What a complete shambles the Conservatives made of Brexit and how it impacts on British expats abroad. Why didn't Britain and Spain negotiate a bilateral deal to safeguard the thousands of Britons who live in Spain and the similar number of Spaniards who live in Britain?
The 90-day rule has effectively made owning a holiday home in Spain a nightmare. What is the point of having a second home in Spain if you can only use it six months of the year? To buy a property in Mallorca you have to ask the permission from the military now and the paperwork is a mountain high. The Conservatives boldly announced that expats in Spain would get the vote for life and then, in some cases, the voting papers failed to arrive.
I was almost denied entry into Spain when returning from the US because I carried the green residence certificate, and this was when the new TIE cards had only just been introduced. The British government still maintains that the green certificate is valid; unfortunately some Spanish immigration officials think differently.
I am sure that things could have been much easier if only Spain and Britain had sat down and negotiated. But then the British government wanted to get the Brexit deal signed, sealed and delivered and it appears that there was little thought for the small army of Britons who were living abroad. Thanks for nothing, Tories.