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BREXIT

‘No extension to 90-day rule for Britons in Spain’, UK Embassy warns

Despite the state of alarm and ongoing travel restrictions, non-resident Britons in Spain will have to leave the country before the end of March 2021, the British Embassy in Spain has told The Local.

'No extension to 90-day rule for Britons in Spain', UK Embassy warns
Photos: Jaime Reina, Josep Lago/AFP

Spain did issue a state bulletin in May 2020 in which it addressed the matter of overstays for all non-EU nationals during the early months of the state of alarm.

In the document the Spanish government explained how those people who were in Spain, with permission to stay for a period not exceeding 90 days, that has expired during the validity of the state of alarm, would see their stay automatically extended for a period of three months.

However, according to British Embassy sources, this grace period is no longer valid.

“The BOE legislation from May 2020 related to the first state of alarm is no longer in force,” a source from the UK Embassy in Madrid told The Local Spain.

“The 90/180 day rule applies to any UK nationals who are visiting Spain for leisure purposes since 1 January 2021. Any stays beyond the 90 days in any 180-day period will be dependent on the applicable visas and immigration rules for Spain. This may require applying for a visa and/or permit.”

March 31 2021 marks 90 days since Brexit came into force, making it the first deadline UK nationals who aren’t registered as residents or in the process of applying for residency have to meet.

In other words, they have to leave the Schengen Area – made of 26 European countries – and will not be able to re-enter for another 90 days if they’ve spent the first three months of 2021 in Spain or in the Schengen Zone.

“The FCDO is not able to comment on Spanish immigration policy. We would therefore advise UK nationals to direct any queries to the relevant Spanish authority. If you are currently in Spain, you should direct queries on possible extensions to your length of stay to your local ‘extranjería’ office, details of which can be found here or by calling 060.

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“Anyone who was living in Spain before 1 January 2021, but does not yet have their residency documentation, should take steps to register as soon as possible. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/residency-requirements-in-spain

When Spain went into full lockdown last March and it allowed thousands of third-country nationals who were unable to return home due to international travel bans to remain in Spain, it did force those who spent more than 183 days in Spain to become fiscal residents and to start paying taxes here.

Travel restrictions are not as severe now as they were then but there are still daily comments on forums by Britons in Spain or Spanish homeowners in the UK saying their flights between both countries for February and March have been cancelled.

READ MORE: Is it possible to travel from Spain to the UK right now (and back again)?

According to Spanish lawyer Romulo Parra, Spain only generally offers visa extensions to third-country nationals in the event of illness or an accident, but these are unusual times.

The EU has issued some general advice on this, encouraging member states to grant visa extensions where necessary and to waive sanctions on people who have overstayed due to travel restrictions.

As ever though, decisions on border issues remain with national governments within the EU.

Member comments

  1. How can a U.K. National about to get residency in Spain obtain a vaccine for Covid ? Previous information that health centre will help are rubbish !!

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GIBRALTAR

UK soldiers expelled from Spain after crossing from Gibraltar posing as tourists

Spain has expelled four Royal Navy servicemen who crossed the Spain-Gibraltar border on foot three times in a single day while dressed in civilian clothing, with Spanish media claiming they were checking the porosity of the border.

UK soldiers expelled from Spain after crossing from Gibraltar posing as tourists

Spanish police expelled four British soldiers from Spain on Monday night, removing them from the country and sending them back to Gibraltar after it emerged that the four Royal Navy personnel had entered Spain illegally while “posing as tourists”, as the Spanish press has reported.

The incident comes a week after the British Navy carried out military drills in the waters surrounding Gibraltar, the British overseas territory that Spain still claims sovereignty of, and amid the seemingly never-ending negotiations between Spain and the UK to finally settle a post-Brexit deal.

READ ALSO: Gibraltar Brexit deal ‘close’ as Brits crossing into Spain use fake bookings

The expulsions, now reported in the Spanish press by Europa Sur and confirmed to El Periódico de España by official sources, occurred after the four soldiers arrived in Gibraltar on a civilian flight and entered into Spain. They also had return tickets via Gibraltar.

They then reportedly passed themselves off as tourists and entered Spain on foot, staying at a four-star hotel in La Línea de la Concepción, the town in the Cádiz province of Andalusia that borders Gibraltar.

Stranger yet is that they crossed the border at La Línea on up to three occasions in the space of a few hours.

READ ALSO: What Brits need to know before crossing the border from Gibraltar to Spain

Spanish authorities detected their presence because two of the soldiers tried to return to Gibraltar at night.

At the border, Spanish police officers enquired as to the reason for their entry, to which the soldiers replied that they were on their way to work and brandished British military documentation.

The police decided that their entry into Spain had been irregular because they did not meet the Schengen Borders Code requirements demanded of non-EU citizens entering EU territory.

According to Europa Sur, Spanish police then asked the two soldiers to call their colleagues in the hotel in order to collect their luggage and return to Gibraltar, which took place at midnight on Monday 18th March.

The Spanish press has stated that it is common for soldiers to try to stay in Spanish territory by concealing their military status and entering while posing as tourists.

The motive for the soldiers’ presence, particularly their repeated trips across the border, remains unknown.

The military drills in the area seem to suggest that the soldiers may have taken part in or be due to take part in further exercises and wanted to enter as tourists.

Spanish media also suggests that they could have been testing the porosity of the border, though these claims remain unsubstantiated.

Gibraltar’s post-Brexit status still remains unresolved. The EU and UK government are now onto their 18th round of treaty negotiations after the framework agreement between London and Madrid made on New Year’s Eve 2020 essentially ‘fudged’ the border issue, leaving Gibraltar’s status within the Schengen area undefined.

Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in late-2023 that “we are very, very close” to finalising a Brexit agreement.

“I would sign a deal with Britain over Gibraltar tomorrow,” Albares told journalists at the time. Yet no agreement was made, despite the Minister’s positivity, nor the appointment of former UK Prime Minister David Cameron as Foreign Secretary.

Albares’ comments came at a time when it was reported in the Spanish press that many UK nationals have been using fake hotel bookings in order to try and bypass the Schengen rules and trick their way through border checks.

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