Hugh Elliott has now been the British Ambassador to Spain for two and a half years, in which time he has dealt with Britain’s exit from the European Union, for which he was the Director of Communications before this role, and the Covid pandemic alongside the other ‘usual’ duties that the job entails.
This week he is in the Canary Islands, and Canarian Weekly editor, Chris Elkington, got the opportunity to sit down and ask the question (among others!) that you have asked us via email, messenger, and letter, literally thousands of times since Brexit: “Are there going to be any changes or any flexibility to the 90/180 day rule?” Here's what he said...
“The official position of the British Government is that it is not something we are seeking to negotiate, however, it is something that is raised with me wherever I go in all parts of Spain where there are swallows, so it is something that I feel is my duty to raise with the Spanish authorities. This morning I spoke about it with Adeje, tomorrow I will talk about it with the Canarian Government, and it’s something I talk to the central Government in Madrid about on a regular basis.”
“It’s important to remember that the UK already offers 180 days to European citizens, so it is not a question of reciprocity, and we believe that it is in everyone’s interest to be able to use those days more flexibly than the 90 and 90 that is in place, which is a Schengen rule and makes it more difficult for Spain to change.”
“We have this conversation on a regular basis and I don’t think it’s going to go away as an issue, which is why I continue to reflect the feelings of British citizens I represent to the authorities of the country in which I am appointed. To be honest what I see from the Spanish authorities is a real willingness to try and look at where we are now post Brexit, to find a way, within the new rules, to make freedom of movement for people as easy as possible.”
What about for property owners who have invested large amounts of money in Spain and the Canary Islands?
“We hear all the time that lots of people are selling their holiday homes in Spain, and here in the Canary Islands, as they feel it just isn’t worth having them anymore, which is something that’s got to be of interest to the Spanish Government and their economy, so I think it’s important that the effects are properly understood and conveyed to them accordingly.”
Mr Elliott concluded by clarifying that “There will be no change in the short term, but we will carry on working on it, so that hopefully there will be something in the future.”
