Through no fault of their own they are now out in the cold.

Through no fault of their own they are now out in the cold. | EFE

Jason MoorePalma04/12/2021 09:49
TW
3

The Balearic government are demanding that bars and restaurants ask clients for their Covid passport but some British expats say that they have been unable to get the jab because of red tape.

Through no fault of their own they are now out in the cold. “Since March we (British couple, 50's) have presented for vaccination (at various places) with our residency applications, passports, in date Padron, valid health insurance & even house deeds, but the answer is always NO ..... you're just a tourist,” said an email we received yesterday.

The email continues: “Many of us have been caught in Spain's endless bureaucracy - waiting almost a year for our Brexit residency applications (totally straightforward, compliant & submitted via an agent) to be processed & not being able to be vaccinated in the meantime due to ever changing goalposts...” I can see that this can be a major problem for some expats who have recently moved to the island and until their paperwork issues are resolved they are effectively in “no man´s land.”

Spain says they are tourists (because they do no have the relevant residence documentation) while Britain says that they have moved away. I said in this space earlier this week that the whole vaccination process was easy. Yes, easy as long as your paperwork is in order.

Granted that there are going to be some teething problems but I think the Spanish government should make some exceptions for those who are effectively in limbo. Not getting vaccinated is a serious problem.