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Another returning at Malaga airport today was Shaun Cromber who despite voting for Britain to leave the EU, didn’t believe it would end his Spanish lifestyle, h

Another returning at Malaga airport today was Shaun Cromber who despite voting for Britain to leave the EU, didn’t believe it would end his Spanish lifestyle, he said: ”Yes I voted out, but I didn’t realise it would come to this ... long term I think the Spanish will regret chucking us out of Spain” Among expat Britons in Spain who voted for Brexit, was this a common attitude that they would be allowed to stay? Or were they told they would be allowed to keep residency rights?

heavenlyblue 6y ago
They probably would be allowed to stay if they bothered with residency requirements. All across EU the requirement for applying for local citizenship was living i the country for 5 years.
- wnevets 6y ago
  Voting for brexit and not bothering to perform basic research go together like PB and J
- klyrs 6y ago
  The article says some were denied residency, the others simply don't want to pay taxes that come with residency. But, jeez. Kinda hard to feel sorry for somebody from the UK, who doesn't want to live in the UK, who has lived in Spain for 7 years, but voted for brexit and is suddenly surprised that he's lost privileges reserved for EU citizens. And then the best he can say is that the Spanish will regret this?
  - heavenlyblue 6y ago
    > the others simply don't want to pay taxes that come with residency. Well, 5 years implies paying taxes i the country too. So if they were not paying taxes there then obviously why would Spain give them the citizenship?
matwood 6y ago
A lot of people are just learning that elections and voting have real consequences.
- krona 6y ago
  Sometimes elections have consequences. Usually not.
usbzcable 6y ago
> Among expat Britons in Spain who voted for Brexit, was this a common attitude that they would be allowed to stay? Or were they told they would be allowed to keep residency rights? https://ig.ft.com/sites/expats-on-brexit/ https://ig.ft.com/sites/expats-on-brexit/ has some pre-referendum views of British emigrants. One says "I want practical facts. The Government and Brexit campaigners have been silent on what will happen to Britons abroad if we leave.".
gambiting 6y ago
>>Among expat Britons in Spain who voted for Brexit Apparently 95% of expats were AGAINST brexit[0], but of course in any group large enough it's easy to find idiots like Mr Cromber above. [0] http://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/52513 http://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/52513
- mcjiggerlog 6y ago
  Schadenfreude seems to be the prevailing take in these kinds of threads, but as a Brit living in Spain I can tell you that the people in the article are not representative of most Brits in Spain. There are plenty of young Brits living in cities around Spain; it's not all just pensioners in the costas. The vast vast majority voted against Brexit and are devastated, if not surprised, by how it has played out. Luckily, getting residency was fairly straightforward, with the requirements basically being that you live and work / are retired in Spain. The hardest part though is knowing that further generations are not able to exercise the same freedoms that we were able to. So many unlived experiences, friendships, marriages, children. That truly is the greatest shame of all.
  - Archelaos 6y ago
    I am curious to hear some estimates from HN readers from the UK about whether they think that the UK might rejoin the EU in a couple of years. Is that realistic?
    - toyg 6y ago
      No. In a couple of decades, maybe; but still very unlikely (if anything because the EU is now much stricter on criteria for new entrants, and this is only going to increase over time). I’d say chances are 90% that the UK will never re-join. Uk gov might find some hack to get into a Norway-shaped position, but full membership is gone for good.
    - fakedang 6y ago
      I'd wager within another 20-40 years, although by then it might be a different world altogether.
toyg 6y ago
They were indeed allowed to keep residency rights, but they had to register for them - which would mean their less-than-transparent tax arrangements would have come to light. I’d be willing to bet most of these used to draw income or pensions in the UK, recorded their state there as “non-dom” or other living-abroad type, and then never registered in Spain; hence avoiding taxes both in UK and Spain. But yea, loads of uk expats in Spain (who demographically trend over-50s) specifically voted for Leave while thinking nothing would really change for them. The exceptionalist mindset spread by UK tabloid media is incredible. Now they’ve lost their little tax-free paradise in the sun, and they’re back with us under they grey Albion skies. As an EU expat in UK, I will make sure to play the tiniest violin for them every day.
- gambiting 6y ago
  >> recorded their state there as “non-dom” or other living-abroad type, and then never registered in Spain; hence avoiding taxes both in UK and Spain. I mean, while I enjoy this idea as much as anyone, I don't think it's possible. If you tell HMRC that you don't have a British tax residency, then they will insist(very persistently) that you tell them which tax residency you do actually have, and with EU countries they absolutely do exchange information on taxpayers. It might take a few months or even years but they absolutely will catch up with you eventually.
  - mrmrcoleman 6y ago
    That wasn't my experience as a UK expat in the Netherlands. I was there for 11 years and I never heard a thing from HMRC.
    - VBprogrammer 6y ago
      Presumably you were paying tax in the Netherlands though?
    - gambiting 6y ago
      If you were paying tax in the Netherlands they would have automatically notified HMRC.
533474 6y ago
oh, the irony...
donohoe 6y ago
Zero sympathy for those who vote Leave

heavenlyblue 6y ago

They probably would be allowed to stay if they bothered with residency requirements. All across EU the requirement for applying for local citizenship was living i the country for 5 years.

wnevets 6y ago
Voting for brexit and not bothering to perform basic research go together like PB and J
klyrs 6y ago
The article says some were denied residency, the others simply don't want to pay taxes that come with residency. But, jeez. Kinda hard to feel sorry for somebody from the UK, who doesn't want to live in the UK, who has lived in Spain for 7 years, but voted for brexit and is suddenly surprised that he's lost privileges reserved for EU citizens. And then the best he can say is that the Spanish will regret this?
- heavenlyblue 6y ago
  > the others simply don't want to pay taxes that come with residency. Well, 5 years implies paying taxes i the country too. So if they were not paying taxes there then obviously why would Spain give them the citizenship?

matwood 6y ago

A lot of people are just learning that elections and voting have real consequences.

krona 6y ago
Sometimes elections have consequences. Usually not.

usbzcable 6y ago

> Among expat Britons in Spain who voted for Brexit, was this a common attitude that they would be allowed to stay? Or were they told they would be allowed to keep residency rights? https://ig.ft.com/sites/expats-on-brexit/ https://ig.ft.com/sites/expats-on-brexit/ has some pre-referendum views of British emigrants. One says "I want practical facts. The Government and Brexit campaigners have been silent on what will happen to Britons abroad if we leave.".

gambiting 6y ago

>>Among expat Britons in Spain who voted for Brexit Apparently 95% of expats were AGAINST brexit[0], but of course in any group large enough it's easy to find idiots like Mr Cromber above. [0] http://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/52513 http://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/52513

mcjiggerlog 6y ago
Schadenfreude seems to be the prevailing take in these kinds of threads, but as a Brit living in Spain I can tell you that the people in the article are not representative of most Brits in Spain. There are plenty of young Brits living in cities around Spain; it's not all just pensioners in the costas. The vast vast majority voted against Brexit and are devastated, if not surprised, by how it has played out. Luckily, getting residency was fairly straightforward, with the requirements basically being that you live and work / are retired in Spain. The hardest part though is knowing that further generations are not able to exercise the same freedoms that we were able to. So many unlived experiences, friendships, marriages, children. That truly is the greatest shame of all.
- Archelaos 6y ago
  I am curious to hear some estimates from HN readers from the UK about whether they think that the UK might rejoin the EU in a couple of years. Is that realistic?
  - toyg 6y ago
    No. In a couple of decades, maybe; but still very unlikely (if anything because the EU is now much stricter on criteria for new entrants, and this is only going to increase over time). I’d say chances are 90% that the UK will never re-join. Uk gov might find some hack to get into a Norway-shaped position, but full membership is gone for good.
  - fakedang 6y ago
    I'd wager within another 20-40 years, although by then it might be a different world altogether.

toyg 6y ago

They were indeed allowed to keep residency rights, but they had to register for them - which would mean their less-than-transparent tax arrangements would have come to light. I’d be willing to bet most of these used to draw income or pensions in the UK, recorded their state there as “non-dom” or other living-abroad type, and then never registered in Spain; hence avoiding taxes both in UK and Spain. But yea, loads of uk expats in Spain (who demographically trend over-50s) specifically voted for Leave while thinking nothing would really change for them. The exceptionalist mindset spread by UK tabloid media is incredible. Now they’ve lost their little tax-free paradise in the sun, and they’re back with us under they grey Albion skies. As an EU expat in UK, I will make sure to play the tiniest violin for them every day.

gambiting 6y ago
>> recorded their state there as “non-dom” or other living-abroad type, and then never registered in Spain; hence avoiding taxes both in UK and Spain. I mean, while I enjoy this idea as much as anyone, I don't think it's possible. If you tell HMRC that you don't have a British tax residency, then they will insist(very persistently) that you tell them which tax residency you do actually have, and with EU countries they absolutely do exchange information on taxpayers. It might take a few months or even years but they absolutely will catch up with you eventually.
- mrmrcoleman 6y ago
  That wasn't my experience as a UK expat in the Netherlands. I was there for 11 years and I never heard a thing from HMRC.
  - VBprogrammer 6y ago
    Presumably you were paying tax in the Netherlands though?
  - gambiting 6y ago
    If you were paying tax in the Netherlands they would have automatically notified HMRC.

533474 6y ago

oh, the irony...

donohoe 6y ago

Zero sympathy for those who vote Leave