Border control and essential travel - Page 2

There is an explicit exemption from travel restrictions for reasons of what "cannot be delayed". In your case removing your property due to termination of a rental agreement. Explaining this to border controls can become stressing alone for the language barrier. Phone your nearest Spanish consulate and try to get somthing like a "save passage".

Hi whittakery,

Just to update you, friends of mine who own a property in La Marina, have gained entry to Spain this afternoon at the La Jonquera border crossing, under the terms of "force majeure".

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kim, what was the "Force Majeure"?

Hi Cheryl,

My friend retired on Friday, so I drafted a "To whom it may concern" letter for his boss to write on company headed paper, stating that the accommodation in which my friend and his wife were living in the UK was part of his employment package.  As my friend was retiring, they could no longer live in the property after 30 May and should be allowed to enter Spain, under the terms of force majeure, to live in the property they own here, as it is now their primary (only) residence and to deny them entry would make them homeless.  It worked!  ;o)

Best wishes,

Kim

I have been writing this for over 2 months now, if you need to go to your property in Spain because of an end-of-lease or because you are moving and your home at your previous residence is rented/sold, you ARE ALLOWED to enter Spain under Force Majeure. 

Sadly, some people within the embassies don’t understand what a force majeur is, and will tell you “no” just to get rid of you. 

Also sadly, some contributors here have no idea about the border crossings but will tell you it is impossible and blablabla, just looking at what they conceive as the “rules”.

Some contributors here have scared off people who needed to get to their properties urgently, with their little upheld fingers preaching “the borders are closed, follow the law, blablabla”. They never were closed. At all.

About 5 weeks, actually, Despegue 😉

I've advised of two instances where people with the appropriate documentation to support entry to Spain under the terms of force majeure have been successful.  You were supposed to be moving here in June, so instead of castigating those who still don't believe it's possible, why don't you share you own story about whether/how you achieved it?  You may also want to include whether you're coming from Belgium or the UK - I don't know about Belgium's foreign office, but the UK's FCO website clearly states that the exceptions to restricted travel across Spain's land borders are for Spanish citizens, Spanish residents and force majeure.

You never know, people may start to believe us 😄

Kind regards,

Kim

This is definitely a Force Majeure in my book, travelling to your place of residence, it just takes a bit of forward planning and having the appropriate paperwork. I hope they enjoy their new life here.

Hi Cheryl,

If someone has a genuine case, I think they just need to make sure they have sufficient proof.  I recommended they also get a letter of reference from their Spanish lawyer and that both letters be translated into Spanish.  They also had NIEs and property deeds, so I don't know on what basis they could have been refused entry, but there's no accounting for a grumpy border guard 😉😄

Best wishes, 

Kim

I have a flight booked on 12th July from Stansted to Alicante with Jet2. I have a property on the Costa Blanca and have residency there. My partner and I have been stuck in the UK since our cancelled return flight on March 15th. I know I could probably get back to Spain but my partner is not resident in Spain yet, as he is not of pensionable age, so I’m not sure he will be allowed to come with me. 

I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens, but I really don’t know if we’ll be able to travel together. 

Hi Janice, 

My friends who arrived on Monday don't have residency either - they had started the process earlier in the year and were due to go to Alicante on 26th March, but Covid-19 scuppered that.  They were allowed entry to Spain on the basis of force majeure, as I described above.  Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to do the same thing.  

By the way, your partner doesn't have to be of pensionable age to apply for residency.

Stay safe, 

Kim