Britons who are not residents in Spain and want to buy a home in the Canary Islands, must now have permission from the Ministry of Defence from January 1st following the completion of Brexit, which changed the status of UK citizens from being EU citizens to third country foreigners.
Any third country foreigners who wish to buy a property in areas of interest for national defence must have prior military authorization. The fact of the matter is that the two archipelagos of Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, are areas of interest for national defence, and as such, access to property is limited in the case of foreigners, as established by a law of March 1975, just months before the death of dictator Francisco Franco, who in fact sanctioned it, which is still fully in force.
The law in question is 8/1975, of March 12, which regulates the aforementioned areas and facilities of interest to national defence. However, it was Royal Decree 689/1978, which was decreed after the death of the dictator and shortly before the Constitution was approved, which defined those places that are especially relevant for the country's security, to the point of considering it necessary to restrict or condition access to property from outsiders.
In this way, all islands and islets are "areas of restricted access to property by foreigners." This implies that citizens of a third country needs the approval of the Ministry of Defence to be able to buy an apartment, house, villa, holiday home, commercial premises, or even a garage in the Canary Islands.
According to the dean of the College of Registrars of the province of Las Palmas, Rafael Robledo, the military permit is a necessary requirement to be able to close the sale of the property, and without it the sale cannot go through, and it cannot be processed afterwards.
In addition, the requirement is not only for individuals, but also for companies. If a London-based multinational or investment fund seeks real estate in the Archipelago, it must also request authorization from the Ministry of Defence, a procedure that the British saved until December 31st, when they retained their rights as citizens of the European Union during the transition period.
Unfortunately Brexit has its consequences, and not all, as in this case, have been seen from the outset. All nationals of the EU Member States, plus those of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, are considered nationals for the purposes of the law that regulates these areas of interest for the defence of the country. But the United Kingdom is no longer a member state, and, furthermore, "there is no specific provision on civil cooperation" in the London Withdrawal Agreement of the community club, recalls the director of International Relations of the College of Registrars of Spain, Enrique Maside.
"The rules relating to the services and investment regime and liberalization of capital movements of the Agreement, do not justify equal treatment of British citizens in the acquisition of real estate subject to restrictions for reasons of national defence", summarizes Maside in an article published by the professional college. Thus, the British who want to buy a second residence in the Islands, the dream of many retirees, must first have military authorization, at least until Spain and the UK sign an agreement on the matter.
There are only two cases in which British buyers could avoid applying for the military permit:
- They will not have to request authorization if the property is affected by a general management plan, with a favourable report from the Ministry of Defence, in this case there is already an implicit permit.
- The other exception also refers to Franco's legislation, specifically to Law 197/1963, which was the one that established the areas of national tourist interest, but only those approved between 1964 and 1975. Those are Playa de las Gaviotas and Playa de las Teresitas, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife; El Guincho, in San Miguel de Abona and Callao Salvaje, in Adeje, both in the south of Tenerife; Los Gigantes in Santiago del Teide; and Costa Tauritos in Mogán in Gran Canaria.
WHAT IS NEEDED FOR AUTHORIZATION?
From now on, and until the signing of a bilateral agreement between the two countries, the citizens of the United Kingdom will have to add to the many procedures involved in buying a property, the authorization of the Ministry of Defence.
This includes a plan of the house and also a certificate that the buyer does not have a criminal record, something fundamental when it is ultimately about shielding national defence. It must be remembered that the British are among the non-Spaniards who buy the most houses in the region; although in recent years they are on a par with the Italians, who have even surpassed them. The typical buyer is one looking for a second home for holidays and retirement.
