Spanien-Nachrichten | Will a new UK Government form closer ties with Europe

The new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer has ruled out rejoining the European Union, but has suggested negotiating a new deal with Europe. There are lots of articles in the UK press and government polls that suggest, just maybe the new government wish to negotiate a different deal with Europe, one of the stipulations from Europe could mean freedom of movement within the European Union.

Exiting the EU and no longer being part of the free movement in Europe greatly effected British second homeowners and new property purchases by UK citizens. Over the last few years we have definitely seen British second homeowners selling up due to only be allowed to visit just 3 months in every six months, rather than the old rules of 6 months in a year. Many retired Brits would visit their holiday home for longer than 3 month periods, especially during the winter months.

Losing the rights to free movement also deterred new buyers purchasing either a second home, knowing that there were restrictions to the time they could spend in Spain, or permanently moving to Spain to live and work. British citizens wanting to move permanently to Spain now require a visa, either by investing more than 500k euros or proving they have an income to support themselves without working here. Coming to work in Spain is near impossible and the visa requirements mean either having a detailed business plan or doing a job that a European citizen cannot do.

I can only see free movement in Europe as being a benefit for the UK and I hope that the new government also believes this. There is a major shortage of workers in the UK in healthcare and the hospitality sectors, before Brexit these positions were often filled by workers from the European Union. On a recent trip to Britain, most people I spoke to talked about the Spanish and Portuguese workers that have returned to their native countries.

British citizens, especially the youth have lost the ability to travel and work in Europe, without jumping through many hoops, which they greatly miss.

What will it mean to the Javea property market if the new UK labour government forms closer ties with Europe and reinstates freedom of movement?

I can only speculate, and I am hopeful this will happen.  I believe this will create a demand for property in this area from British buyers, buyers that do not have the 500K euros to invest and ones that want to work in Spain.

Or, second homeowners that no longer have restrictions on when they can visit their holiday home.

How long will it take? What effects will it have on the property prices? Undoubtedly, if free movement becomes an option for British citizens then the demand will increase for properties in Javea and in turn push up prices. If you are thinking of investing then maybe now is the time, it will depend on how much confidence you have in any negotiations with the UK and Europe and what the outcome will be. It could be a gamble that will pay off!