Why are expats leaving Spain?

Are British expats really leaving Spain?

Some are, but the numbers are modest. According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of UK-born people living in Spain fell from around 298,000 in January 2022 to around 282,000 in January 2025. Fewer are arriving too. Moves to Spain by UK-born people fell 41% between 2021 and 2024, from around 34,000 a year to 20,000.

The fall is not only people going home. The total also changes with deaths, new arrivals and people taking Spanish nationality. A 2023 study of older British residents found that return migration after the Brexit vote was smaller than expected. In its survey of 643 Britons over 55, carried out in 2020, 87.4% said they were not planning to return.

So this is less a rush for the exit and more a case of fewer people being able to move, while a steady number decide Spain no longer works for them.

1. Brexit’s impact on British expats in Spain

Brexit ended free movement between the UK and Spain. How much that matters depends on when you moved.

Money worries for expats

The pound buys fewer euros than it did before the referendum. On 23 June 2016, £1 bought about €1.31. On 2 October 2026 it bought about €1.18 at the European Central Bank rate, roughly 10% less. For someone living on a UK pension or savings, £1,000 now converts to about €1,176 instead of €1,309.

The UK State Pension is still paid in Spain and still rises every year. It is paid in pounds, though, so its value in euros moves with the exchange rate.

2. Immigration and residency challenges

For new arrivals, visas are now the main hurdle. Retirees, remote workers and employees each use a different route.

New immigration rules post-Brexit

British citizens no longer have an automatic right to live and work in Spain. Any stay beyond 90 days needs a long-stay visa or residence permit, applied for through the Spanish consulate before you move. The main routes are:

Income requirements

The non-lucrative visa is the usual route for retirees, and it comes with a financial test. In 2026 the main applicant must show €28,800 a year (about £24,490), plus €7,200 (about £6,120) for each dependant. A couple therefore needs €36,000 (about £30,610). The Spanish Consulate in London sets the level at 400% of Spain’s IPREM index for the applicant and 100% for each family member.

Work of any kind is not allowed on this visa, including remote work for a UK employer. For people with modest pensions and savings, the threshold puts Spain out of reach, and it is one reason fewer Britons are making the move.

Challenges in securing residency

Meeting the income test is only part of it. Applicants must also show health cover that meets Spain’s requirements and supply supporting documents, and the permit has to be renewed. Before Brexit, none of this applied.

What this means for expats

Much of Spain’s appeal was how easy it was to move and settle. For people who arrived before 2021, little has changed in law. For everyone else, visa rules, income tests and paperwork have made moving to Spain from the UK harder and more expensive. Some who hoped to retire there have chosen another country or stayed in the UK.

3. Health care and social security concerns

Healthcare and pensions are what retirees worry about most. The rules are settled, but they depend on your circumstances.

Changes in access to healthcare and related costs

British residents get healthcare in Spain through one of four routes:

Early retirees feel this most. Without an S1, they pay for private cover until they qualify for another route.

Pensions, benefits and tax

The UK State Pension is still paid to people living in Spain, and it still gets the annual increase. We found no evidence of British pensioners being refused their pension because they live in Spain. Payments can be suspended, though, if you do not return a life certificate when the Department for Work and Pensions asks for one.

Other benefits follow their own rules. Pension Credit, for example, stops when you move abroad permanently.

Tax is the change people overlook. If you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, you are normally tax resident there. Under the UK-Spain double taxation agreement, a Spanish tax resident pays tax on the UK State Pension and most private pensions in Spain, not the UK. Most government service pensions stay taxable in the UK. Take advice from a qualified adviser before you move.

How these worries add up

For retirees with an S1 and a UK pension, the system works much as it did. The pressure falls on early retirees, people on lower incomes and new arrivals, who face insurance costs and an income test at the same time.

4. Lifestyle and integration challenges

Legal and financial hurdles are only part of the story. Research with older British residents shows that health, family and day-to-day life often decide whether people stay.

How expat life has changed

The lifestyle that drew Brits to Spain is still there, but the flexible version has gone. Those who used to split their time between the UK and Spain must now choose: become resident, or keep visits within 90 days in every 180. For many, that ends the “best of both worlds” life that attracted them.

One worry has been removed. Since 16 March 2023, residents can swap a UK driving licence for a Spanish one without taking a test. New residents can drive on a UK licence for six months before they need to exchange it.

The language barrier

Limited Spanish becomes a real obstacle when life gets complicated. A study of older British residents on the Costa del Sol found that many struggled to understand or approach Spanish social services when they needed care.

The language barrier is social as well as practical. It can leave people feeling isolated, like outsiders in a place they once felt part of.

Isolation and mental health

The same research found that isolation grows as health and mobility decline. Family in the UK can offer visits and phone calls, but not regular hands-on care. Around a third of those interviewed said a lack of money was affecting their wellbeing, often because care costs were eating into retirement savings.

It is not the whole picture. Friends, neighbours and voluntary groups provide lifts, translation, meals and company. The charity Age in Spain gave 8,000 hours of direct support to 2,817 vulnerable over-65s in 2025.

Why some decide to return

Studies point to the same triggers. People are most likely to think about returning when they can no longer manage the household alone, when they need more care, or after losing a partner. Owning a home in the UK also makes a return more likely.

Some want to go back but cannot. They lack the money for the move or have nowhere suitable to live in the UK, and after years away they no longer feel at home there either.

Adapting to a new reality

Most British residents adapt and stay. For those who do return, the reason is usually personal: health, care and family, more than politics.

5. Financial and property challenges

Money is tighter for many British expats in Spain than it used to be, mainly because of the exchange rate and the rise in prices since 2022.

Rising living costs

Food prices rose sharply. According to Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), annual food inflation peaked at 16.6% in February 2023 and was still 9.0% that November. It has since slowed to 2.3% (August 2026), but prices have not come back down, and overall inflation was 4.3% in the same month.

Drought and extreme heat were part of the cause. Eurostat reported that Spain’s cereal harvest fell by 24% in 2022, to 19.3 million tonnes.

Spain is still cheaper than the UK overall. The crowd-sourced comparison site Numbeo put living costs including rent about a quarter lower than in the UK in October 2025, and groceries about 18% lower. The saving varies by region and lifestyle, and it is smaller than it was for anyone paid in pounds.

Pensions and the weaker pound

Many retirees planned their life in Spain around a UK pension. The pension still rises each year, but it is paid in pounds, so its euro value depends on the exchange rate. With the pound about 10% weaker against the euro than in June 2016, and Spanish prices higher, that pension does not stretch as far.

The property market

British buyers are still the largest group of foreign buyers in Spain, but they are a smaller part of the market than they were. According to Spain’s property registrars, Britons made 7.97% of foreign home purchases in 2025, down from around 19% in 2016. That is about 1.1% of all home sales.

A falling share does not mean Britons are selling up. Other nationalities are buying more. CaixaBank Research found that purchases by non-resident Britons have stayed broadly stable at around 7,400 a year. Residency rules and the weaker pound do make owning less attractive for those who cannot stay beyond 90 days.

Hard choices for expats

A weaker pound, higher prices and visa limits leave some British owners with hard choices: budgets reworked, visits shortened or a home sold. For most it means adjusting. For some it means leaving.

Spain’s housing crisis and the welcome for foreign buyers

Spain’s welcome for foreign buyers has cooled amid a housing shortage that many locals blame on tourism and investment purchases. Several measures followed:

There have also been protests against mass tourism. In Barcelona in July 2024, a small group sprayed visitors with water pistols, and it happened again in Barcelona and Mallorca in June 2025. The protests are about housing costs and overcrowding. They are not aimed at British residents, but they add to the sense that Spain is less welcoming than it was.

For owners who rely on holiday lets to cover their costs, the new rental rules matter more than the headlines.

6. The social and cultural shift

Community life is changing too, though more slowly than the rules.

Shifting dynamics within expat communities

With fewer Britons arriving each year, long-established British communities see fewer new faces. Clubs and friendships built around shared life as EU citizens are changing with them.

Impact of dwindling British communities

In Alicante province, home to the Costa Blanca, INE figures reported in September 2026 show 68,904 British nationals in January 2025, 1,882 fewer than a year earlier. That is a fall of just under 3%.

Other communities are growing

Other communities are growing at the same time. In Alicante, the number of Colombian nationals rose by 8,227 in a year, to 51,224. New languages, customs and social activities are becoming more common, which brings new chances to mix.

Final thoughts on why expats are leaving Spain

British expats are not leaving Spain in the numbers the headlines suggest. The British community is a little smaller than it was in 2022, fewer people are able to move there, and most who are settled plan to stay.

Those who do leave usually have personal reasons: care needs, family in the UK, or money that no longer stretches. Visa rules, the exchange rate and housing policy add pressure, especially for second-home owners and anyone moving now.

If you are thinking about going home, our guide on why expats return to the UK covers the emotional, financial and practical reasons behind the trend.

At TMS, we understand how much has changed. Whether you need a smooth move back to the UK, guidance through the paperwork, or support in starting your new life in Spain, we are here to help. Let us handle the logistics and the paperwork, so you can focus on settling in.