Brits to receive major Brexit boost as Spain joins France in calling for axe to 90-day limit

Catalonia, Spain

Brits to receive major Brexit boost as Spain joins France in calling for axe to 90-day limit

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Oliver Trapnell

By Oliver Trapnell


Published: 15/11/2023

- 22:28

The Iberian country claimed the current system was harming its economy

Britons are set to enjoy new travel freedoms as Spain is set to join France in axing a post-Brexit 90-day visit limit.

Under the current Schengen Area plans, non-EU citizens including Britons are only able to stay in their holiday homes for 90 in every 180 days.


In order to stay beyond the 90-day limit, Britons must apply for a long-stay visa of up to six months.

However, new plans outlined by the Spanish government plan to axe the rule as they admit the limit is having a negative impact on the economy.

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“Unfortunately, the rule is not something Spain has established by itself or can get rid of,” the country's acting Minister of Tourism, Hector Gomez said.

“It is in our interest to lobby and convince the EU that we can try to work an exception with them.

“But the solution must come from them.”

The plans echo a vote made by the senate in France which approved an amendment to the immigration law.

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The plans echo a vote made by the senate in France which approved an amendment to the immigration law

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The amendment would give British second homeowners the automatic right to a long-stay visa.

French politicians approved the vote as they admitted British tourists had been “punished by Brexit”.

Campaign Director and founder of '180 Days in Spain', Andrew Hesselden, told the Majorca Daily Bulletin he was “delighted to see French senators recognise the injustice of the situation that British part-year residents have found themselves in since Brexit”.

Hesselden added that campaigners “remain hopeful of similar recognition in Spain for everyone affected”.

Mog\u00e1n, Spain

However, new plans outlined by the Spanish government plan to axe the rule as they admit the limit is having a negative impact on the economy

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Spain receives its largest number of tourists from the UK with almost double the amount of Brits visiting the peninsula than Germans.

The UK is also Spain’s most profitable tourism market, raking in millions of pounds each year.

Gomez confirmed earlier this week that he held an “important meeting” with Jennifer Anderson, the UK’s Director of Consular Affairs and Crisis

He said he discussed “issues of interest regarding the stays of British tourists in Spain and discussed collaboration projects for future seasons.

This is understood to have been in reference to the 90-day cap.

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