Pensions and healthcare are currently the two primary concerns of Britons resident in Spain, and last week a select committee of 21 MPs was told in London of the wider Brexit concerns worrying Britions living across the European Union.
Sue Wilson, who lives between Valencia and Barcelona, was representing British residents in Spain. She has set up an organisation called Bremain in Spain and, as of yesterday morning, it has 4,100 members.
"The simple aim of the body is to protect the rights of Britons who live in Spain and also to try and block Brexit, this debate is not over by a long shot," she told the Bulletin from London yesterday.
"Last week four of us representing Britons living in Spain, France, Italy and Belgium sat before the Exiting the European Union Select Committee and, to be honest, we knew far more about the possible hurdles and challenges than they did. The government is certainly in the dark when it comes to British residents living in the European Union and we are also way down it list of priorities right now," Wilson said.
"However, we all addressed different issues so we could raise as many as possible, shed as much light as possible on the situation because London appears to be very much in the dark about the potential plight of British living in the EU, and it was a positive meeting.
"It was the first time we had all met and I hope that, now we have a working relationship with the select committee, we can all move forward together and, if Brexit does finally go ahead, come up with a plan which will protect the rights of Britons living in the EU." Wilson described a "very simple process" with a two-page form to apply for permanent residency.
But the fall in the value of the pound in recent months has worried British retirees in Spain, she said.
"Pensioners are already suffering financially as a result of the exchange rates. They are concerned if they will be able to afford health care if they will need to pay for it.
"Many moved to Spain originally because it was cheaper to live there. Many are struggling," she said.
Around 70,000 British pensioners live in Spain, compared to just 62 Spanish retirees in Britain, according to comments made in November by Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the UK’s Department of Health.
"But in Spain, it’s not all about pensioners," Wilson said.
"Only a third of Britons residents in Spain are pensioners, the rest are workers with families and they too have serious concerns.
"Many of the working people are worried about the possibility of work permits and visa being reintroduced.
"Some are even concerned about whether their qualifications, which are currently recognised across the EU and elsewhere will continue to be so, or will they have to requalify in Spain in Spanish. All these are issues which need to be raised and discussed but for the meantime, as I said, London and the British government appears to be very much in the dark about what Brexit could mean to Britons who have either retired or are working in Spain and other EU countries," Wilson stressed.
"So, we have a long way to go and we all have a lot of work to do but hopefully common sense will prevail in the end and Brexit will be scrapped."
For more information www.bremaininspain.com.