in elections to the European Parliament.

•           The right to vote and stand in municipal elections (Spain and the UK are negotiating a bilateral agreement on voting rights so that citizens of one country may exercise this right in the other country after the UK's withdrawal from the EU).

Once the transition period ends, the Withdrawal Agreement stipulates that my rights of residency, work, studies and social security will be maintained. If the Withdrawal Agreement is not signed and sanctioned before 29th March 2019, the Government of Spain will provide a solution that in any event will guarantee the legal security of British citizens and their immediate family members resident in Spain before the exit date, taking into account the announcement made by the UK in this respect and the European Union guidelines. Spain has published a law, subject to approval, in the event of a no-deal that will protect both Spanish citizens in the UK and British citizens in Spain. The law is Real Decreto-Ley 5/2019, de 1 de marzo, you can find it on this link: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2019-2976  (although it has not yet been translated into English as of this date). In this document, Spain confirms there will be urgent measures imposed in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, and the two countries will have until 2020 to reach an international agreement between them.

To obtain residency, you can no longer apply under the standard procedure (namely –“Certificados-UE”),  but under a different system specifically created for British citizens applying for Residency after Brexit (which will be called “Trámite para la documentación de nacionales del Reino Unido”). The new system currently states that the documents each British citizens will have to provide will be very similar to the current standard procedure although, to this date, they have not confirmed what those documents will be.

In conclusion, Spain is very determined to protect British citizens living in Spain, whether an agreement is reached or not. Nevertheless, the most important thing to do now is register as a British citizen (or a citizen from another country) living in this country.

Contact LACS if you are interested in becoming a Spanish resident.