BREXIT IN TENERIFE – 

LAST UPDATED:  1st May 2023

TOPICS COVERED BELOW INCLUDE:

Residency Rights

Driving Licences

Medical Care

RESIDENCY RIGHTS

Good news! The European Union and the United Kingdom government announced on 24th December 2020 that a Trade Deal has finally been agreed between the UK and EU. Spanish government has now confirmed its rules and procedures for UK nationals wishing to apply for residency rights in Spain.

Unfortunately, the deadline for those wishing to register their rights to live in Spain under that scheme has now expired.

From now on, anybody wishing to spend more than 90 days in Spain apply for a Spanish visa before travelling to Spain. We have set out the latest information and rules regarding obtaining residencia, including details of available visa categories: HERE.

Meanwhile, UK Nationals can still travel to Tenerife on holiday for up to a total of 90 days in any 180 day period (fully explained in the Residency article linked to above) simply by using their UK passport (provided it it valid for at least 6 months from the date of travel). However, for any stay longer than 90 days, an application for a visa and residency is currently required.

N.B. The 90 day limit is nothing new. It has in fact been a legal requirement for ALL EU nationals (including British) living in Spain since 2012. In its infinite wisdom, Spain decided at that time to introduce a new law requiring anybody intending to reside in Spain for more than 90 days to apply for Spanish Residencia and register as Empadronamiento at the local Town Hall. This is of course entirely separate from the concept of ‘tax residency’, which states that a ‘Spanish Tax Resident’ is one who resides in Spain for at least 6 months and 1 day in any given tax year.

Since Brexit, it is likely that the 90 day rule will now be monitored and enforced for UK Nationals by way of inspecting passport stamps upon entry and exit in Spain. The EU is also planning to introduce digital biometric border checks from October 2023, which we understand will replace the need for passport stamps.

For those who do choose to register, applying for ‘Residencia’ in Spain is entirely separate to being a tax resident (i.e. filing resident tax returns, declaring bank accounts as resident etc etc). Obtaining the new TIE card (or having the older green card or green A4 sheet) does NOT make the holder tax resident in Spain, until they spend over 6 months per year in Spain.

Finally, UK nationals holding one of the older green residencias should be aware that those documents remain 100% legal and they are NOT required to swap that document for a newer TIE card. Such a switch is purely voluntary. Please ignore any social media articles, or ill-informed officials in Tenerife, suggesting otherwise.

In conclusion: All UK nationals can continue to spend up to 90 days in Tenerife in any 180 day period simply by presenting their UK passport.

DRIVING LICENCES:   As we predicted last year, a deal has now been done to extend the rights of UK Nationals residing in Spain who wish to exchange their UK driving Licence for a Spanish licence.

The procedure for changing your licence over can be viewed HERE. You can change the language to English at the top of the page.

For any UK Nationals resident in Spain with a UK licence who doesn’t qualify under the above rules and who wish to drive here, the only option is to now sit and pass the new Spanish Theory Test & Driving Test. Given our understanding that there are substantial delays in obtaining a test due to the Covid pandemic, those wishing to take their test should brush up on their Spanish Highway Code and apply for the driving test ASAP! See HERE for the procedure (again, the page can be changed to English at the top).

MEDICAL CARE:  UK Nationals who have an existing EHIC card can continue to use that card in Tenerife (or Spain in general) to receive medical care. If you don’t have your EHIC with you in Tenerife or if you’ve lost it, you can call the NHS Overseas Healthcare Team on +44 191 218 1999 to get a Provisional Replacement Certificate.

However, new EHIC cards are no longer being issued. Instead, UK Nationals will now need to apply for the new GHIC card. For more details on applying for the GHIC card and how it works, click HERE

Please remember that the EHIC and GHIC cards are designed to provide emergency and urgent medical cover and they do NOT cover all medical procedures or needs. UK nationals visiting Tenerife (Spain) or indeed any EU country who need more comprehensive cover should therefore ensure that they have sufficient medical/travel insurance in place to cover their requirements, or ensure they have registered for reciprocal medical care rights in Spain (click for more info).

The Good Stuff – Duty Free Fags and Booze

Brits holidaying in or visiting EU countries once again find themselves limited on what they can bring back from Spain to standard ‘duty-free’ limits (e.g. 200 cigarettes). However, given that Tenerife has always been outside of the EU for ‘tax purposes’ and duty-free limits already apply between the Canary Islands and the UK, there is likely to be no change whatsoever for bargain-seeker drinkers and smokers visiting Tenerife. However, most canny visitors to the Canary Islands know that fags and booze are invariably cheaper in local supermarkets than at the airport Duty Free shops anyway.