Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

BREXIT

Four out of five British expats fear Brexit will strip them of rights to live abroad

Most British expatriates in the European Union are chiefly concerned that Brexit will strip them of their rights to live in their adopted country, according to the latest survey published on Wednesday.

Published: 15 February 2017 12:04 CET
Four out of five British expats fear Brexit will strip them of rights to live abroad

Around 83 percent of respondents said they were “very concerned” about the impact Brexit could have on the rights and benefits they enjoyed as an EU citizen, while only 3.8 percent answered “not at all”.

The survey of 5,000 Britons living in EU countries or Iceland, Norway and Switzerland was carried out by the European branch of the British Liberal Democrat party, which campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU.

The majority of respondents (57.6 percent) said that they had voted to Remain in the June referendum and only two percent said they voted to leave the EU.

More than a quarter of respondents (28.4 percent) said they had been unable to vote because they had lived outside the UK for over 15 years.

Over 58 percent said they did not plan to return to Britain, while 33.5 percent said they did not know. Only 7.7 percent said they had plans to return permanently to the UK.

Respondents said they wanted to retain the rights that came with EU membership, such as to reside in their countries of choice without permission, freedom of movement, and health care.

OPINION: Brexit and Brits in the EU: Bargaining chip or afterthought?

The majority of the survey group live in France or Spain and are aged between 55-74 years old.

Not surprisingly, the right to reside, automatic pension increases and S1 healthcare concerns were the top three concerns for Brits living in Spain and France.

The UK government has consistently said it will not act unilaterally to guarantee the right of three million EU citizens to remain in the UK until it has agreement that the EU 27 will do the same for the estimated 1.3 million UK nationals living in the EU.

Laura Shields, Chair of Brussels and Europe Liberal Democrats said: “UK politicians must accept that the ‘right to reside' is not the same as an actual ability to stay.  Losing their EU citizenship will bring a myriad of practical problems for Brits in the EU which can’t be fixed in a quick quid pro quo residency deal with the EU 27. The government must think this through properly and ensure it doesn't throw us under Boris’s Brexit blunder bus.”

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

BRITONS IN SPAIN

FACT CHECK: Spain’s ‘£97 daily rule’ isn’t new nor a worry for British tourists

The British tabloids are at it again causing alarm over the so-called '£97 daily rule’ which Spain is apparently imposing on UK tourists, who in turn are threatening to ‘boycott’ the country. 

Published: 15 April 2024 14:28 CEST
FACT CHECK: Spain's '£97 daily rule' isn't new nor a worry for British tourists

American playwright Eugene O’Neill once said: “There is no present or future – only the past, happening over and over again – now”.

In 2022, The Local Spain wrote a fact-checking article titled ‘Are UK tourists in Spain really being asked to prove €100 a day?‘, in which we dispelled the claims made in the British press about Spain’s alleged new rules for UK holidaymakers.

Two years on in 2024, the same eye-catching headlines are resurfacing in Blighty: “’Anti-British? Holiday elsewhere!’ Britons fume as tourists in Spain warned they may be subject to additional rules” in GB News, or “’They would be begging us to come back’: Brits vow to ‘boycott Spain’ over new £97 daily rule” in LBC.

The return of this rabble-rousing ‘news’ in the UK has coincided with calls within Spain to change the existing mass tourism model that’s now more than ever having an impact on the country’s housing crisis.

Even though Spaniards behind the protests have not singled out any foreign nationals as potential culprits, the UK tabloids have unsurprisingly capitalised on this and run headlines such as “Costa del Sol turns on British tourists”.

READ MORE: Why does hatred of tourists in Spain appear to be on the rise?

What is the so-called ‘£97 daily rule’?

Yes, there is theoretically a ‘£97 a day rule’, but it is not a new rule, nor one that applies only to UK nationals specifically, and not even one that Spain alone has imposed (all Schengen countries set their financial means threshold).

As non-EU nationals who are not from a Schengen Area country either (the United Kingdom never was in Schengen), British tourists entering Spain could have certain requirements with which to comply if asked by Spanish border officials.

Such requirements include a valid passport, proof of a return ticket, documents proving their purpose of entry into Spain, limits on the amount of time they can spend in Spain (the 90 out of 180 days Schengen rule), proof of accommodation, a letter of invitation if staying with friends or family (another controversial subject in the British press when it emerged) and yes, proof of sufficient financial means for the trip.

Third-country nationals who want to enter Spain in 2024 may need to prove they have at least €113,40 per day (around £97), with a minimum of €972 (around £830) per person regardless of the intended duration of the stay. It is unclear whether this could also possibly apply to minors.

The amount of financial means to prove has increased slightly in 2024 as it is linked to Spain’s minimum wage, which has also risen. 

Financial means can be accredited by presenting cash, traveller’s checks, credit cards accompanied by a bank account statement, an up-to-date bank book or any other means that proves the amount available as credit on a card or bank account.

Have Britons been prevented from entering Spain for not having enough money?

There is no evidence that UK holidaymakers have been prevented from entering Spain after not being able to show they have £97 a day to cover their stay, nor any reports that they have been asked to show the financial means to cover their stay either. 

17.3 million UK tourists visited Spain in 2023; equal to roughly 47,400 a day. 

Even though British tourists have to stand in the non-EU queue at Spanish passport control, they do not require a visa to enter Spain and the sheer number of UK holidaymakers means that they’re usually streamlined through the process, having to only quickly show their passports.

The only occasional hiccups that have arisen post-Brexit have been at the land border between Gibraltar and Spain (issued that are likely to be resolved soon), and these weren’t related to demonstrating financial means. 

Therefore, the British press are regurgitating alarmist headlines that don’t reflect any truth, but rather pander to the ‘they need us more than we need them’ mantra that gets readers clicking. 

To sum up, there is a £97 a day rule, but it is not new, it has not affected any British tourists to date, and it is not specific to Spain alone to potentially require proof of economic means. 

SHOW COMMENTS