Britons who moved to Spain after Brexit will be offered the chance to gain proper residency under a new ruling.
The Spanish government has announced it will grant nearly one million Brits living in the country permanent residency from May 2025.
The new reform aims to shorten and simplify both legal and administrative procedures for work and residence permits.
This means that Brits and others who moved to the European country will be able to register either as self-employed or salaried workers, also providing them with additional labour rights guarantees.
Since the UK withdrew from the European Union in 2020, many British nationals living in Spain have been laying under the radar with no official residence permits.
Since Brexit, UK citizens have been hit with a staggering amount of paperwork in order to live and work in Spain.
Some Brits have called for extra measures, asking for the Spanish government to make it easier for them to live and work in their country.
As well as this, they have asked for the 90 day rule to be scrapped which currently states that British citizens (and other from non-European Union countries) can only spend 180 days a year in two batches of 90 days.
The policy was announced last month by Elma Saiz, Spain’s Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, during an interview with Spain’s national broadcaster.
“The regulation opens doors that were previously closed by means of three keys: formation, employment and family. Three keys that lead to inclusion, but with high standards in terms of legal requirements and in terms of human rights,” she explained
The Spanish minister that the legalisation policy is not aimed solely at “cultural wealth and respect for human rights, it’s also prosperity.”
“Today, we can say Spain is a better country,” she added.
The policy is set to come into force in May 2025 and remain in place until 2027. It is part of Spain’s attempt to expand its labour force in the face of an ageing population.