Brexit for British citizens and UK companies in Spain

Are you a British citizen living in Spain?

Do you have a UK company and wish to keep operating within the EU?

If you are a British citizen and a resident of Spain and you have the EU Citizen Registration Certificate:

In accordance with Article 18.4 of the withdrawal agreement, British citizens (and relatives) who lived in Spain before December 31st, 2021 will have the same rights as before, but in order to keep this right, you must obtain the new residence card for British citizens living in Spain.

If you have the “old” residence certificate/card, you can get the new residence card via an appointment with the police station in the city where you live. You will be issued a new card within about 30 days after you apply.

If you do not have a residency permit dating from 2021, and you want to live in Spain:

All British nationals who can not benefit from the Withdrawal Agreement are considered as foreigners in Spain. That means the general immigration regime will be applied by virtue of the Spanish laws applicable to the rest of the countries that are not part of the EU. If you want to live and/or work in Spain, you will have to obtain a visa/authorization for living/working in Spain as a non-EU citizen. Strong Abogados offers many legal services for the expatriate in Spain. Our lawyers all speak English fluently. Our immigration service focuses on obtaining residence permits for three types of individuals: those who have savings, those who would like to retire in Spain, and those who plan to have their own business in Spain. The first two options fall under our wealth visa service, while the third option falls under our investor visa service. Another simple vehicle to get permanent residency in Spain is with the golden visa.

If you own a UK company and wish to keep operating within the EU: Why relocate your UK company to Spain after Brexit?

Following Brexit, the UK no longer part of the European Single Market, so UK companies can no longer take part in Single Market services, such as the EU MOSS single VAT return scheme, VIES, Economic Operator Registration Identification (EORI), among others.

Deciding on a new country for doing business can be a challenging task, as well as choosing among the EU countries. In this article, you can read more about some of these key changes.

FAQs:

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If I become a citizen of Spain, will I need to renounce my British citizenship?

This is up to the British authorities if they discover that you have Spanish citizenship.

What is the process of relocating your UK company to Spain after Brexit?

If you wish to take advantage of being in the European Single Market, you can register a branch of your UK company in Spain, or form a new company in Spain. Alternatively, in some cases depending on your business plan, you can get a Spanish VAT number for your UK company.