The Britons getting out before Brexit ‘drawbridge’ goes up

UK nationals rush to settle in Spain before they lose their rights as EU citizens on 31 December

Campaigners for the rights of British nationals in Spain have reported a rise in the number of inquiries from people rushing through plans to establish residency in the country before the Brexit “drawbridge goes up”.

Sue Wilson, the founder of campaign group Bremain in Spain, says now that Brexit is “concrete and is happening” they are seeing evidence of Britons “expediting their plans” for retirement or a career move to Spain.

Under the withdrawal agreement British nationals can settle in another EU member state right up to 31 December and claim lifetime rights as EU citizens.

“We have people inquiring what the rules are and we are saying to people that as long as they move before 31 December they will have the same rights as those of us who are already here. It is in the withdrawal agreement,” says Wilson.

“Even if you haven’t reached pension age and you have paid in for enough years to make you eligible you will have the right to an uprated pension for life under the withdrawal agreement.”

Not all rights are guaranteed and the campaign group British in Europe has urged Brussels and London to secure those that have yet to be negotiated, which include freedom of movement and the right to return to the UK with an EU family member after Brexit. But the rights to study, work and retire remain for those moving before 2021.

We spoke to some who have already taken the plunge.

Andrew Dutton, 51, Elviria, Costa del Sol

Property executive

“I did a spreadsheet at 4am in the morning and concluded that we could probably go now and that’s exactly what we did,” he says.

Andy and his wife sold their house and upped sticks from Manchester to Spain in October.

“We had always planned to retire out here, then Brexit put that into stark relief. The way that had been implemented put the fear of God into us, really, in terms of getting out here,” says Andy.

“I had the vague idea of retiring somewhere between 55 and 60. We have a strict budget and I’ll have to work but we’re glad we did it. We didn’t like the rhetoric and the type of deal people like Dominic Raab was talking about didn’t seem to stack up. There was nobody to talk to – you couldn’t ring the government and ask: ‘Is this the position? Is this cast in stone? Can we trust you?’

“We are not economic migrants. We considered Australia many years ago but in terms of employment it’s more complicated. The freedom of movement is key. You can cross a border into France, Spain without even noticing and you have the ability to work with no questions asked. That’s why we chose to become residents here.

“Emotionally it’s quite difficult. The biggest step has been leaving all the friends and family and you want them here with you. Three months in there are days when you do feel homesick but there is Facetime and Skype.”

But he and his wife have no regrets. “Our fear was the drawbridge would go up and the rights we had pre-Brexit wouldn’t be there.”

(...)                                                                                                 The Guardian, 30 Jan 2020

If you want to read more testimonies, click here: The Britons in Spain