Why’d you have to go and make it feel so complicated? 10 years on from Brexit. Credit: M-Production / Shutterstock
Ten years after UK voters went to the polls on June 23, 2016, British life in Spain has not disappeared. But residency documents, 90-day limits, property shifts, trade friction and family care worries now shape a relationship that once felt far simpler.
How the Brexit vote still shapes British life in Spain
When the UK voted to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016, much of the public debate centred on trade, sovereignty, immigration and Westminster politics.
For British residents in Spain, the longer story became more practical. The vote did not instantly change daily life, and Britain did not formally leave the EU until January 2020. But over the decade that followed, the meaning of being British in Spain changed.
Living, retiring, working, staying with family or caring for elderly relatives in Spain is no longer something British citizens can assume in the same way EU citizens can.
Paul Michael, 67, a British resident in Cádiz who has lived in Spain for more than 23 years, said the first noticeable shift was the need to prove a status that had once felt settled.
“Despite living legally in Spain for many years, I suddenly had to deal with changes in my status as a British resident in Spain and residency paperwork,” he told Euro Weekly News.
How freedom of movement became forms, cards and calendar counting
Before Brexit, UK citizens could move to Spain under EU freedom of movement rules. Since the end of the transition period, British citizens arriving to live in Spain are generally treated as non-EU nationals and must meet visa, residency and documentation requirements.
For those already legally resident before the cut-off, the Withdrawal Agreement protected many existing rights. But even protected residents still had to make sure they could prove their position.
Spain’s TIE, the Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, or foreigner identity card, became an important document for British residents proving post-Brexit status.
Paul said this is what many people in the UK failed to understand.
“Some people underestimate the value of freedom of movement because they never used it themselves,” he said. “The right to live and work in Spain changed overnight. Many thought Brexit was just about trade arrangements and politics.”
That distinction matters, and still shapes who can live, work, retire or stay long-term in Spain.
How 90-day limits changed second homes, family visits and care
For British citizens without residency or a long-stay visa, Spain sits inside the Schengen 90-day rule. That generally limits visa-free stays in Spain and most other Schengen countries to 90 days in any 180-day period.
Maureen Smith, a British resident who moved to Spain in 1990 and lived around Sotogrande and Pueblo Nuevo for more than three decades, said the referendum result was a shock.
“Brexit was a disaster and we couldn’t believe the result,” she said.
For Smith, one of the clearest practical changes was the loss of automatic movement between the UK, Spain and the wider EU.
“The 90-day rule for villa owners was bad,” she said. “There was no freedom of movement and more hassle at airports.”
She said Brexit also affected feelings of security among some long-term residents, even those who had worked, raised families and built stable lives in Spain.
“I felt insecure even though I had a full-time job at school and a pension,” she said.
Care has become one of the most sensitive post-Brexit issues. Recent reporting has highlighted British families struggling to care for elderly relatives in Spain because UK-based relatives cannot simply stay indefinitely without residency or a visa.
Smith, who returned to the UK for family health reasons, said Spain had been “a great place to bring up children”, but that ageing could change the calculation.
“For older people, if they lose a partner, life is very different,” she said.
How the Costas changed without losing their British base
The South and Eastern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula have long been shorthand for British life in Spain, and British buyers have not disappeared. But post-Brexit, new British arrivals face a different legal path from EU citizens buying, retiring or working in Spain.
There is evidence of change, but the figures do not show a simple British retreat.
Spain’s General Council of Notaries said foreigners accounted for 18.4 per cent of free-market home purchases in Spain in the second half of 2025. British and Moroccan buyers were the two largest foreign groups, followed by Italians and Germans.
Paul said claims that British communities have faded away can be exaggerated.
“There is still a large British community here,” he said. “There are fewer new British arrivals than before Brexit because it has made moving to and working in Spain far more complicated. But there are still many large British communities.”
How tourism stayed strong while the wider relationship grew more complex
The numbers also show a split between visiting Spain and building a life there.
Spain received a record 96.8 million international tourists in 2025, according to Spain’s National Statistics Institute. British visitors remained a central part of Spain’s tourism market, with official monthly data repeatedly showing the UK among the leading source countries.
That suggests Brexit has not broken the UK-Spain travel habit. But holidays are not the same as residency.
How British residents in Spain now need to plan differently
British residents covered by the Withdrawal Agreement should keep residency documents up to date, including the TIE where applicable. Second-home owners and regular visitors need to track Schengen days carefully. Families with elderly relatives in Spain may need legal advice before assuming a UK-based son, daughter or carer can stay long-term.
For new arrivals, the old idea of trying Spain first and sorting paperwork later is far more difficult than it used to be.
For British residents in Spain, Brexit’s anniversary marks a decade in which a familiar way of life survived, but became less automatic, less flexible and much more dependent on paperwork and ever-changing rules and regulations.
