Any help and advice appreciated to help us move to Spain

We want to move to Spain and buy a house once our house is sold. My husband is 59 I am 60 so not retirement age. There are so many questions but here are our main concerns. We have to buy a property and live on whats left from selling our house until we can get uk pension. Can we clain pension if we are living in Spain when we reach uk retirement age? What do we do about health insurance, do we buy a lhd car in the uk and bring it over or buy in Spain, in which case would we part exchange our rhd cars? We looked at some properties last month but the estate agent was very pushy and wanted 5k deposit in cash but we need to sell first. They also wanted to take us to the bank in Spain and us open an account and give them power of attorney which we thought very strange. It all seems so complicated and any help and advice would be very much appreciated. 

Firstly do not rush in to buy. I suggest it is best to come to your preferred area in Spain and rent for say three to six months.This will give you the chance to see daily life in Spain and you can experience the changing seasons as the weather does cool down in autum and winter, albeit not as prolonged as UK winter.

It is very much a buyers market in Spain and agents will be very keen to get your cash in their hands. After all it is their job to sell property. It is normal for a deposit of around three thousand euros to secure your chosen property. But this might vary from agent to agent. It is a requirement for you to obtain an N.I.E. Number in order to purchase property or cars or open a bank account. There are many agencies who will provide this service.

I'm not well up on the pensions side of things but if you contact the UK Dept for Work and Pensions they will give you accurate information on health care etc. or try citizens advice.es website for ex. pat information and registration requirements when you reside in Spain.

As for your car. Definately sell your right hand drive car in UK. And buy a Spainish registered car when you get to Spain. again maybe you can rent a Spanish car short term while you find your desired car. Cars tend to be a bit more expensive in Spain compared to UK market. 

Best of luck with your venture.

Your pension will be payable in full in Spain when you reach retirement age. You are unable to claim pension credits, though.

Vynehound, as has already been stated there is absolutely NO pressure to buy because there are a great many well priced properties in every area of Spain. 

Sell your house in UK first and then visit Spain on an extended visit, renting property and vehicle. On no account give POA or a deposit to a REA. Instead whilst here, should you decide to stay, find a good lawyer or gestoria to help with obtaining your NIE numbers, open a bank account and deal with all the formalities of required paperwork.

You may loose out on your winter fuel allowance if you opt to move to Spain before it first beco,mes payable, but it's not worth much and may disappear anyway.

One of the obvious more important things is where you chose to live.  It's not easy as the sheer size of the place makes that difficult.  Do you want to be by the coast or inland in a more secluded, probably not so touristy location.  Some of the larger cities have a great deal to offer, with generally more culture, but learning the language is probably even more vital.

As has been said on this site many times, renting first can be worthwhile.  Perhaps 1/2 months at a time to get to know places more fully before committing.

A lot of Brits gravitate towards Costa del Sol, unsurprisingly as it ticks many boxes for a lot of people.  But between CDS and Valencia are masses of other lovely places.  But the further north you go the more you need to ensure that the property you buy has a pukkah heating system.  It get's cold in winter where ever you are.

You also need to decide if you want to live on an urbanisation with other non-Spanish residents or "go native".  It's too easy to focus on the property currently, but long term who do you want as neighbours.  I love the Spanish people, but I lived on an urb with just Spanish and it took me a while to adjust to their different lifestyle and values.  Having said that they were infinity better than the miserable Brummies I have as neighbours currently!

Good luck

You have been given some very good advice from the the threads below I hope you take it on board before you take the plunge if I had my time over I would not buy a property straight away I would rent first and go out and discover different area's of Spain one of the biggest hurdles in you're way is the language barrier you will find out as I did that apart from learning a few polite words it will be extremely difficult to learn especially as you get older the only thing I got right was buying in a expat urbanisation I bought on Camposol ,ok so it is not the romantic farm house that they are always showing people on place in the sun out in the middle of nowhere but what we do have on Camposol is a very good residents association/good gardening group/and a emergency accident response service all manned by voliters.  paid for from a once a week road side bucket collection you should take this into consideration before you buy in a area that you no nothing about good luck and have a good retirement in Spain.

You will need Spanish health insurance  for 1 year then you can each pay 60 euros per month into the Convenio especial , which means you get Spanish NHS care, until you get free care as state pensioners

If you have existing health conditions you will not get cover, so,you would have to pay yourselves.

You would not be able to use your EHIC either, if resident in Spain.

Research tax implications , it is better to sell your house the year before moving to Spain to avoid paying capital gains tax on it in Spain

If you intend to stay in Spain permanently you are tax resident from day 1, tax year is January -December

You will be taxed on your worldwide income in a Spain, including, savings  interest

If you have any insurances, pension lump sums etc  due soon , don't move to Spain until the year after, to avoid being taxed in Spain

Research Inheritance tax- very different from UK

You need to look at info sites for expats eg UK in Spain

Also lots of info on this and other forums, be prepared that you will get confusing and often conflicting advice. You'll have to sift through it

As with most things, it's best to go to the "Horses mouth" for accurate info.

Contact the DWP , HMRC  and Government websites in the UK as there is plenty of info about living in Spain

Don't be rushed or harassed by estate agents, don't believe all you hear, ( ask the locals as well, and read up on the area, )and don't part with any money until you are ready and happy to.

I wouldn't give them power of attourney either without a very good reason.

Lastly, make an effort to speak Spanish now, as it takes a long time to be really fluent, and many never achieve it.

Even if you don't you will have a useful knowledge to help in everyday situations.

Do you have a preference area wise? Spain makes the UK look like a very tiny place, and I wager that you have not seen all of that, take your time and use your heads along with your hearts. If anyone tells you that the 'real Spain' lies as far away from the coast as you can get, you are probably talking to someone with a budget that precludes coastal areas. I would dare to state the obvious, this being that the holiday apartments/houses that you have stayed in might not suit as full time homes.

I see your first job as being to find where you want to live, then rent there and find what you want to live in, then the fun starts with agents, lawyers etc, but you would be wise to have settled all your UK financial affairs in the Spanish tax-year preceding the one that you come to reside in Spain in.

I wish you well with your ambitions. 

Looks like a minefield.. Thought we had checked it all out as well. We are already getting our pensions in UK .So they will carry on. We are assuming that we can use our Ehic card for emergencies while visiting for the 3 months and if and when we purchase  would apply to go on the Spanish health care? We already have our NIE Number from before.We have been looking around the Costa Blanca areas on line as they seem to have more expats in these areas also have considered Camposol as seems to be good value for money. Ruled out Further along Almeria because of the language problem. But we are already trying to learn some basic Spanish. As realise it's best to speak a little Spanish. We are already well in the process of the sale of our UK property. So now is the best time to try and follow that dream again. If ist not right then we will have to think again about our future. I really thank you all for all helpful and considerate information. Just so hoping this dream will come together though?  

Thank you for all the advice, was very alarmed about the capital gains tax on our house sale. If this is right we wont be going anywhere because we have to buy a house and live on the proceeds till we are retirement age. Can you confirm I have read this right?

I believe the that it's important to get the timing right.  The Spanish can only tax you on the sale of your UK property within the tax year, when you become a resident.  So if you've sold the year before it's not an issue.

You can live in Spain as a non-resident for up to 6 months in anyone financial year.  So you just need to be aware and don't hurry to apply for residency.

Don't get worried about the capital gains tax. If you sell your main home in UK before coming to Spain you will not be liable to CGT regardless of which year it is. It's the bit about it being your main home that is important.

check out the S1 form requirments with newcastle as this will entilte you to a Spanish SIP card (health card) and you will get health care on Spanish NHS system

The S1 for is guaranteed for UK state pensioners plus dependants (ie.e spouse who may not be a pensioner) and depending upon your NI contributions you may qualify for a limted period (1 or 2 years not sure) when you first move over - early retiree rules on S1 changed recently 

Also different rules for health care in each province e.g. Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia etc. but all accept valid S1 forms

Yes I think that your UK solicitor will certify to the revenue that your UK residence is Capital Gains exempt, I suggest that you get a certified copy of this, just in case.

I would take a different approach with the agents, they appear to be taking you to where they want to take you, as against taking you where you want to go. I suggest that you research areas on line and when you see somewhere that you like go and suss it out yourselves, park up and walk, you see far more when you are out of the car.  

Why would you even bother telling the Spanish tax man about selling your UK property?  The only way they're going to find out is if you tell them

Sanchez- That is not the right attitude! Do you not realise it is not difficult for the Hacienda to know about your tax affairs?

If you submit  a 720  the following year, which shows a very large sum of money sitting in your UK bank, and you have declared it, how will you explain where it comes from.

Bobaol, I m surprised that you don't realise that  It IS important what year you sell your house

What a lot of people don't realise,  is that if you move to Spain intending to spend the rest of your life there, you are considered tax resident for the whole year, even if you haven't spent the magic 183 days in that year in Spain that is normally quoted for tax residency

Another point is, Bobaol, is that your main residence whether in UK or Spain IS  liable for tax, so even though you won't pay cgt on it in UK when you sell before moving here, you will be liable for it in Spain, unless you choose to reinvest the proceeds in a property in Spain within two years.

If you plan to live off the proceeds in Spain, you will be taxed on it, unless of course, you were wise enough to sell it the year before you moved to Spain.

No it isn't, camposol. Not according to the uk gov site or many of the legal sites. It would only count if you moved to Spain, took out residency, bought a house which became your main residence, became a tax resident in Spain and then sold the property in UK. Even then you can claim exemption if you sell within (I think, maybe Maria can clarify)  2 years. You can sell your main home in any EU country and count the proceeds towards your new main home. There would be no capital gains at all regardless of which time of year you moved. If you sell your house in UK, move to Spain and then do all the things above there is no CGT to pay. It would be ridiculous for you to even declare anything like that from before you were living in Spain and subject to UK tax laws at the time.

I

Sorry, Bobaol, I think you are wrong

You will be classed  as Resident for the whole year, and therefore subject to CGT  on the house you sold in the UK prior to Spain.

There is a vast amount of info on this on various expat sites

I'm sure Maria will clarify

** EDITED **

This message was last edited by camposol on 27/03/2015.

This message was last edited by camposol on 27/03/2015.

From a solicitors website in Spain: (Just one of many on a similar theme)

If you are a British citizen and you plan on selling your property to move abroad you will not have to pay any capital gains tax if you are able to satisfy the following criteria:

• The property in question was used primarily as your main home and not as a way of securing any profits.
• This property was your main home for the time you owned it (excluding the past three years).
• It was used by you and your family and no more than one lodger throughout the period of ownership.
• The total area of land that comes with the house does not exceed a total of 5,000 square metres (this is about the size of a standard football pitch) and includes the part of land on which the house is actually built.
• If you are married or in a civil partnership and not separated you are only entitled to have one residence between the two of you.

If you are able to satisfy all of these criteria, you will not be eligible to pay capital gains tax on any property sale. However, you must make sure that you complete the relevant sale within three years of vacating the property. Furthermore, you are not required to prove yourself as a non-resident to qualify for this exemption in liability.

** EDITED **

If people choose to pay their taxes, make their asset declarations, register their UK cars in Spain etc and do all the things they should, then that should be seen as normal for any decent ex pat living here

It's the people who haven't done these things that have made it bad for the rest of us

For some of us it's not a case of " when in Spain....."