Mark Stücklin
The Spanish government is reportedly lobbying the EU to relax the 90-day limit for British visitors, which would be a boon for second-home owners in Spain if and when it happens.
The British press reports that Spain is lobbying the EU to change the 90-day rule following on the heels of a similar move in France, where the Senate has voted to amend immigration law to give British owners of second-homes in France the right to ‘long-stay’ visas, a move that is opposed by the French executive led by Macron.
The Mail Online put it this way: “New visa joy for Brits with holiday homes as Spain joins France in calling for the post-Brexit 90-day visit limit to be axed, admitting it is harming their economy”.
There has been no mention of this in the mainstream Spanish media but some niche outlets of tourism industry news have mentioned it. The ‘preferente’ website specialising in Spanish tourism information reports that “Hector Gómez, the Spanish Minister for Industry and Tourism, confirmed meetings with the British government on this subject.” But preferente also incorrectly reported that it’s a done deal in France.
A website I’ve never heard of called ‘Diario el Progreso’ also reports that “Spain will try to convince the EU to relax the 90-limit for British tourists”. According to this report, Gómez said that “Unfortunately this rule is not something that Spain can change on its own. We are interested in applying pressure [on the EU] and convincing them that we can work exceptionally with the EU, but the solution has to come from them.”
The article also claims that “Britons on holiday in Spain will soon be able to extend their stay, as the Spanish government is asking for a reduction in the 90-day limit post-Brexit in the EU,” which seems a bit premature to claim. I suspect that the Diario el Progreso is just rehashing news from the British press.
Those are almost the only mentions I could find of this news in the Spanish language press.
Official silence on moves to relax the 90-day rule for Brits in Spain
Spanish tourism minister Hector Gómez was recently in London to attend the World Travel Market trade fair, which is one of the biggest in the global tourism industry. The website of the Spanish President’s office La Moncloa reports Gómez London visit to promote the “strength and leadership of Spain as a model for sustainable and social tourism”, and quotes Gómez as saying “our country has managed to maintain its leadership as a destination for British tourists after the pandemic, and our perspective is that it will continue to be so in the coming years.” But there is no official mention of any talks with the British government or moves on the part of Spain to lobby the EU to relax the 90-day rule.
So it may well be true that Spain is pushing the EU the relax or abolish the rule, and it is true that the French senate has voted to give British owners of homes in France an automatic long-stay visa that gets them around the 90-day rule, but there still looks like a long way to go before change comes, if it ever does. Keep the Champagne / Cava on ice for now.
Explained here before in several places, the 90-day rule means that, post Brexit, Brits can only spend 90 out of 180 days in Spain, limiting the length of stay for many second-home owners who would like to spend longer, for example six consecutive months a year in Spain.
As many people have pointed out, the rule appears to be quite arbitrary, and serves little purpose other than making life difficult for Brits in Europe. It deters Brits from buying a property in Spain they can’t use as freely as they would like, and is bad for the local Spanish economy in regions where British owners of holiday homes would otherwise spend more time and money.
Impact on British demand for holiday-homes in Spain
The 90/180 day rule came into force on the first of January 2021. I wrote back in December 2020 that the Brexit 90-day limit would hit British demand for property in Spain. How did my prediction stand the test of time? Covid has muddied the waters, but I think my forecast was correct. Here’s why.
British demand in the first half was down 3pc compared to 2019, whereas all other big markets like Germany, France and Belgium that did not face this headwind were up by 48pc, 18pc, and 29pc respectively. And the two charts below illustrate that all the decline in British demand came from non-residents buying holiday-homes, the segment affected by the 90-day rule. Expats living in Spain, who are not affected, bought more homes in the first half of 2023 than they did in the same period 2019, before the rule came into force.
So yes, British demand for property in Spain has clearly suffered as a consequence of the EU’s 90/180 day post-Brexit rule. If the EU relaxes it under pressure from France and Spain, that would be one headwind less for British buyers. But I think it’s premature to talk of ‘joy’ for Brits who own holiday-homes in Spain. I suspect the change, if it comes, is still some way off.
