BRITISH EXPATS: Latest Government Figures Reveal How Many Brits Are Officially Resident In Spain
Spain News
Published: 25 April 2022 19:34 CET
British nationals have had a long-standing love affair with Spain and despite Brexit and the recent global pandemic, these events still don’t seem to have dampened their desire to up sticks and relocate to this beautiful country.
That’s according to the latest official figures published by the Spanish government which show that up until the end of 2021, exactly 407,628 British nationals were officially resident here.
Even though the UK is now classed as a ‘third country’ and no longer a member of the EU, there are still a number of routes that Brits can take to become legal residents in Spain.
Furthermore, according to the official government data, 226,000 British nationals living in Spain are still the proud owners of the original A4 green residency certificate.
179,000 are holders of the new biometric TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) card, which was first introduced in July 2020 and features a microchip and photo.
This leaves the remaining 2,467, who have entered the country on a visa document.
While the number of Brits resident in Spain due to the Withdrawal Agreement following the UK’s departure from the EU has gone up, the British and Spanish governments continue to encourage users of the old-style certificates to exchange them for the new biometric TIE card.
Even though the green residency certificates remain valid, the TIE is more durable and helps to make the administration process a lot easier.
So if there are more than 400,000 British expats now living in Spain in 2022, where exactly are they living?
Which areas of Spain are the most popular for British nationals?
As you might expect, there are certainly specific regions that are favoured by British expats.
Below we highlight the number of British residents by region.
- Alicante - 98,248
- Malaga - 71,112
- Canary Islands - 45,083
- Balearics - 31,363
- Barcelona - 29,346
- Murcia - 22,015
- Madrid - 21,710
- Almeria - 20,003
- Valencia - 11,980
- Cadiz - 11,786
- Granada - 9,191
- Sevilla - 4,251
- Cordoba - 1,425
- Huelva - 1,372
- Jaen - 1,182
- Zaragoza - 1,038
British nationals certainly aren’t heading back to the UK
Regardless of some of the articles that have been published online claiming that UK nationals have been leaving Spain in their droves post-Brexit, this certainly doesn’t seem to be the case according to the Spanish government’s official immigration data.
In fact, the number of British nationals officially resident in Spain has been growing steadily over the last decade or so.
- 2021 - 407,628
- 2020 - 381,440
- 2019 - 359,471
- 2018 - 330,911
- 2017 - 314,053
- 2016 - 299,092
- 2015 - 286,012
- 2014 - 275,817
- 2013 - 265,530
Of course, the recent increase in numbers could be due to Brexit and the requirement for those living here to officially register, however, there can be no denying that Spain continues to be one of the most popular destinations for Brits looking to relocate to sunnier shores.
With residency in Spain still an option for many British nationals post-Brexit, the numbers are most likely to grow in 2022 and beyond.
Source
https://www.facebook.com/BritsInSpain/posts/362659869227898
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/opi4017/viz/stock_31122021/infografia
