Moving to Spain: what happens if the UK leaves the EU? - Page 28

Thanks Brian1042, It is certainly not the positives I am interested in, as a very positive minded person I have enough pairs of 'Rose Coloured Glasses' lying around to be impulsive! But... this is a final move for us and a dream lifestyle we know is right and I am looking into every aspect of the planned move to find the pitfalls I need to be aware of.

It is without doubt the unknown Brexit outcome that is causing me such concern. I, like others, think that May's deal will be rejected for a third time and a longer extension (1-2 years) is on the cards... but who knows, well we will in about a weeks time! So little point in doing anything until the 1st April when we will all know what the short term will look like and we can all start expressing our feelings then.

Thanks again.

Hi Pete, Thanks for the reply. I have looked at the Non EU minimum financials and we should be ok. I have asked if purchasing our property outright in Spain will count towards this at it appears it will. I hope to continue to have an income from the UK but working from Spain (Digital Content and Software Designer) and we should have sufficient savings to qualify. I would like to supplement income by starting a self-catering / BnB business but it appears the regulations are getting much tougher so will have to see.

Anyway, still very excited about the dream... hopefully it will be possible without fear being kicked out of Spain one day!

Put the move off untill the confusion is sorted also the authorities in spain have got wise from 15 year ago and with everybody now getting registered look out for the tax man it's higher in spain.and beware of estate agents.

Very sensible Paul. I also have my own worn pairs of rose-tinted specs :>) Never worn them for Brexit though.

We can of course look at contingencies. We all think we know he possibilities. Are think they are these, and we do not know if any of them will happen. We could each put our own probabilities against them. They are not in any particular order.

1. Revoke Article 50.

2. Leave with a so-called no-deal.

3. Leave with a deal.

Any other options are sub-categories of the above. Dates and extensions don't matter in this regard as extensions are not outcomes.

if we do not know if we are doing 1, 2 or 3, we cannot know anything more :>)

I admire your optimism in thinking we will know 'in about a weeks time'. I am as sure as I can be that we will not really be any further forward in terms of which outcome it will be. We will be a bit forward in narrowing options - I think :>) Still guesswork of course.

I agree, with most of the above....but (my opinion only!) I forsee this confusion going on for some time, who knows?.....therefore together with the wise comments, keep your eye on the potentially volatile gbp-euro. Nothing set in stone, a d much of life's a gamble. Hence the speculators on currency exchange. Go for it! Villas.

Thanks all. It does make me think that renting a place in Spain this year and applying for residency might be the best first move!

You won't get kicked out of Spain but any income you make in uk or the world will be taxed in spain .and its higher with less allowancd

I have always suggested renting in the first instance. In the big scheme of things it is an investment, not a loss, as you have the opportunity to gather a lot more information.

By the way, you have taken comments in a very good way.

Some people ask, then accuse respondents of being negative or nasty when the simply tell them the truth. If you ask in what way the comments have been negative or nasty they never reply.

This is a very good practical point. I think it applies particularly to Paul, as he is considering renting initially.

This is my understanding. BTW, I would not suggest doing anything illegal.

First, anecdotal evidence suggests getting a NIE is taking a lot of time and proving difficult. There ways to overcome this and get the NIE legally and quickly, but I won't go there. With no NIE I think you cannot pay tax, BUT you would still be liable from the date of entry. That is, having no NIE for a while could delay paying tax but would not avoid it.

If you only spend up to 90 days per calendar year in Spain then you don’t need to register as a tax resident in Spain. As long as your time in Spain is less than 183 days annually, you still don’t have to be a Spanish tax resident, as long as you are a registered tax resident elsewhere and that country has a double taxation agreement with Spain (eg EU countries). As far as I am aware, all of this is self-declared (well it was for me).

If you spend more than 183 days in Spain during a calendar year, you are deemed to be a Spanish tax resident, whether you have formally registered as a resident or not. 

Based on the above, if it possible to rent for 11 months (say) and you span the December / January period in the middle, you would not be obliged to become a Spanish tax resident.

All days count. They do not have to be consecutive, so, for example, a holiday for a month or so, then back to the UK, then another holiday would add up. The reality is of course that no one would record this whilst we remain in the EU. It is possible to get long term holiday lets. I am not advocating this. I think some of the people I have known living in Spain have had long term holiday lets for twenty years or more.

One personal beef I have is people not registering at their town hall. I forget what this is called. For each person registered the local government receives funding - for rubbish collections etc. Not registering means cheating your neighbours.

Sorry if everyone knows all this stuff.

If I am wrong on any of the facts, please correct.

Thanks.

Thanks again for any and all opinions. We initially wanted to buy a property in Spain as soon as we can, probably July/August/September this year and rent here in the UK until mid 2020. We have recently thought an immediate permanent move to Spain would be preferred (July) but are now obviously hesitating due to all the uncertainty. We are now thinking that renting in Spain now (July) looks an option but as we want to live in Spain permanently should we not just go and purchase and get on with it, apply for residency and 'carpe diem'. Even a worst case scenario of No Deal Brexit seems to mean we can permanently move subject to meeting the financial requirements.

It's really the word 'Permanent' that is most important thing to us! Can we move, no matter what the outcome politically is, and be sure that despite all the legalities and hoop jumping required, we can make the move and get on with our new life!

Please keep pitching in with your valued opinions...