Famous Brits in Spain plan to take citizenship: “This is my home now”

 

SEVERAL famous Brits living in Spain have decided to seal their links with their adopted country and become Spanish citizens after Brexit.

Ex-footballer and sports commentator Michael Robinson (first picture) made his début with the Spanish national radio and television broadcaster TVE in 1989 – two years after he left the UK to finish his career on the pitch with Club Atlético Osasuna, based in Pamplona.

Since 1990 he has been one of the most recognisable voices on Canal+, where he was joint presenter with Carlos Martínez, and he has won two Premios Ondas ('Airwaves Awards') and the Vázquez Montalbán International Journalism Award.

The Leicester-born 61-year-old would not have been able to vote in the June 2016 referendum on Brexit, since he had been resident outside the UK for more than 15 years, and he does not mince his words over his opposition to the country's leaving the European Union and what he thinks of those who are leading the procedure.

“I've already started the process of getting Spanish nationality,” Robinson reveals.

“I refuse to be a foreigner in a country that has opened its arms and its homes to me.”

John Carlin, 63, was the first reporter to interview David Beckham after he signed for Real Madrid and, as well as numerous British and US newspapers and television channels, he has worked in Argentina, where he lived for a while as a child since his British father was ambassador there, and also for El País.

Born to a Spanish mother, Carlin (second picture) did not have any problems in obtaining nationality in his adopted country.

He says he actually feels 'relieved' about Brexit happening tomorrow, even though he is strongly against it.

“After three-and-a-half years of fighting, it finally won't be in my life any more,” Carlin says.

“I feel like you do in those complex marriages where one of the two is battling to save the relationship and, suddenly, realises it's impossible and decides, that's it, stuff you, it's over.

“You feel bad, because you know you've lost something, but you also feel liberated.

“I knew the time was coming to take a decision. Two months ago I left my London flat and set up home for good in Spain.

“As I'm the son of a Spanish woman and a British man, I've always had dual citizenship, but I recently got myself a Spanish DNI [National Identity Document] as a kind of life insurance.

“Before Brexit, it would never have crossed my mind to do so – I was perfectly okay with my dual citizenship and British passport, but I want to carry on being a European citizen.”

North London-born classical pianist James Rhodes, 44, has been living in Madrid since 2017 and says the only connections he now has with his home country is a 'close friend' and his grandmother, aged 96, whom he 'pops over to see now and again'.

“Once she's no longer here, I won't have any real reason to be there,” he says.

“If anyone in the UK suffers from depression, I recommend they go to Spain. They'll find themselves cured of their depression in a day.”

James (third picture) knows about mental health problems, given that the sexual abuse he suffered at school left him with post-traumatic stress disorder, especially as he was never able to see justice done – the PE teacher accused died just before the case came to trial.

After just two years of living in Spain, Rhodes has to wait another eight before he can become a Spanish national, and he has few good things to say about the UK public who voted for Brexit.

“The day I have my Spanish passport in my hands will be one of the happiest of my life,” he says.

“After coming from the UK, Spain feels like Disneyland to me.”

Other Brits living in Spain who are determined their adopted country will be their forever home – and appear on the front of their passports – include Mark Howard, director of the British Council in Spain.

“We Brits will continue to be European and international,” he says, optimistically.

“What I find most exciting about my job is seeing young Spaniards studying in the UK and new generations of Brits becoming more and more interested in learning Spanish. The dialogue that allows learning both languages to happen is fascinating, because it comes from education and is reflected in culture, tourism, the economy and lifestyle of the British and Spanish people.

“I'm convinced this dialogue will continue to stay alive, way beyond key dates and international organisations.”

Howard is hopeful that negotiations between the UK and Spain will mean little impact on British nationals in the Mediterranean country, and intends to keep his British citizenship for a while yet, but with the idea of Spanish nationality being an option he will keep open 'just in case'.

Former Genesis drummer Chris Stewart has lived in Alpujarra for 30 years, and is now grappling with Spanish grammar in a bid to pass the exam to qualify for citizenship.

The language requirements are only at level A2 – about the same as a good GCSE standard – meaning they are within the reach of almost any expat, although Chris (fourth picture) says until now, he had 'been more concerned with making himself understood' than 'worrying about speaking in completely correct Spanish'.

“I've nothing against my country of origin – on the contrary, I love British culture and I feel very British, but I'm not at all nationalist. And I need to continue to be an EU citizen, not a third-country national, as I'm staying on this side of the Channel. My bones will stay in Spain.

“If I have to choose, then there's no contest – I'd rather become Spanish.”

Chris is married to Ana and their daughter, Chloë, was born in the province of Granada.

He is also the author of the popular 'expat experiences' novel, Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucía, which was later translated into Spanish under the title Entre Limones.

Chris has since published El Loro en el Limonero (A Parrot in the Pepper Tree), and Los Almendros en Flor (The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society).

Journalist Tom Burns, OBE, does not predict there will be much change after Brexit, although with his mum, his wife and his children all being Spanish, he has decided to become Spanish himself.

“Not for sentimental reasons, but for practical ones,” he said.

“I still feel just as British as before.

“I don't think, in practice, there'll be as many changes as everyone thinks. Spain is the Florida of Europe and it's interested in ensuring its resident British pensioners who live on its coasts are happy and keep their rights.”

Christopher Dottie, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain, was born on the very day the UK joined what was then called the European Economic Community (EEC): January 1, 1973.

“I feel as though my life has been marked by this – in fact, my twin sister and I appeared in the local paper and were dubbed 'euro-twins', because we were the first Brits to be born who had only ever been European.

“Since then, I've benefited a great deal from being part of the EU. I've lived in several countries, I've done a lot of business in Europe and I now live in Barcelona, where my children were born, so Brexit is causing me great sorrow; I feel it as something personal.

“My kids were born in Barcelona, but they're British nationals and, suddenly, they're about to become immigrants in Spain – which is their country, the only one they've ever lived in.

“They're catalanes, Spaniards, Brits and European citizens; I don't see why we should have to choose.”

Pedro Sánchez has already assured Brits living in Spain that he will automatically ensure they have the right to stay with as few changes as possible, and that British holidaymakers are still as welcome as ever.

Anecdotal evidence has shown that British nationals who had always dreamed of retiring to Spain are now tending to move their plans forward in order to 'escape Brexit', and EU leaders have been adamant that they will not allow the rights of UK nationals in Europe or Europeans in the UK to be diminished or used as 'bargaining chips'.

 

Deciding whether or not to become Spanish

For those who decide becoming a Spanish citizen is their preferred option, the process is easier than in many other European countries, including the UK: a 'culture and Constitution' exam needs to be taken, which involves 25 multiple-choice questions, of which 15 must be answered correctly, and plenty of 'dummy' and past exam papers are available to practise with.

The language test at level A2 is the second of six levels – C2 being practically bilingual, and A1 being a low elementary standard – and language schools in almost every town are able to help guide candidates through the exam format and train them to the required level.

Reports are required from the police to show a clean record, and residents typically need to show 10 years of living in Spain in order to apply – although citizens of Spain's former colonies, or Portugal, only have to wait two years, and proven descendants of the Sephardic Jews expelled from the country in the 14^th century are able to claim nationality immediately.

Only the above are able to hold dual nationality, and Spain requires applicants for citizenship to renounce their nationality of birth once they have been approved.

But for British nationals, this may not be the case: The UK does not allow anyone to renounce their citizenship, meaning the act of doing so is a mere formality.

The main difference to a Brit-turned-Spaniard is that their new status as a Spanish subject takes precedence in institutional matters: A UK national who has lived in Spain less than 15 years is still eligible to vote in Britain, but if they take Spanish citizenship before this deadline, they will lose this right even though they will not necessarily lose their UK passport.

Also, if the person falls into difficulties when abroad – such as being kidnapped, caught up in a war or natural disaster, or is taken into custody – it will be the Spanish Consulate and embassy in the country in question which attends to them, not the British.

They will, additionally, automatically have to leave a third of their assets to their children upon death, or their nearest blood relative if they do not have children, and this cannot be overridden in a will unless a court finds the children or relatives in question have mistreated the deceased in life, through physical or psychological violence, or if there has been no contact between them for a considerable length of time.

At the moment, a British national is free to leave his or her assets in Spain to anyone he or she chooses, provided a statement is made in the will that this document is to be interpreted in accordance with English and Welsh law, or Scottish law, depending upon the will-maker's origin.