The main reason why British expats are moving to Valencia is the exciting lifestyle and the weather. Brexit has significantly encouraged those who have been thinking about moving to Valencia to speed up their relocation process. Relocating to Valencia when Brexit can be stressful, overall the paperwork and the uncertain future
Since 2017, but especially since September 2019, we’ve had hundreds of inquiries from British people with European sentiments who wish to start moving to Valencia due to Brexit. These are either purely British born people who really love Valencia, European naturalised as British citizens, or British people with family who live permanently in Valencia.
Moving to Valencia from 2021
The UK has planned to split from the EU on 31st January 2020, and with an 11-month transition period. In effect, this means that if you move to Valencia before 31st December 2020, it will not be an issue and all of your rights as a resident in Spain will still be granted to you.
The best thing you can do is set up your residency in Spain by the end of 2020 of course after moving to Valencia. Likewise, it’s happening in the UK with EU citizens who live and want to remain there.
A work permit is always a good first step but you will need a job offer letter from a Spanish company. To be granted permanent residence after moving to Valencia you will need to follow a steady process of one year of residence when you first apply, followed by two periods of 2 years each and finally a 5 years residence which will give you the right to apply for Spanish citizenship.
Spanish naturalisation
Another option is to get Spanish naturalisation (citizenship), where you would need to have lived in Spain for 10 years. If you are married to a Spanish citizen you can get your Spanish citizenship as long as you have lived in Spain legally for a year.
Golden Visa when moving to Valencia
Another option is the Golden Visa, when you invest in property with a value of at least €500k. You can find more information in this link about Golden Visa and Spanish property Taxation
The Golden Visa was brought into effect in 2013 and at the time the proposed threshold was €160k, but unfortunately the government decided to increase it to half a million euros.
In this page you can find some Spanish Golden Visa services when moving to Valencia.
Future agreement for UK and SP expats
Regarding citizenship, what happens after 1st January 2021 will depend on the agreement reached between the Spanish and British governments.
We understand that given the large community of mutual expats in both countries, it should be of great interest for both countries to do a fair deal for the hundreds of thousands of citizens affected.
Please contact us for a legal consultation or any updates on this matter. This post does not serve as legal information or advice and anything written here is subject to possible change as the legal processing of Brexit unfolds.
