"We feel completely forgotten. Spain is our home too. This is not what the British Government promised us before or during Brexit".
The sentiment is echoed, with similar words, among many of the over 106,000 Britons who own a second home in Spain, according to the latest figures from the British Ministry of Housing published in 2025, and who, after the United Kingdom left the European Union in 2020, have seen drastically reduced time they can spend in their properties. Since the end of the Brexit transition period, their stays are limited to a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day rolling period in the 29 countries that make up the Schengen Area, including Spain.
They now find themselves in a legal limbo. Although they maintain their homes and continue to face taxes and associated expenses, and have spent long periods in Spain - many of them for more than two decades - they were excluded from the residency rights protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, the treaty that established the conditions of Brexit. The reason is simple: despite their deep ties to Spain, they still had their habitual residence in the UK when it left the EU.
"We bought our house in Puerto de Mazarrón about eight years ago, before the Withdrawal Agreement came into force," recounts Jane Pennington-Fryer, a 59-year-old Briton, in conversation with EL MUNDO. "During the referendum campaign, we saw an event where a woman asked Michael Gove, then Minister of Justice, if Britons with a house in the European Union could continue to use it if the UK left the bloc. He replied yes, that's why we decided to buy ours," she explains.
At that event, organized by Sky News on June 3, 2016, Gove assured a concerned voter about the future use of her property - in her case, an apartment in France - that "all her rights and privileges would be protected under a potential agreement". The Tory politician went further and promised that "her investment and future would be safe, whatever the country's decision at the polls", also ensuring that the different Member States would respect the situation of those who had a second home in their territories.
Gove's words also left an impression on David Webster, a 61-year-old Scot. He bought his first home in Spain in the outskirts of Malaga in 2009, before selling it and acquiring land in the province of Alicante in 2016 to build his own house, convinced that he could enjoy it whenever he wanted. That has not been the case. "Michael Gove promised us that the rights of part-time residents would be protected. The British Government has failed to look after us," he laments to this newspaper from Moraira, where we first met three years ago to learn about his situation. "I chose not to be a tax resident in Spain and I accept that, but I also don't see it fair that I have to pay a non-profit visa - whose processing and documentation can cost over 3,000 euros, in addition to proving a minimum annual solvency of 28,800 euros - to be able to use my house without temporary restrictions. It's ridiculous."
Ten years have passed since the closely contested referendum that sealed the UK's exit from the EU, in which the Brexit-favorable option prevailed by just 3.8 percentage points. Since then, residence permits have been granted to 422,401 British nationals, of which 397,083 are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement, according to the latest indicators from the Permanent Immigration Observatory and the State Secretariat for Migrations, published in June 2025. But the thousands who never moved their habitual residence to Spain - either by their own decision or because their circumstances did not allow it - are now pending the calendar to not exceed the allowed 90-day limit, even though many have been part of the life of their local communities for decades.
"We consider Spain our home and ourselves part-time residents", Jane asserts, who lives between Lytham St Annes, in the north of England, and Murcia with her 60-year-old husband, Lee. "We have learned Spanish and are members of a hiking group, a paddle tennis group, and a tennis group. Most of our friends are Spanish," she explains. Both her brother and cousin have bought houses in the region in recent years, and the couple also bought a car registered in Spain to use during their stays in the country. "We come here and feel like we are at home, not on vacation."
The problem is that they can no longer enjoy their home as before. "Now we spend barely five months a year in total in Spain. We have stopped traveling to other European countries to not consume Schengen days and to be able to spend the maximum time possible in our Murcia home," Jane says. Since Brexit, the couple has visited Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia to make up for not being able to travel to Italy or France, for example. David, on the other hand, has traveled to Turkey, Morocco, and the Caribbean. "This year we are planning to spend 90 days in Spain, 90 in Morocco, and then another 90 in Spain," Jane adds.
And what if a problem arises with the house and they have no days left to be in the Schengen Area? "It's something to consider," says Colin Drever, a 60-year-old Welshman, who had to quit his job as a touring musician after Brexit. A few years ago, his house in Torrevieja had a water leak while he was in his hometown near Cardiff. "My wife, Jeanette, had to fly there urgently. Luckily, we hadn't exhausted our 90 days yet, so at that moment we had no restrictions. But that situation made us realize what would have happened if we had to manage after reaching the limit," he reflects.
The three interviewees are part of the 180 Days in Spain campaign, which has two main demands. The first, that the self-proclaimed "part-time residents" be covered by the same protection framework as the Withdrawal Agreement. And the second, to establish a six-month visa exemption valid only for visits to Spain, so that Britons can stay longer in the country without using up the days allowed by the Schengen regulations.
"What we are asking for is reciprocity", David asserts. "Right now, EU citizens can travel to the UK and stay there for up to six months without needing a visa. We, on the other hand, are limited to 90 days out of every 180," he explains. Jane shares that sense of grievance: "Our rights have been taken away. When people say it's our fault because the British voted for this, the answer is no. We didn't. We were never warned that this would happen."
Andrew Hesselden, founder of the Save Freedom of Movement initiative and the 180 Days in Spain campaign, argues that the proposal would not be unprecedented. As he explains, there are already bilateral visa exemption agreements between some Schengen countries and third countries like Canada or New Zealand, most of them predating even the signing of the Schengen treaty. "With 84% of the British public in favor of reciprocal freedom of movement between the UK and EU countries [according to an Omnisis survey], it is difficult to understand why the British Government continues to oppose it," he maintains. "By now, it should have realized that this is the way to strengthen relations with the EU."
In fact, in a 2022 interview with The iPaper, the then Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés, stated that it was "in Spain's interest" to "relax this limitation" for Britons and that the Spanish government "would try to convince the European Union" of the need to "find a solution" to the problem that arose after Brexit for those who wished to spend more time in the country. However, he acknowledged that any change would ultimately depend on Brussels.
Nevertheless, there is a possible precedent in France, where some 53,000 Britons own second homes. There, non-EU homeowners who wish to stay beyond the general 90-day limit established by Schengen can apply for a long-stay temporary visa, which allows them to stay for between four and six months a year without being considered tax residents in France. It is not a perfect solution, but it is a possible starting point.
Jane and Lee have put their UK home up for sale and are considering applying for a non-lucrative visa. "We're already paying around £7,000 a year in taxes and maintenance fees, and we've also done several renovations to suit our taste. We want to enjoy our investment," the couple explains. "We hardly spend any time in the UK anymore."
For Colin and his wife, however, the restrictions imposed by Schengen regulations are forcing them to reconsider their future in Spain. "There will come a time when we'll have to decide whether to keep the house or not. It doesn't make sense to own a property in Spain worth ¤140,000 and give up visiting Rome or other European cities. To make it worthwhile, you have to dedicate as much time as possible to being there," he reflects.
If they were ultimately forced to sell, he argues, Spain would be the one to lose out. Not only because of the taxes they pay in the country, but also because of the economic impact associated with visits from family and friends and the spending they generate during their stays.
Despite the political separation brought about by Brexit, Colin still feels deeply connected to the continent. "People forgot that ceasing to be part of the European Union doesn't mean ceasing to be European," he reflects. For him, the English Channel has never been a barrier, but rather "an umbilical cord that unites the continent" and which he now feels is threatened.