Deal or No Deal?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing the British Consul General Lloyd Milen who has been presenting a couple of outreach events on the island regarding Brexit. The Government message is deal or no deal we will be leaving the European Union on October 31st. The main message for people who live here are made up of 4 key points, Residency, passports, healthcare and driving licenses.

I’ve included a brief summary below.

If the UK leaves the EU with a deal, any UK national arriving in Spain before the end of the implementation period will be able to register as resident in Spain under the current rules, and will have their right to residence in Spain protected for as long as they remain living here.

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, any UK national residing in Spain before the date the UK leaves will be considered legally resident for a period of 21 months, irrespective of whether they currently hold a residency document.

After Brexit, the rules on travel will change. Check your passport is valid for travel before you book your trip. You’ll need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport.

If there is a deal, nothing will change until the end of 2020. In this time you can continue to travel freely in the Schengen area with your UK passport. What happens after 2020 will form the next part of negotiations.

If there’s no deal, you must have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland). If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed.

If there is a deal and you are resident in Spain, your current rights on access to healthcare in Spain will remain the same as long as you remain a resident in Spain. If there’s no deal, the UK and Spain have each taken steps to ensure that people living in each country can continue to access healthcare as they do now until at least 31 December 2020

If you are resident in Spain, exchange your UK  license for a Spanish one. You can still use your Spanish licence in the UK for short visits or exchange it for a UK licence without taking a test if you return to live in the UK.

If you hold an old UK licence that doesn’t have a 10-year validity period, you must renew or exchange it for a Spanish licence once you’ve been a resident in Spain for 2 years.

All this information and more is found on the very useful  www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain

You can join the Facebook page Brits in Spain which keeps you up to date with all of this and this Wednesday at 17.00 they’ll be holding a Facebook live Q&A with the new British Ambassador Hugh Elliott.

I was asked this week to remind you that the annual British Legion Poppy Appeal begins this month. They provide support for members of the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, veterans and their families. By making a donation, you’re helping them to help those in need within the Armed Forces community.

Last week was the proverbial “must win” “6 pointer” for Real Mallorca against Espanyol and happily Mallorca came out 2-0 winners. It was a hot 12 midday kick-off and the 15,052 who came went away happy with 3 points. As Mallorca’s away form like last year is terrible, it’s imperative that they pick up points at home or the dream will die very quickly. There’s no doubt that being in La Liga is great for the island and the Club are definitely reaping the benefits.

Our other professional club Atlético Baleares are continuing their good form of last year in Segunda B Group 1. Seven games in they are top on 18 points having won 6 and lost 1. Closely followed by two teams from Ibiza, UD Ibiza and Peña Deportivo. Baleares are at home this Sunday at 12 midday against Sporting B and next week it’s a crunch top of the table clash away at UD Ibiza. I’ll have a closer look at that next week.

My eldest Son Jakes team San Francisco Cadete D team continued there good form after beating Atlético Baleares last week. Beating another undefeated team Collerense by 3-1. After going 0-1 down it didn’t look good but the boys battled back and ran out worthy winners. It’s an away game against the top of the league this weekend and another unbeaten team so let’s hope their form continues. My youngest Jude starts his long awaited league next weekend so that’s when the juggling properly starts for Dad Taxi.

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.comon mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. . If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!

Feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com