British rights in Spain ’to be DEFENDED in no-deal Brexit’ - BREXPAT BOOST
By Joe Duggan
Daily Express
Saturday November 17th 2018
SPAIN is preparing a law to allow millions of British holidaymakers to visit without a visa and ensure expats maintain access to health care in the event of a no-deal Brexit, in a move which has been welcomed by Britons abroad.
Pedro Sanchez’s PSOE government’s contingency plan would ensure UK residents in Spain don’t become illegal immigrants once Britain exits the bloc on March 29, 2019, according to Spanish financial newspaper Expansion. Anne Hernandez, head of campaign group Brexpats in Spain, welcomed news of the Spanish proposed law to protect British citizens’ rights. The group, which has 5,500 members, has been lobbying Spanish politicians to ensure they retain existing rights after Britain’s leaving date of March 29, 2019.
Ms Hernandez, who is based in Andalusia, told Express.co.uk a law to ensure Brits in Spain retain their rights “would be wonderful”.
She said: “There are over 300,000 British residents here. It would be a considerable loss.
“There are people here in business, and even the pensioners spend - they invest in property, for example.
“Marbella Council has asked that I support a party proposal to allow their 4,000 British residents to have the same rights as before Brexit.
Around 300,000 British people live in Spain, with fears over their post-Brexit status after no deal
“I said ‘Wonderful, but I do not want it to only be Marbella’.”
Ms Hernandez's comments came after Theresa May’s LBC live radio phone-in on Friday, in which she was questioned by Ellen, a British resident in Alicante, on whether Brits will retain access to health care in a no-deal Brexit.
Mrs May said: “If there is no deal I have said EU citizens living here in the UK will have their rights protected.
“And I would expect the countries in the EU to do the same for UK citizens living in their country.”
Ms Hernandez added: “We sincerely hope that will be the case, that it is not just a throwaway comment, like Theresa May makes. I am hopeful Pedro Sanchez will defend us.”
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there were 293,500 British people living in Spain in 2017.
Just over two fifths (40.7 per cent) of that number are aged 65 or older, with many British expats concerned how Brexit will affect access to Spain’s public health system.
And, according to Spanish financial and business newspaper Expansion, Mr Sanchez’s Socialist government wants to ensure British residents can continue to use Spanish hospitals, with the UK government paying around £223 million (€300 million) to fund the care.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/poli...holidaymakers-visa-health-care-rights-no-deal