The 90-day rule, implemented after Brexit, is severely impacting the British community in the Balearics

The 90-day rule, implemented after Brexit, is severely impacting the British community in the Balearics. | Gemma Andreu

Jason MoorePalma 17/01/2025 09:27Updated at 11:25
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Is it me, or do you get the impression that Brits are rather being kicked around in Spain? Firstly, there is the controversial property tax which really only affects Britons on a big scale. Secondly, there is the perception (by some) that British tourists are badly behaved and not really wanted. Thirdly, the 90 day rule which means that non-resident Britons can only stay a maximum of 180 days a year in Spain in two batches of 90 days.

Before anyone on social media bites my head off, points 1 and 3 are directly as a result of Brexit, something which we expats didn’t vote for. But we are paying the consequences both of the referendum result and a failure by the British government to ensure that our rights were protected in the post-Brexit times. I believed, like many others, that Spain and Britain would sign a bilateral deal which would mean that we would have similar rights in the Brexit era as we did before.

Sadly this has not been the case. It would be rather nice to know that when the Spanish government decides to impose a 100 percent tax on holiday homes which affects Britons, someone somewhere would be fighting our corner. And when someone says that British tourists are not not wanted because of their behaviour it would be lovely if someone said this is an outrage and far from the truth.