Anyone retired to the EU post Brexit?
Discussion
Clearly I mean people who only have a U.K. passport and who don’t benefit from the transitional rules because they were already living and working in the EU.
I am curious as we assumed that we would spend some time living in the EU post retirement but now I am not sure whether it would work in practice.
I am curious as we assumed that we would spend some time living in the EU post retirement but now I am not sure whether it would work in practice.
I’ll be looking into it (but haven’t yet) as I had intended to retire to my house in Italy (I am non resident there).
AIUI, the Portuguese and Italians have special favourable residency schemes for pensioners and I think Madeira might have an even more favourable regime. I’d be astonished if the Cypriots and the Maltese didn’t, too.
Switzerland and Monaco are both within Schengen but outside the EU as well as Andorra (which isn’t in Schengen?) and all have retirement/residency visa schemes.
Equally, if the EU countries make it too much of a PITA to retire there (and they are, of course, perfectly entitled to do what they want), I’m sure the Antiguans and others will be happy to drain my wallet for me. Uruguay is a favoured retirement destination for Americans, for example.
AIUI, the Portuguese and Italians have special favourable residency schemes for pensioners and I think Madeira might have an even more favourable regime. I’d be astonished if the Cypriots and the Maltese didn’t, too.
Switzerland and Monaco are both within Schengen but outside the EU as well as Andorra (which isn’t in Schengen?) and all have retirement/residency visa schemes.
Equally, if the EU countries make it too much of a PITA to retire there (and they are, of course, perfectly entitled to do what they want), I’m sure the Antiguans and others will be happy to drain my wallet for me. Uruguay is a favoured retirement destination for Americans, for example.
You can be astonished then. It is very difficult for a Brit to retire to Cyprus now. There are significant financial minimums that must be hit to have any chance. It’s also an annually renewable permit now.
Not sure Schengen has anything to do with it either. That’s more of a shared travel area than one for residency.
Not sure Schengen has anything to do with it either. That’s more of a shared travel area than one for residency.
LF5335 said:
You can be astonished then. It is very difficult for a Brit to retire to Cyprus now. There are significant financial minimums that must be hit to have any chance. It’s also an annually renewable permit now.
Not sure Schengen has anything to do with it either. That’s more of a shared travel area than one for residency.
But there still is a scheme.Not sure Schengen has anything to do with it either. That’s more of a shared travel area than one for residency.
The Schengen bit matters because you don’t use up your six months of annual visa-free travel in the country where you have a residence. Although how that is policed is a mystery to me.
psi310398 said:
But there still is a scheme.
The Schengen bit matters because you don’t use up your six months of annual visa-free travel in the country where you have a residence. Although how that is policed is a mystery to me.
Here you go:The Schengen bit matters because you don’t use up your six months of annual visa-free travel in the country where you have a residence. Although how that is policed is a mystery to me.
http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/CRMD/crmd.nsf/all/869045...
Quick summary:
£300k minimum into property
£50k minimum income from outside Cyprus
Further £10k each for spouse and dependant children
Pink slip valid for 1-4 years and then needs renewing. Most are being issued for 1 year as things bed in. If rules change, then new criteria applies on renewal.
Think there’s a bank deposit required too (c£30k) and that money can’t be touched either.
It’s a scheme, but designed not to be that welcoming. Plenty of Germans, Ukrainians and other Europeans are coming due to the favourable tax position and the government is a bit concerned at the level of U.K. immigration seen over the last few decades. They’re happy to rein it back a little to focus more on EU citizens and spread the cultural influx
psi310398 said:
Switzerland and Monaco are both within Schengen but outside the EU as well as Andorra (which isn’t in Schengen?) and all have retirement/residency visa schemes.
Andorra is outside of Schengen but currently has a soft border to France & Spain. I got residency there after (and as a result of) Brexit.TTmonkey said:
How do you avoid the 6 month time limit on entry to Spain/France?
What 6 month time limit? The rule is 90 days in any rolling 180 days. That is a limit applied to entry into either the Schengen area as a whole, or any EU country outside Schengen, each of which has it’s own standalone 90 in 180 rule. LF5335 said:
What 6 month time limit? The rule is 90 days in any rolling 180 days. That is a limit applied to entry into either the Schengen area as a whole, or any EU country outside Schengen, each of which has it’s own standalone 90 in 180 rule.
Sorry what I meant was when you presumably enter Europe via France or Spain to travel Andorra, doesn’t it start a counter until you exit EU again? So if you are retired to Andorra, you haven’t halted that counter, so if you are there over 90 days and then come back to the U.K., wouldn’t it appear you’ve overstayed when you exit EU again? Sorry I really dont know how this works, not trying to ask a trick question….
TTmonkey said:
Sorry what I meant was when you presumably enter Europe via France or Spain to travel Andorra, doesn’t it start a counter until you exit EU again? So if you are retired to Andorra, you haven’t halted that counter, so if you are there over 90 days and then come back to the U.K., wouldn’t it appear you’ve overstayed when you exit EU again?
Sorry I really dont know how this works, not trying to ask a trick question….
ISTR that there are special arrangements at the relevant French or Spanish airport for Andorran residents. For others, if it matters, I think you need to seek out someone at the border to stamp you in and out. Sorry I really dont know how this works, not trying to ask a trick question….
Yes - Andorra is subject to the same 90/180 day rule as the the UK. The only difference is that they don't actually check passports at the border. You can stop and try to find someone who has access to a stamp, but so far, I've not bothered. When coming to & from the UK from either France or Spain, I've just shown my residence card and not had a problem.
I do spend most of my time in Andorra - if pushed I guess the only real evidence of that is my card spending.
I do spend most of my time in Andorra - if pushed I guess the only real evidence of that is my card spending.
TTmonkey said:
Sorry what I meant was when you presumably enter Europe via France or Spain to travel Andorra, doesn’t it start a counter until you exit EU again? So if you are retired to Andorra, you haven’t halted that counter, so if you are there over 90 days and then come back to the U.K., wouldn’t it appear you’ve overstayed when you exit EU again?
Sorry I really dont know how this works, not trying to ask a trick question….
I think this is a common misconception. The EU is not Schengen and Schengen is not the EU. They have similar countries, but they’re not the same. Sorry I really dont know how this works, not trying to ask a trick question….
Some EU countries are in Schengen
Some EU countries are not in Schengen
Some Schengen countries are in the EU
Some Schengen countries are not in the EU
The key here is once you enter the Schengen area then you’re entitled to stay in that area for 90 days in 180. You can move into and out of as many Schengen countries as you like. When / if you leave the Schengen area then you get your passport stamped and the clock stops. As an extreme example to show how the EU aspect isn’t you can do 90 days straight in Schengen. For example 30 days in each of France, Germany and Italy then as you’ve used up your allowance go to Cyprus for 90 days without a problem. That’s because Cyprus is outside Schengen despite being a member of the EU.
In practice it’s all moot currently, as the systems aren’t really joined up enough and reliant on manual stamps in passports. That will change once it goes digital with the ETIAS visa waiver scheme. The Andorran resident would be fine anyway as he can prove he lives in Andorra and they won’t get too hung up on that.
This might help explain it more or better
https://immigrantinvest.com/blog/eu-vs-schengen-en...
Additionally, residency applies to the country you are resident in. So say you get residency in France, AFAIK you're still held to the 90/180 days rule for travel to other Schengen countries. You can't just get French residency & then decide to live in Spain for most of the year.
Residency is not the same as citizenship / passport.
EU citizens have the right to live & work anywhere in the EU, but mere residents of an EU country do not.
An EU passport gives you much more freedom than residency of an EU country.
Residency is not the same as citizenship / passport.
EU citizens have the right to live & work anywhere in the EU, but mere residents of an EU country do not.
An EU passport gives you much more freedom than residency of an EU country.
Car bon said:
Additionally, residency applies to the country you are resident in. So say you get residency in France, AFAIK you're still held to the 90/180 days rule for travel to other Schengen countries. You can't just get French residency & then decide to live in Spain for most of the year.
Residency is not the same as citizenship / passport.
EU citizens have the right to live & work anywhere in the EU, but mere residents of an EU country do not.
An EU passport gives you much more freedom than residency of an EU country.
Yep. Your right of residency is in that country only. If you want to move to another then you go through current immigration criteria. Residency is not the same as citizenship / passport.
EU citizens have the right to live & work anywhere in the EU, but mere residents of an EU country do not.
An EU passport gives you much more freedom than residency of an EU country.
One small advantage of resident will be that ETIAS won’t apply amd the EU biometric residency card will suffice.
LF5335 said:
You can be astonished then. It is very difficult for a Brit to retire to Cyprus now. There are significant financial minimums that must be hit to have any chance. It’s also an annually renewable permit now.
Unless you fancy the northern bit! Probably the easiest place to move to within 'geographic' Europe.... for which there are reasons that don't appeal to everyone. But is generally a nice and easy place to live.Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff