AN AGONISING WAIT- EUROCITIZENS SURVEY OF SPANISH NATIONALITY APPLICATIONS

A survey conducted with over 500 British residents in Spain shows the uncertainty and suffering of people who have applied for Spanish nationality in order to protect their rights.

• 73%  of respondents who have applied for Spanish nationality did so to protect their rights as European and Spanish citizens. Half of them expressed their desire to continue working and/or studying in Spain or other EU countries, while 20% are looking for a general safeguard of their rights. Brexit – with or without an agreement – takes away freedom of movement for British citizens in the EU27.
• Some British people had thought of applying for Spanish nationality before Brexit, which has been a major factor in encouraging them to do so and a source of considerable concern for the vast majority of respondents.

In Spain the conditions for granting nationality are stricter than in the UK:

• Nationality that is granted for the length of time the person has lived in Spain (without a break) establishes the minimum as 10 years, compared to 5 years in the UK.
• The Spanish administration does not recognise dual nationality, which Spanish residents in the UK can enjoy. 32% of British respondents to the survey admitted that they have not yet applied for Spanish nationality because they want dual nationality and do not want to lose their British citizenship. This is causing them an unnecessary crisis of identity.

The application process (which costs about 600€ per person) is slow and drags out the uncertainty for British people, even with regard to their short-term plans:

• The application process is slow: candidates have to take two exams (on  the Spanish language and general and constitutional knowledge of Spain) and complete administrative procedures in both countries, which means that it takes approximately 9 months to get the required documentation ready before making the official application.
• British applications for Spanish nationality have increased sharply in the last year, as Brexit  - and the possibility of no-deal - has drawn closer; 40% of applications have been made since January 2019.
• Approvals appear to be random and have no relation to the date of application. Some recent applications have already been approved, while others still have had no reply: 77% of applications still have no news.

Young people are the most innocent victims of this drawn-out process: 

even young British people born in Spain (about 12,000) are trapped by the bureaucracy. Camilla Hillier-Fry, Vicepresident of EuroCitizens, gives the example of her own daughter: “my daughter was born in Spain, has been educated here and has applied for Spanish nationality. When the Brexit referendum took place, she was just about to start university in Spain, and this year she will complete her degree. She wants to do a Master’s degree in northern Europe, but has not yet been granted Spanish nationality. When she applies for the Masters course, she may have fewer chances because she is not a European citizen and if she stays out of Spain for longer than a year, she could lose her status of long-term resident. She may have to choose between her future and the country where she has made her home; it is both absurd and unjust.”

BiE GROUPS EXPRESS THE CONCERNS OF BRITONS IN SPAIN TO SECRETARY OF STATE BARCLAY

On 19 September five representatives of the British in Europe groups EuroCitizens and ECREU, together with the chair and vice-chair of Brexpats Spain, attended the British Embassy for a meeting with Brexit Secretary of State, Stephen Barclay and a number of information sessions by Embassy staff. The ambassador, Hugh Elliott was also present with the minister.

This was the first meeting of BiE groups in Spain at Secretary of State level and allowed us to put across our key concerns both to officials and to the minister himself. The meeting took place in a generally cordial atmosphere. The minister has an additional channel of information on our concerns, as he told us, because he has a brother and family living in Luxembourg.

Negotiations 

Mr Barclay claimed that negotiations with EU were 'on-going and constructive'. He appeared personally committed to a variant of the May Withdrawal Agreement, with the contentious issues on Northern Ireland and the backstop removed. He explained the lack of text proposals as driven from a fear of having them destroyed by too much publicity. The prime concern remained the backstop. Citizens' rights were not a focus of discussion within the Withdrawal Agreement. He himself brought up ring-fencing (ie the Costa amendment) and stated that the EU had rejected the proposal.

The Spanish Royal Decree 

Both sides agreed that this was a positive measure, but we voiced concerns on the insistence on reciprocity and the lack of agreement about what it means. The minister said that the UK measures allowed the same degree of protection for Spanish citizens in the UK. Subsequent press reporting (e.g. El País 23 September) has called this affirmation into question with Foreign Minister Borrell threatening to remove the rights of UK residents if Britain does not respond to Spanish measures in kind. EuroCitizens/British in Europe and the3million responded to these declarations with a joint press release outlining the issues and risks faced by both groups of citizens (Please Stop Using us as Bargaining Chips).The crucial issue of lack of reciprocity will need to be kept under review by EuroCitizens, as it is an evident threat to our rights.

Healthcare 

The officials' presentation on healthcare was reassuring about the situation in Spain, where there seems broad agreement on an extension until the end of 2020 to allow further discussion. The alarming six-month extension press announcement coming thereafter from the UK government has been explained that this relates to those Member States where, unlike Spain, nothing is agreed. Barclay appeared to endorse this healthcare position.

Pensions

The BiE groups raised the current proposal for continuing linkage to UK increases limited to 3 years. The minister explained that there would then be a review. We stressed that this was unacceptable. Pensioners had an expectation of being able to continue their lives without this sort of endless uncertainty and stress. They were a finite group - those resident in Spain at the moment of Brexit - and so would in any event be an ever shrinking group. A firm commitment was needed.

Other Citizens' Rights Issues  

Given the time available with the minister, and the need for all groups to have a say, BiE groups were only able to flag up a number of other issues such as the rights of returnees, the problems in being called on to deal with elderly relatives, etc. However, the Embassy did provide the assurance that the minister had been fully briefed on all of them and so he is in fact aware of our concerns.

Press release EuroCitizens/the3million: PLEASE STOP USING US AS BARGAINING CHIPS

British in Europe and the3million at a demonstration in London last year

The recent headline in El País - Spain will remove rights of British residents if the UK does not reciprocate - highlights the worrying situation of the 350,000 Britons in Spain and the 150,000 Spaniards in the United Kingdom and the fact that we are still being used as bargaining chips. The huge uncertainty for the five million people affected is ratcheting up once more, with only forty days before a probable No Deal Brexit. Both national governments and the European Commission have repeated ad nauseam that they will protect our rights. The reality is different.
 

The rights of Spanish residents in the United Kingdom are far from being guaranteed. The 'Settlement Scheme' means that all EU residents in the United Kingdom pre-Brexit must submit an application to obtain a new immigration status, thus making those who do not get it before the end of 2020 illegal. The campaigning group the3million has been demanding that the recognition of our rights be based on a simple declaratory system that merely confirms our rights instead of having to request, and thus put ourselves at risk of losing, the new status.

The current UK system distinguishes between citizens with the right to temporary residence (for those resident up to five years) and permanent residence (more than five years). Temporary residence is an inferior status which, for example, only permits absences of six months from the country and which gives fewer rights. Home Office figures show that the percentage of residents to whom temporary residence is being granted is disproportionately high - thus many long-term residents may be obtaining the wrong status, something which would result in a serious reduction of their rights.

In addition, the Home Office operates what is officially called a ‘hostile environment’, whereby foreigners who cannot prove their rights can lose access to work or housing, see their bank accounts frozen etc. Spanish and other European citizens residing in post-Brexit UK run the risk of suffering discrimination under this system and having problems in their daily lives. This will be exacerbated by the government's refusal to issue a physical document as proof of residence. Finally, the regulations governing the ‘Settlement Scheme’ have not been approved through primary legislation, and thus could be changed in the future without any parliamentary scrutiny.

The Spanish government has devised a much simpler process to change the status of British citizens in Spain from European citizens to third-country nationals. According to the Royal Decree  5/2019 the procedure will be declaratory, although there could be problems in provinces with many UK residents and for the most vulnerable groups. This will only be seen after a No Deal Brexit and the beginning of the twenty-one month grace period stipulated in the Royal Decree. However, the most worrying aspect of the Spanish contingency plans for British residents is that everything in the Decree Law depends on reciprocity in various areas of cooperation (not just citizenship). After the recent meeting of Borrell and Barclay, it seems that the two governments are not at all clear about what "reciprocity" means.

Also, after moving to the general immigration regime (régimen general de extranjería) the British will lose key 'European' rights such as non-discrimination and free movement within the EU. Family reunification will also become much more difficult for people who want to bring their elderly parents to Spain and long-term residents may only be absent from Spain for twelve months (instead of two years for EU citizens and five years for permanent residents in the UK). Another potential issue is that those Britons who will be family members of EU citizens after Brexit may be forced to apply for temporary residence despite having lived in Spain for many years. Finally, for UK nationals in Spain, there is no dual nationality, something that makes this route for guaranteeing rights more difficult.

The3million and the British in Europe group, EuroCitizens, are calling, once again, for our rights to be guaranteed according to the citizens' right chapter of the Withdrawal Agreement which the United Kingdom and the European Union agreed in 2018. That is the only way to preserve most of our rights even if a deal is not reached in other matters related to Brexit such as the Irish backstop.

24/09/19 Comunicado de EuroCitizens y the3million: QUE TERMINE EL MERCADEO CON NUESTROS DERECHOS

 

British in Europe y the3million en una manifestación en Londres el año pasado

El reciente titular de El País -España quitará los derechos a los residentes británicos si no obtiene igualdad de trato - pone en relieve la preocupante situación de los 350.000 británicos en España y los 150.000 españoles en el Reino Unido y el hecho de que seguimos siendo moneda de cambio en las negociaciones. La incertidumbre para los cinco millones de afectados no hace más que aumentar, a tan solo cuarenta días para un probable Brexit sin acuerdo. Ambos gobiernos y la Comisión Europea han repetido hasta la saciedad que garantizarán nuestros derechos. La realidad es muy diferente.

WHAT RIGHTS WILL WE HAVE IN DIFFERENT BREXIT SCENARIOS?

Below see an analysis of the status of rights of UK residents in Spain in different Brexit scenarios: now as EU citizens (Brexit does not take place), under the Withdrawal Agreement (May's deal), under the Spanish Brexit contingency plans (Royal Decree 5/2019) and under the scenario that this protection is removed because of a lack of reciprocity from the UK. We have also added a column about the UK government's position, particularly related to issues within their unilateral grant such as the situation of returnees to Britain. 

This is a working document and is aimed to help people know what situation they might find themselves in and what specific rights they might keep or lose. Please write to us at eurocitizens2016@gmail.com if you have any comments or queries. However, remember that we are not lawyers and cannot give advice about individual situations - what we are trying to do is provide up-to-date and accurate information at a time of considerable confusion.

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