A move to mainland Spain post brexit

[Matty92]

Hi all,

Iv been around the forums for almost 2 years but only post occasionally at the best of times, so Im sure nobody knows me or my background here but I used to live the good life in Sydney Australia for about 3 years and have been back in the UK just over 2 years now - I came home partly for difficult residency problems and partly to be back with family. I'm 28, bought a house since being home and single living a decent life.. but truthfully im still struggling being home and especially in winter months im really unhappy. Covid aint great neither but we are all in the same boat so I dont like to use that as an excuse.

Moving to Spain has always been on my mind for many reasons since being back from Australia, spent alot of time there as a kid too as my family had an apartment in Calpe. I did research into this and had a rough idea what to do pre brexit, but now I'm unsure whats changed and struggling to find the right information on what I must do to legitimately be able to work over there just casually at first to see if like it/want to settle, and ofcourse eventually residency if I stay longterm. Im a tradesman and Id be looking at working possibly self employed or for a building company over there. Luckily iv got a friend who is also keen to go over, and my parents are looking to retire over Spain for 6 months of the year (although if I were there im sure theyd stay 12 month eventually if I were to settle) so that eliminates the family problems I had whilst in Australia plus obviously travel time difference, which makes Spain feel like the right place for me.

This will be id imagine once covid settles... So basically my question is how and is it still possible to just get up and leave nowadays.
Cheers.

 

[The Sun God]

hi, I'm in based in Barcelona and the existing expats I have met had to complete a TIE form (although that may not be possible now since brexit took effect, check with the foreign office if still eligible). Should you qualify to remain beyond the 3 month tourist visa, you will need an NIE (again, you may need to check the requirements for this - a lot of cash in the bank basically..)

you'll find more specific info on https://www.expatforum.com/forums/spain-expat-forum-for-expats-living-in-spain.2/

*if you opt to go down the casual route and stay beyond the 3 months on the quiet, running a business (even cash only) is high-risk (Spanish taxman will impose whopping fines) and questions will be asked at airport next time you leave the country...

 

[tclubber]

Iv been around the forums for almost 2 years but only post occasionally at the best of times, so Im sure nobody knows me or my background here but I used to live the good life in Sydney Australia for about 3 years and have been back in the UK just over 2 years now...

Do you have an EU citizenship (Irish?), or just the UK citizenship?

If you have an EU citizenship, nothing changes for you and you can move to Spain using your EU passport. Try researching if you qualify for another citizenship based on your ancestors - lots of Brits are doing this.

If you only have the UK citizenship, it means Brexit changed pretty much everything for you - you no longer have a right to move to Spain, so you'll have to look at Spanish immigrant visas. There are different kinds of work visas (including for freelancers), and if you have enough funds, I think there are also immigrant visas for people who purchase real estate in Spain.

 

[Mondo99]

If they only have UK passports then same goes for your parents too - gone are the days of easily spending a few months a year out there .

 

[AnnetteAllen]

hi, I'm in based in Barcelona and the existing expats I have met had to complete a TIE form (although that may not be possible now since brexit took effect, check with the foreign office if still eligible). Should you qualify to remain beyond the 3 month tourist visa, you will need an NIE (again, you may need to check the requirements for this - a lot of cash in the bank basically..)


*if you opt to go down the casual route and stay beyond the 3 months on the quiet, running a business (even cash only) is high-risk (Spanish taxman will impose whopping fines) and questions will be asked at airport next time you leave the country...

Thanks for sharing of such an interesting aspects of moving to Spain here! I will look for the more details here and try to find out all the advantages I can. Anyway, it is very important for everybody want to go there.

 

[soulcompromise]

Spain... that's a big move. I wonder how hard it is to learn Catalan...

I think that the biggest challenge for me would be there is a language barrier. I can barely get around with Spanish here, and I'm in a city that although predominantly Hispanic, is in an English speaking country!

It's a challenge, because although I can say "puedo cortarme el pelo?" I cannot describe to the stylist what sort of cut I desire. She asks, in Spanish of course and I wait for the English speaking staff to come and tell her what I want. I'm sure that I would improve very fast, but it's not easy.

 

[PP]

Spain... that's a big move. I wonder how hard it is to learn Catalan...

I think that the biggest challenge for me would be there is a language barrier. I can barely get around with Spanish here, and I'm in a city that although predominantly Hispanic, is in an English speaking country!

It's a challenge, because although I can say "puedo cortarme el pelo?" I cannot describe to the stylist what sort of cut I desire. She asks, in Spanish of course and I wait for the English speaking staff to come and tell her what I want. I'm sure that I would improve very fast, but it's not easy.

I struggle to explain to my English hair dresser what type of cut I want! I generally show her a picture of a guy who is 20 years younger than me and ask her to do that

 

[The Sun God]

Spain... that's a big move. I wonder how hard it is to learn Catalan...

I think that the biggest challenge for me would be there is a language barrier. I can barely get around with Spanish here, and I'm in a city that although predominantly Hispanic, is in an English speaking country!

It's a challenge, because although I can say "puedo cortarme el pelo?" I cannot describe to the stylist what sort of cut I desire. She asks, in Spanish of course and I wait for the English speaking staff to come and tell her what I want. I'm sure that I would improve very fast, but it's not easy.

an old post I know but this made me laugh

"puedo cortarme el pelo?" = "can I cut my hair?"