Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 2:40pm
No, you stay as a British citizen but with residency rights in Spain - similar to what the EU citizens are doing now (finally) in the UK, when applying for settled status. As an EU citizen, you have the right to move and reside in any of the EU countries and after 90 days, you should register as a resident in that country, if you want to stay. After 183 days, you are considered as a tax resident and must submit an annual tax return (declaración de la renta) even if you are just a pensioner with no other income. Once you have been issued with your residencia document, (which at the moment is a green card without a photo but if the UK leaves the EU and we all become non-EU citizens, then we'll go back to having a proper photo ID), the initial 5 years of the residencia is considered as temporary and after 5 years, this becomes permanent. Currently, those with the green card, can exchange this initial card for one that states that the holder is a permanent resident. This document will play an important part if Brexit takes place and those not in possession of either version, will need to apply for one of the non-EU citizen photo ID cards, which will be a lot harder and more expensive if Brexit happens. After 10 years of being a resident, it's possible to apply for Spanish citizenship but this would mean losing your British citizenship, so not to be taken lightly. Dual nationality is not permitted in Spain for EU citizens, so you choose if you really want to become Spanish. Residents have most of the same rights as Spanish citizens, other that we cannot vote in General Elections, so it's really not necessary to take this step. But if you do, there is a language test as well as a test for knowledge about the Spanish Constitution that applicants must pass to qualify. At the moment, there are so many applications that there is a 3 to 4 year wait to have Spanish citizenship granted. The most common way to be granted permission to live and work in Spain, is to get residencia and follow the rules. UK driving licences must be exchanged for a Spanish licence within 2 years of becoming a resident and failure to do so, could result in a fine, if stopped whilst driving. Anyone thinking about applying for residencia but are not planning on actually moving to Spain, could find themselves becoming a tax payer in Spain and losing their NHS health care in the UK and will not qualify for Spanish health-care unless either an S1 holder (this may no longer be available if Brexit goes ahead) or paying into the Spanish social security system. EHIC cards are likely to be discontinued after Brexit, so those people who having been using these as their health-care option (illegally) will need to find themselves another form of health-care.