Brits Demand Exapts in Spain Be Given Dual Citizenship

Brits Demand Exapts in Spain Be Given Dual Citizenship

Its makes sense for Spain to allow Brits 

Dual citizenship.  

There is a petition calling for the Spanish government to give British expats who have been in Spain for over ten years dual nationality. The petition asks that the Spanish government perform an act of generosity for expats following the situation they have found themselves in after the UK voted to leave the EU. The petition goes on to say that many expats, both from Spain and the UK, are uncertain about their future and becoming desperate.

The petition was started by journalist and author Giles Tremlett, who has written for both the Guardian and the Economist. He gave an interview with The Local where he said that he started the petition because of what dual citizenship would mean to him personally and the practical benefits.

Tremlett said that after living in Spain for as long as he has he now has a dual identity. Tremlett is currently based in Madrid and has residency and lived in Spain for over 25 years. Because of this he was unable to vote in the referendum as there was a 15 year limit. He feels that he has been stripped of his European citizenship without being able to have his own say in the matter.

The petition follows the words of the German Vice Chancellor, who said that Germany should offer dual citizenship and urged other countries in the EU to do so as well. The Brexit vote has left many of the roughly 400,000 British expat wondering what will come next for them. Many of them are also worried about what will happen to their pensions and their right to buy property. Acting Prime Minister Rajoy has assured Brits living in Spain that they won’t wake up to find their rights stripped from them.

Tremett is one of the people who is deeply concerned about his pension following the Brexit vote. He has worked in both Spain and the UK and is now unsure what would happen to his pension if he was to move back to the UK to take care of his parents before returning to Spain.

He also made the argument that Spaniards living in Britain can apply for dual citizenship after five years but no such option exists for the Brits in Spain. Dual nationality doesn’t exist in Spain and to become a Spanish citizen one would have to renounce their original nationality. Tremlett is concerned that his sons, born in Spain but British nationals, do not have the right to denounce their nationality.

The petition also argues that there is a precedent for this kind of legislative change allowing double citizenship. Just last year Acting Prime Minister Rajoy granted dual citizenship to the ancestors of Jewish people who were forced out of Spain as part of the Spanish Inquisition of 1942.

Tremlett believes that dual citizenship would solve some of the problems that Brits in Spain are having, but admitted it wouldn’t solve all of them. He says that Britain was a part of the EU for 40 years, while Spain has been for 30 years now. This is more than long enough for people to buy property in Spain and build an entire life and future around being a European citizen. He feels that to have all of that suddenly stripped away is dramatic and traumatic.

Mayor of Manilva, Diego Jose Jimenez asks foreign residents not to panic

Mayor of Manilva, Diego Jose Jimenez asks foreign residents not to panic

The Council of Manilva recently reassured foreign nationals and residents living in Costa del sol, and asked them not to panic. The Mayor of Manilva, Diego Jose Jiminez along with the councilor Dean Tyler Shelton recently made this public statement after Brexit, as the citizens were tensed and had no clarity about the legality.

No reason to be worried as Spain needs Brits more than ever

As per their statement, they said that they want to send across a clear message to the citizens of Britain and home owners who are presently residing in Manilva that they are most welcome to continue staying in Manilva and there is nothing to worry about. Manilva is only a small town located on the western edge of Costa del Sol region, which is in the South of Spain and they said that they have a deep gratitude for the economic, cultural and social contribution of Brits to the region. They also said that there will not be any difference in their opinion or stand due to Brexit referendum and everything will remain the same.

As of now, there are nearly three thousand Brits registered and residing in Manilva and Sabinillas permanently and they have invested millions in different ways, thereby benefiting the businesses and towns of the region as they pay taxes and work for the betterment of local residents as well.

They reassured that it is now their responsibility to make sure that the process is painless for them and the changes do not affect the foreign expats in any possible way. We will also help you to heal the divisions that have arisen among families and neighbors due to the campaign, they said during the statement.

They also finished their statement by quoting the popular quote. “It is time to focus on what unites us, rather than that which divides us’.

Michelle Obama Uses Madrid Trip to Promote Girls Education

Michelle Obama Uses Madrid Trip to Promote Girls Education.

Michelle Obama, First Lady of the USA, took a trip to Madrid recently to discuss the girls education as part of her “Let Girls Learn” initiative.

Her daughters Malia and Sasha made the trip with Michelle, along with her mother Marian Robinson. They came into Madrid from Morocco as they are on a three-leg tour of the area.

The First Lady gave a speech in Madrid where she talked about how proud she was that the USA is on the verge of electing their first ever female president, and took the chance to encourage the Spanish girls in the crowd to embrace all the educational opportunities presented to them and reach as far as they could.

Michelle said that she was proud that the US could elect their first female president in reference to Senator Hilary Clinton, the current forerunner for Democratic nominee for president. Clinton is likely to face Republican nominee Donald Trump in the fight for the White House.

Michelle began her “Let Girls Learn” School initiative in March of 2015. The focus of the initiative is to provide a quality education to girls around the world. Michelle spoke of her sadness that over 62 million girls would be unable to reach their potential because they are blocked from accessing an education.

She encouraged listeners to imagine how it must feel to be ready and willing to get an education only to be told that you can’t learn anything else because you are a girl. These girls will be unable to live their dreams and will instead be forced to marry a man twice their age and start a family.

Michelle also took time to meet with Queen Letizia, who she describes as a dear friend. The younger Obama girls took a shopping trip around Gran Via while their mother gave her address.

President Barack Obama himself is due to visit Spain  for a three-day long official visit.

Spanish Property Expert Believes Brexit may Affect British Demand for Spanish Property

Spanish Property Expert Believes Brexit may Affect British Demand for Spanish Property

The effects of Brexit are still unknown but could effect prices

It’s been suggested that the weakened pound and the general uncertainty following the British exit from the European Union is likely to undermine the British demand for Spanish properties.

This could be quite concerning given the strong British demand since 2013. Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight is even suggesting that this trend could now go in the opposite direction.

Mr Stucklin believes that the negative impact will mostly hit the areas with a high British demand such as Alicante and Malaga, along with the Balearics, the Canaries, and Murcia. He says that the Brexit vote will mean that there are just less British buyers overall.

One of the reasons that British demand for Spanish property is driven by how well the pound is performing. When the pound goes up against the euro then British demand rises within two quarters. The pound has been wakened following the Brexit however so it’s almost assured that the demand will be reduced as a result.

Stucklin suggested that this drop in demand won’t just come from British vendors either. He believes demand will be down overall and that experts may need to re-evaluate their price expectations.

He also believes that less Brits will move to Spain until deals are made and this will take two years at the least. British expats in Spain are now unsure where things are going to end up right now. It could take years for all the dust to settle and it’s likely more expats will head back home rather than come into Spain.

One group of people who should be unaffected are British people with Spanish holiday homes who don’t plan on selling them. The biggest worry for them is how the UK will look when everything is over.

The latest figures from the Notaires registrar do confirm that a strong pound and Spanish property prices were behind the rise in British demand last year. Property buyers from the UK made up the largest group of buyers with 21% of foreign buyers coming from Britain; a rise of 42% over the previous year.

The British are truly the major players in the foreign buyer market in areas like Alicante on the Costa Blanca and Malaga on the Costa del Sol.

At the same time it’s also true that Spanish property prices will likely go down following the fall of the pound. It means that the exchange market is easier on those changing their pounds into euros. It’s still true that British pensioners looking to move to Spain will find themselves with less money now though.

Three Ways to Avoids Crowds this Summer in Spain

Three Ways to Avoids Crowds this Summer in Spain

Spain has gone from preparing for the busiest summer ever to living with it. As the temperature rises the crowds are rising with it.

You and always avoid the crowds in the Costa del Sol

Even though Spain is expecting millions more visitors than usual thanks to terrorism scaring people away from other popular destinations, it’s still entirely possible for you to find your own little private piece of paradise. As long as you know where to find it anyway.

            1.      Keep Going South

There are a number of great beaches in the Costa del Sol including Pureto Banús, the Golden Mile, and Terremolinos. The Costa del Sol has everything you need to sit yourself down on the sand and occasionally slip into the sea.

During the summer however it also has a lot of tourists come by. You should be able to find a little patch of beach to sit down on but if you want some peace and quiet at the beach you need to keep going south. Go as south as you can. Go past Estepona, past Manilva, even go past Tarifia. Keep going until you reach Zahara de los Atunes. This is where the peace and quiet you’ve been craving is, along with the beautiful white sand and stunning ocean view.

2.      Run to The Hills

The roads heading in from the coastline resort make their way through plenty of mountains and scrubland before reaching those little towns and pueblos. Some of these roads will deliver you to the hidden traditional part of Spain. They show you the world of pueblos holding on to the hills, surrounding by beautiful valleys of olive and citrus groves.

Everything disappears and what you’re left with is pure, unfiltered Spain. It’s cheaper and friendlier than the rest of Spain too, with things moving at a pace you didn’t think existed anymore.

There are three inland villages in particular you owe it to yourself to visit; Yunquera, Alozaina and Casaraboneloa. They’re all pretty close to each other and just down the road from Marbella, making them seem like an entirely different world away from the Costa del Sol.

3.      Leave Early

This is less of an insider tip and more common sense really. But take a second to consider it. The Costa del Sol is filled with party towns. The people there won’t be waking up until around 11AM. So if you leave early and head out at 8 you can beat the crowds. Everything will be practically empty and yours to enjoy at your leisure.

Things get warm when the sun rises. Take a dip in the sea and dry off under the sun by 9 and take a morning stroll without getting too sweaty. Things are beautiful during a summer morning. You can see and do what you want to do before anyone else even wakes up.

Property Prices up In Over 30 Spanish Provinces

Property Prices up In Over 30 Spanish Provinces

Even after Brexit the Costa del Sol will always be in demand

The demand for Spanish property from both domestic and foreign buyers is on the up, with house prices rising with it for more than 30 of the 50 Spanish provinces.

This price increase has been seen and enjoyed mostly in the Costa del Sol but it’s taken a little longer for the rest of the country to catch up.

It’s only natural that the Costa del Sol would see all of the attention as it is the healthiest holiday and property market in the country. The rest of the country catches up to Costa del Sol eventually and now it looks like it has. Property valuation firm Tinsa released new data showing that average property prices are on the up for over half of the country.

Spanish provinces are a little smaller than the Autonomous Regions such as Catalonia and Andalucía and so they offer a better insight into how things are. The province of Málaga for example covers the Costa del Sol so it’s seen the best recovery figures. Even so the smaller provinces are beginning to report increases of their own.

The data from Tinsa shows that Spanish property prices have risen an average of 0.8% in the past 12 months, with higher increases of up to 6% seen in regions around Marbella. When broken down the Tinsa data shows that 30 of the 50 Spanish provinces have reported a rise in average house prices since the second quarter of 2015.

The sharpest rise came out of La Rioja, one of the hardest hit y the post-boom slump. The rises are evidence that the region is slowly recovering. La Rioja is one of the places along the Mediterranean coast so it was only natural the region would recover eventually. Every province along the coastline except for Murcia saw prices increase year-over-year.

The data also showed that the price recovery has stretched and is now reaching the more domestically-driven markets away from the more popular regions like Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and the Canaries. Places like Extremadura, Castilla La-Mancha and Castilla y León are reporting their own property price increases.

The data from Tinsa is extrapolated over the entire past 12-month period. So the data builds on the recent data out of the EU showing that property prices in spain were up over 4% in the previous quarter.

Will Things Be Different Now? The Spanish Have Voted, But There’s Still a Deadlock

Will Things Be Different Now? The Spanish Have Voted, But There’s Still a Deadlock

Spanish acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy once more got the most votes in the general election but, once again, his People’s Party failed to get that much needed majority government.

Mariano Rajoy definitely looked triumphant, and it’s not hard to see why. His party once again won the most votes in the general election. It would appear to be a good sign that the country has a lot of faith in his ability to run the country but, as things always are in Spanish politics, things are never how they appear.

While the country did manage to win the most votes once again, winning 137 seats and 33% of the votes, this still wasn’t enough to secure them an overall majority. So once again the country is in almost the exact same situation they were after the general election of December.

If there is to be a proper government in Spain then a coalition needs to be put together. If Rajoy wants to stay Prime Minister then he needs to get the support of other parties in order to put together a majority government. This might not be too likely given that his party leans to the right while his main rivals, the Socialist PSOE (who won 85 seats and 23% of the votes), Podemos (71 seats and 21%) and Ciudadanos (32 seats, 13%) are all leaning to the left.

What this means is that the PP would likely need to get support from the smaller parties. These parties only have 25 seats between them though. Even if he got the support of all of them it would not be enough to put a majority government together.

Rajoy is optimistic though. He said that he believes they will be able to come to an agreement within a month and that there was no point in continuing to drag things out for longer.

The PP received some surprising support from within the Socialist PSOE party. The Extremadura leader Guillermo Fernández Vara believes that Rajoy should be back in government as soon as possible. The PP at least managed to secure more votes than they earned in December with 15 more seats than that general election. Vara believes that this shows the voters back Rajoy and now it’s what they need to do too.

The secretary of PSOE César Luena has other ideas however. He says that their party doesn’t plan to support the PP because of his taxation policies in Spain; saying instead that they plan to replace Rajoy. So this political circus is set to carry on for a while yet. Podemos, who were expected to earn more votes this time, actually lost around a million votes. One suggestion political commentators have made is that the Brexit has put people off voting for the radical parties with more people voting for the status quo.

In the end though the extra PP votes are not enough to let them assume control of the country. Even though the party was in charge as the economy began to recover many people in Spain are still eager to see change happen. It may be that Podemos are trying to change too much however and the change the Socialists are offering is less dramatic than that of Podemos.

It’s not hard to understand why all of this has become so confusing. For now though it’s hoped that the political parties will be able to put aside their differences and come together to do what is right for the people of Spain by keeping the economy moving and the cost of living in spain down , but only time will tell.