COPY LINK

BREXIT

Becoming Spanish: ‘Brexit has made me more than happy to renounce my British passport’

The official rules in Spain state that to become a Spanish citizen you need to renounce your British passport. Writer and teacher Mark Tullett, who has settled in Catalonia tells The Local why giving up his British passport to become Spanish wasn't a difficult decision.

Published: 6 February 2019 15:25 CET
Updated: 29 September 2020 09:30 CEST

Becoming Spanish: 'Brexit has made me more than happy to renounce my British passport'

Photo: Deposit Photos

Mark Tullett always had a dream of retiring to Spain after spending frequent holidays in the country. But he and his partner brought their dream of emigrating forward after slowly growing tired of the rat race in London.

They moved to a town just south of Barcelona, in Catalonia.

Since living in Spain he has taught English at local language academies and published six books. He also manages a property that is rented out to tourists.

He has decided to become a Spanish citizen, a process that officially requires you to give up your British nationality and passport.

A recent poll on The Local Spain's Facebook page revealed that wouldn’t put the majority of people off. .

Some 63 percent of respondents saying they would renounce their British citizenship to become Spanish.

Mark Tulllett is one of those prepared to do so. Here he tells The Local Spain why giving up his British passport is not even an issue for him.

Mark Tullett: I always had the idea of taking Spanish nationality at some point but Brexit made me make the final decision.

I have lived here just South of Barcelona, in Catalonia for almost 15 years, having bought our apartment 30 years ago this May.

The first time we came here felt like coming home which is why we decided to buy and we knew we'd live here some day.

With less connection to British contemporary society and culture I feel less and less British and more Spanish, so giving up the passport isn't important to me. Also with everything that's coming out of the UK these days related to Brexit I am more than happy to renounce my passport. Having a British Passport means nothing to me anymore. Being British is just an accident of birth and geography.

Whether this will change will probably depend on what happens in the near future, but I would never consider moving back to the UK nor giving up a Spanish passport once I get one.

READ ALSO:

I am thoroughly ashamed of some of my fellow Brits; the attitude of so many against the EU, the constant mention of the war, which most of them have no idea about as they weren't even born then, or were too young to understand, the rise in hate crime in the country, the government that is a laughing stock and appears to have no idea what it is doing, or what it wants, while appearing under the 'guidance' of outside forces to push through Brexit.

It's not that feel lucky to be able to have a Spanish passport; privileged or fortunate would be a better word.

I certainly feel luckier than many Brits who haven't yet achieved the necessary time in their adopted country in the EU and are in an even worse state of Limbo than I.

I how have more in common with most of my Catalan and Spanish friends than I do many of the other immigrants from the UK living here. I feel I am well integrated and would never leave. It is truly mi pais now.

On my first ever visit to Spain I had a sense of belonging, a sense of coming home. Moving here with my husband (partner at that time) we worried about acceptance in the small 'village' we moved into, but were immediately accepted and became part of the community in no time.

When we married here we were treated with dignity and respect throughout the process by everyone, and when my husband died recently our neighbours and friends were more than supportive.

I cannot imagine any of this happening in the south east of London which is where we lived before we moved here, and we were there 20 years. I have experienced nothing but kindness here, in London it was not the same.

In the UK I was working all hours possible to pay the bills, here life is much simpler and less stressful. There is less emphasis on status linked to the job you do etc.

It's true Spain has it's problems, for sure, especially here in Catalonia, but not to the degree that the British press portray.

Spain is most definitely on the 'up' and a great place to be.

Member comments

Anonymous - 8 February 2019 at 18:35 CET

For years we’ve watched the classist, entitled, delusional Eton/Harrow-trained post British “Imperialists” shift their Taking-and-Blaming act from the former colonies to the middle and lower class on their own damp island. All whilst “cleverly” scapegoating all the disasters in the U.K. (trains, NHS, general cruelty and callousness) on those damned Krauts, Frogs and Wogs {yes, post-colonial British racism, still “at its finest.” Of late we’ve seen that the one thing that unites the Tories (other than racism, scapegoating and “trickle up economics”) is their stunning incompetence. Were I a Brit living in the EU, I would be “GONE” from my evidently mass-suicidal “home” country. A chin-on-chest thing to have watched all these years.
Anonymous - 8 February 2019 at 18:36 CET

For years we’ve watched the classist, entitled, delusional Eton/Harrow-trained post British “Imperialists” shift their Taking-and-Blaming act from the former colonies to the middle and lower class on their own damp island. All whilst “cleverly” scapegoating all the disasters in the U.K. (trains, NHS, general cruelty and callousness) on those damned Krauts, Frogs and Wogs {yes, post-colonial British racism, still “at its finest.”} Of late we’ve seen that the one thing that unites the Tories (other than racism, scapegoating and “trickle up economics”) is their stunning incompetence. Were I a Brit living in the EU, I would be “GONE” from my evidently mass-suicidal “home” country. A chin-on-chest thing to have watched all these years.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

SHOW COMMENTS

Url copied to clipboard!