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BREXIT

Brexit news roundup: All the latest info for Brits in Spain

Stay up-to-date with the latest developments, news and concerns regarding Brexit for UK nationals who live in Spain or have a connection to the country. This week we speak about residency refusals, dwindling UK food supplies in Spain, tax-free shopping and more.

Brexit news roundup: All the latest info for Brits in Spain
Brexit news roundup from Spain. Photo: Pixabay

UK food exports to Spain drop by more than half 

As has been reported in the British press recently, UK food and drink exports to the EU are suffering a huge decline, costing the industry €2 billion in losses. 

And among Member States, Spain is the country that’s seen the biggest drop in British produce arriving to its shores since Brexit, a 54 percent fall in 2021 when compared to 2019 figures. 

Italy (-50 percent), Germany (-49 percent) and Denmark (-36 percent) are the other EU nations that have seen British food and drink products disappear from supermarket shelves at the greatest rate, data from the UK’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF) reveals.

The products that are struggling to make it from the UK to Spain and the EU are beef (37 percent drop in exports), cheese (-34 percent), chocolate (-19 percent) as well as milk and cream (-19 percent).

“It’s noticeable that some former UK staples on Spanish supermarket shelves, such as imported English cheddar are gradually being phased out. They are being replaced by alternatives from other EU countries, often from Ireland,” explains Sue Wilson, chair of Bremain in Spain. 

“We may have to make minor adjustments regarding our choices and tastes, but at least we have no empty shelves and prices are stable. The UK, meanwhile, is suffering shortages and price hikes unknown for decades, and all in the name of sovereignty”, she continues.

British cheddar cheese is slowly being removed from the shelves in Spain. Photo: PDPhotos / Pixabay

Brits rejected for residency 

Some UK nationals who have had their Spanish residency applications rejected are being sent notices telling them they must leave the country or risk being classified as illegal.

According to legal documents The Local Spain has had access to, Spain’s Immigration Office (Extranjería) is informing some Britons who applied for residency under the Withdrawal Agreement that they have 15 days to leave the country after their application has been rejected. 

According to the state bulletin in question, overstaying can be considered a “serious offence” by Spanish authorities, with fines going from €501 to €10,000, a possible expulsion from Spain as well as a potential ban from the Schengen area for six months to five years.

READ ALSO – BREXIT: Brits rejected for residency in Spain given 15 days to leave country

UK students coming to study in Spain face visa delays 

Many British students enrolled in courses in Spain this September are still in limbo and haven’t yet received permission to enter the country.

According to reports in the British press, most of the issues and delays seem to be caused by the different legislation and administrative processes brought about by Brexit.

This is the first academic year that British students have been required to have visas to study in Spain since Brexit kicked in. 

The Local interviewed two different students about their experiences, one of whom has already spend £1,000 and still hasn’t got his student visa. You can read the interviews here

British tourists can benefit from tax-free shopping in Spain

One actual benefit of Brexit is that residents of England, Wales and Scotland can make the most of tax-free shopping in Spain and the rest of the EU – which means that they can save on the cost of certain goods by claiming back VAT on their purchases.

It does not apply to everything though. For example, you can’t get VAT back on your restaurant bills or transport tickets. But it does apply to fashion, cosmetics, jewellery, technology, and some food and drink products. 

Not all retailers offer this service, but high street stores and global luxury brands operating in Spain routinely do and will inform customers that this option is available. 

In Spain in order to benefit from this, the total amount of your purchases, including taxes, must be greater than €90.16. 

When you leave Spain to return to the UK, present your purchases, receipts, and forms you received from the shop to customs for approval. It is important to note that items on which you are claiming a refund must be unused and in their original packaging.

Brits in Spain can benefit from tax-free shopping. Photo: gonghuimin468 / Pixabay

British companies exporting to the EU are still at a disadvantage

Chair of Bremain in Spain, Sue Wilson explains why British companies exporting to the EU are still at a disadvantage. 

“Having refused an extension to the transition period when it was offered by the EU last year, the UK are now looking to extend the current grace periods indefinitely”, she explained.
“As expected, the EU have stated yet again that the Northern Ireland Protocol, is not up for renegotiation. While the UK government may choose to delay further checks on UK imports, the EU will not do the same for UK exports. So, British companies exporting to the EU will continue to be at a disadvantage compared to their European counterparts,” she added. 
“Meanwhile, the list of companies and industries negatively affected by Brexit continues to grow. The consumer will be the one to pay the ultimate price in the end, with less choice and higher prices. Welcome to the sunlit uplands. So much for taking back control”, she concluded. 

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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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