It’s March 2019 and T-minus four weeks until the looming deadline, which will decide (or not) how Brexit moves forward. As a long-term US immigrant in Spain who has been dealing with residency, legal and financial issues for over 10 years, I wondered how my British friends and colleagues were preparing for Brexit.
I work full-time for a large multinational corporation whose EU headquarters are based in the UK, and they have a special task-force dedicated to readying the company for Brexit. I have been impressed with their bi-weekly calls and continuous updates on the company homepage, as well as the emails sent out by our HR department and the Heads of this Brexit task force. I began wondering: Are all companies preparing this way? Are other companies helping their British expats in Spain? And how are British freelancers and small business owners handling all of this?
The Brexit bunch
I sent out a call to those I knew to see how they were preparing for Brexit and ended up speaking with a mixture of people. Some are recent arrivals and others have been living in Spain for over 10 years. There are freelancers and small-business owners; and others who are contracted cuenta ajena workers here in Spain. Some are married to Spaniards, some with children, some who own property in Spain, and others who are half-British and half-European, raised in the UK. With such a diverse group of people, each had a unique story to tell.
Chris Webb
I contacted Chris Webb who is a Partner at The Spectrum IFA Group. It’s a Pan European advisory but he is based in the Madrid region. He has been in Spain since 2013, and plans to live here permanently. I asked Chris how he’s been preparing for Brexit:
“I have my permanent residence card, I have double checked I’m still registered on the Padron. I have converted my UK driving licence to a Spanish one and I have copies of my Empadronamiento Histórico and Vida Laboral to show where I have lived and worked and for how long.”
Regarding his company, and how they are preparing for Brexit, he stated that:
“The company is legally registered and regulated as a Spanish company, so we haven’t had to make many internal changes. It does impact some of the investment solutions we work with, but on the whole it has only had a small impact. We are set up in other EU countries in exactly the same way – so we are as ‘Brexit proof’ as possible.”
Laura Brooksbank
Laura Brooksbank, originally from Liverpool, has been in Spain since 2006 (although she officially moved here permanently in 2008). I asked Laura the same question as Chris regarding what she has been doing to prepare for Brexit:
“When the referendum was first being discussed, I realised I met the requirements for permanent residency as I had been living here for more than 5 years. So that was the first step I took. Last year, I also exchanged my driving licence for a Spanish one. However, the biggest step I took is a more recent and serious one, as I submitted my Spanish nationality application in October 2018. This was something I had been thinking about before Brexit but the loss of EU rights was the additional push I needed. The decision to strip me of my rights to free movement was one taken by the British population, but I am in the fortunate position to be able to reverse that, even if it could mean renouncing my British nationality.”
Laura is a Solutions Architect in the payments/financial services sector for a large multinational tech company. I asked her whether her company was handling the current Brexit situation in a similar way to mine.
“As a French multinational company with offices throughout the UK, it’s quite possible that there could be financial and human impacts post-Brexit. I am not aware of what planning has been undertaken and (I) haven’t received any information myself.”
I asked Laura whether there was anything that she feared regarding Brexit, especially with how it might affect her financially or her family back in the UK and she said:
“In the short term, I worry about the economic impacts a no-deal Brexit could have on my family and friends back in the UK. I am not so worried for myself as my residency status should be OK, especially given the recent assurances by the Spanish government (subject to reciprocity). But in the longer term I am worried about the growing mindset of divisiveness, borders, walls and isolation – not just in the UK but across the world.”
Matt Bleakly
Next I spoke with Matt Bleakly, a freelancer, who is a business coach & consultant and the founder of MB Coaching EU. His company provides business coaching, training (centered around business skills) and consultation services to professionals and companies. He has been in Spain since 2011 and is currently married to his Spanish wife and they have one child together. His son currently holds both passports. I asked Matt how Brexit is currently affecting his financial investments and he told me:
“I own my business and my wife and I are looking to buy a house in the next year or so. Brexit adds another layer of stress and confusion with that – not only because people are nervous about financial security, but because countries in the EU like Spain may adapt their law to consider people in my situation. They can take an undetermined amount of time to decide what to do, or they could even flat out reject amending laws to British expats. This essentially puts us in no-mans land, politically and legally.”
I asked Matt how he was going about handling his business – especially with being a freelancer and a small business owner who works not only in Spain but across the EU as well and he stated:
“What I do is not very common in Spain, and Brexit has made everything a lot less stable for the foreseeable future. So I have been exploring options to put my business online, as well as exploring options in other countries. It makes me feel like I am spreading the risk more, rather than being dependent on one or two countries for survival. Also, my intensive summer courses will be moving away from England, as there will likely be more expense and bureaucratic procedures for things like visas. Therefore, I have moved this part of my business to Ireland, where there is more certainty and is easier, as it remains in the EU.”
Purvika (Niki) Patel
A former colleague of mine, Purvika (Niki) Patel, has been in Spain since 2009, and has just recently married her Spanish husband. She is a primary school English teacher in the outskirts of Madrid. I asked her how she has been preparing for Brexit, and it seems she has followed the same path as several others who I have spoken with:
“Validating my British driving licence to the Spanish one and having to hand in my British licence. I applied for my permanent residency, and I’ve spoken on the phone with the British consulate for advice.”
I asked Niki what were some of the things she mostly felt worried about with regard to how Brexit would affect her life in the future as a British expat in Spain.
“Fears for my husband being able to live in the UK in the future. The doubts I have with regards to having dual-nationality (myself and my future children). I am worried about the cost of travelling and/or needing a visa and having to choose between two nationalities, although I will never give up my British nationality.”
Rosie Hegarty
I reached out to another long-term Liverpudlian in Spain, Rosie Hegarty. Rosie works for a group of companies in the educational sector in Madrid, including TtMadrid TEFL training centre (www.ttmadrid.com) and Spanish academy, LAE Madrid (www.laemadrid.com). The company has decided to reduce their UK investment, and is looking for other markets. I asked Rosie what she has done so far with regard to preparing for Brexit, and just like everyone the drivers licence and NIE were the first on that list. Rosie did mention, “I’ve applied for an Irish passport based on my father being Irish.” So at least she has that going for her, unlike other Brits abroad.
Not preparing for Brexit
I was starting to think that in general most of the people I was speaking with were getting as prepared as possible within the realms and knowledge that they had available. But then one day, while discussing Brexit with some British colleagues based out of the Madrid office I realized that not everyone has been thinking about it as much as others. My colleague Giorgia, who although raised in the UK, has an Italian father and thus legally can apply for the Italian passport didn’t seem too worried. I asked Giorgia what she had been doing to prepare for Brexit and she even told me openly:
“Not much as I don’t know what is required. I can apply for an Italian passport if necessary. Currently I’m looking into getting an appointment at the Italian embassy.”
I wondered about all of the people living not just in Spain or the EU but in Britain as well as whether those who are able to get dual nationality have it, want it or are considering getting it. I believe that as they think they will have access to either an EU or British passport or both (depending on what passport they currently hold) in the future that they might not be as worried or at least thinking about how this will affect them or their family in the future.
Brexit opinions: The bottom line
The Expat Brexiteer
I did try and find someone who is a British expat in Spain who voted for leaving the EU in the original referendum but I haven’t been able to yet within my circle or their circle. I am sure they exist somewhere in Spain. Across the board, the people I have interviewed have all expressed a very similar disgust and anger at what has happened, and how it will affect their lives from now into the future.
Chasing a unicorn
As Rosie said:
“The fact that Brexit happened through promising a ‘unicorn’ that would never be achieved, and now we are seeing the reality of it, is sad for everyone involved. No one will get the Brexit they wanted because the Brexit that was promised is impossible. If people had really done their due diligence on everything that was promised, it was quite clear. For me, Brexit has been mostly a psychological blow to how I viewed my identity as a British person, and how I viewed Britain. I always felt like we had solid political processes and were open-minded. To have grown up with access and easy travel to the whole of Europe, it feels surreal to have to apply to do what I have always had the right to do. Worse, being that we have chosen to do it. The problem is that Brexit is forever and will forever change our relationship with Europe.”
Lies for profit
Matt’s take was:
“I feel though that many politicians have leveraged their careers on both sides for this Brexit debate, which I wholeheartedly feel doesn´t go in any way to serving the people of the country they say they are representing. Many, many lies were spread in the run-up to the election, and when the vote was official, these lies were proven to be just that. Even so, there is no punishment for those that spread the lies – or the possibility of seeking a second referendum based on more integrity, which I personally feel is disgusting. Many have said that the country has made a “clear decision” regarding the leaving of the EU, but 2% is not a clear result of anything – let alone causing a history-changing event that could have a knock-on effect that could last for generations.”
No going back
My colleague Emily even stated:
“Opinions have changed and I’m not convinced the vote would be the same if it were done again, but it won’t be. We are stuck now, and no one, not even the leavers are happy with this deal. Fundamentally, the referendum was badly done and swaps nearly 50% of happy people with 50% of those who aren’t. It didn’t specify what Brexit looked like, so now we have millions of differing ideas of what it should be, and so, we can’t agree on how it is going to look. This is why we are in such a mess now.”
Loss of control
“The damage has already been done, and this isn’t reversible. The UK government haven’t made anything clear, either to UK Businesses and citizens or to us UK nationals living abroad and this uncertainty is what has caused the damage” said Chris Webb. “I can’t use the word ‘worried’ too much because the whole process is out of our hands. There is no point getting stressed about something we have no control over. We have regularised ourselves here so fingers crossed all will be ok.”
At the end of the day, that’s all one can hope for – that all will be okay.
*As of March 1st, 2019, Spain has stated that they will guarantee British residents their rights in event of no-deal Brexit.
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