We have a place in the Canary Islands and the plan was to spend the winter there every year and pop over for holidays whenever we felt like it. It was also for our family and friends to use whenever they wanted as well. However given the current circumstances it didn’t work out like that.
My partner who was working in Switzerland for 20 years decided to take Spanish residency when she retired last February. It was a long and complicated process helped by the fact that her Spanish is fluent and that she had previously worked in Madrid and had a NI number. She had to prove income and ownership of a property there. In order to get her pension paid to our Spanish bank she had to take out health insurance and jump through numerous hoops. I didn’t want the same residency status so I am limited now by the 90 day rule. This doesn’t really bother me as I’m not so Spanish as she is.
I did spend 4 months there last winter and what I realised was that such a length of time was not going to work for me. I don’t speak the language which made everything difficult and I missed my friends and family enormously. I registered with the local health centre and when I did need to see a doctor I was able to do this through the EHIC agreement and will be able to do until it expires.
But the main problem was leaving my house in the UK for this length of time especially in the winter was disastrous. I arranged for a friend to visit on a regular basis and stay overnight to maintain the insurance conditions. I’m still today clearing up the mess of neglect in my attic room from damp and condensation. I’ve had builders, plasterers and decorators sorting the problem and they are still working on it today. I doubt that any of this would have happened if the property had not been left.
Good Morning Wednesday 24 April 2024