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Is this possible?

Is this possible?

Postby Floydy » Wed Feb 14, 2018 8:41 pm

Hi everyone,
My first post so please be kind.

Is it possible to live full time in Spain as non resident and still remain a British resident?

Somebody I know has been doing this for approx 14 months,after 6 months they return to England for a few days and then return to Spain for 6 months and so,the info I have found states this is impossible to achieve as its against the rules,if however it could be done please let me know.
Thanks for reading.
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby marcliff » Wed Feb 14, 2018 8:57 pm

No, it's against the rules if they haven't taken out residency. It is 6 months in a 12 months period (not a year).
Spain is now their main place of residence so they should become residents here, declare their income for taxes and either pay for private insurance medical care or, if retired, transfer their medical care to Spain so at least Spain gets paid for treating them.
A lot of people don't and get away with living under the radar.
Do they have a UK car? Do they use the medical facilities here using an EHIC?
People don't do it because of several reasons. They are unsure of the procedures, don't know what to do in case they need help and want the UK bolt hole and many other reasons.
Trouble is, so many get away with it that they think they are playing the system. Hopefully, for their sake, they won't get caught but penalties are quite severe. For example, living here and not declaring assets abroad can lead to a 300% fine of the value of the assets (house, bank account etc).
They are depriving the country they live in of taxes (income, road tax etc) but are, I assume, quite happy to take the things provided (decent roads, protection of police, fire and other emergency services) and so on.
They also think the Spanish tax man will take lots off them which is rather rubbish. OK, the tax allowances aren't so generous but they are sufficient and, especially if you are taxed in UK on government pensions, would probably mean you won't get taxed anyway.
Still, yes it is possible as Spain isn't what you'd call a police state. You don't get stopped and asked for papers on a daily basis, you don't get hauled in at airports or ferries.
It's just fiddling the system because people have the idea that rules don't apply to them.
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby Floydy » Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:03 pm

marcliff wrote:No, it's against the rules if they haven't taken out residency. It is 6 months in a 12 months period (not a year).
Spain is now their main place of residence so they should become residents here, declare their income for taxes and either pay for private insurance medical care or, if retired, transfer their medical care to Spain so at least Spain gets paid for treating them.
A lot of people don't and get away with living under the radar.
Do they have a UK car? Do they use the medical facilities here using an EHIC?
People don't do it because of several reasons. They are unsure of the procedures, don't know what to do in case they need help and want the UK bolt hole and many other reasons.
Trouble is, so many get away with it that they think they are playing the system. Hopefully, for their sake, they won't get caught but penalties are quite severe. For example, living here and not declaring assets abroad can lead to a 300% fine of the value of the assets (house, bank account etc).
They are depriving the country they live in of taxes (income, road tax etc) but are, I assume, quite happy to take the things provided (decent roads, protection of police, fire and other emergency services) and so on.
They also think the Spanish tax man will take lots off them which is rather rubbish. OK, the tax allowances aren't so generous but they are sufficient and, especially if you are taxed in UK on government pensions, would probably mean you won't get taxed anyway.
Still, yes it is possible as Spain isn't what you'd call a police state. You don't get stopped and asked for papers on a daily basis, you don't get hauled in at airports or ferries.
It's just fiddling the system because people have the idea that rules don't apply to them.
l


Thanks....exactly what I thought,not sure for certain but I think they think it's all above board?
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby GLASSMAN » Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:26 pm

Prehaps the Brexit situation,is making a lot of people unsure what to do ,apply for residency or just wait and see, but the Spanish are quite happy for the British non resident to spend there UK pensions in the supermarkets ,bars and restaurant's ,I think if all the non residents stopping longer than they should,went back to the uk ,the local economy would take a downturn unfortunatly ,its just not the british ,theres germans ,scandanavians ,Russians , belguims, French,romanians ,just look at all the number plates on cars, but its better to be above board and be legal for peace of mind.
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby Dsj » Thu Feb 15, 2018 8:42 am

Just to play devils advocate for a moment, other than accident etc. How are the authorities actually going to find out ?

(I should mention that I have no intention of doing this myself, although I do occasionally find myself in Spain for a week or so over the 6 months)
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby geoffllo » Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:11 am

Just one word of warning to people who are "getting away" with spending more than 6 months here in any twelve month period, the Spanish tax authorities look at the records of your electricity supply to see if your house has been fully occupied, and for what periods. They can also look at your bank account to see, for example, whether you have regularly drawn cash from atm's in Spain.
Big brother knows what you're doing!
Geoff.
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby Floydy » Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:14 am

geoffllo wrote:Just one word of warning to people who are "getting away" with spending more than 6 months here in any twelve month period, the Spanish tax authorities look at the records of your electricity supply to see if your house has been fully occupied, and for what periods. They can also look at your bank account to see, for example, whether you have regularly drawn cash from atm's in Spain.
Big brother knows what you're doing!
Geoff.




Don't forget your passport is scanned every time,as you say there will be a paper trail too,no escape from this scenario IMO .
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby camionpilot » Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:42 am

Not if you move round Europe by road or rail .
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby GLASSMAN » Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:51 am

THE SPANISH AINT BOTHERED AS LONG YOUR NOT A DRAIN ON THE SYSTEM,do you think?
your EHIC card is for emergencys only ,although some people abuse it, at the hospital all they have ask is when did you arrived, when do you go home show us your flite tickets/documents ,but realy you should have holiday insurance aswell.so can refuse to treat you free.
if you paid nowt in you cant get owt out, unless you,ve transferred your NHS healthcare over and to do that you got to become a resident,
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Re: Is this possible?

Postby Justjan » Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:11 am

Im guessing all the people wanting to stay under the radar, here in spain , would be the first to start moaning about EU citizens arriving in the UK getting free health care etc. Also ive known quite a few couples living in Spain full time under the radar, as they want to keep all the social payments, eg winter fuel, mobility, and carers allowance.. I hope they are prepared to face the fines if and when uk and Spain finally catch up with them.... Just my opinion.
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