27 April, 2016

By VIVA Team

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67% of British expats polled said that they plan to vote to remain in the EU.

A survey by English-language newspaper The Local has found that the majority of British expats in Europe plan to vote to remain in the European Union (EU) in the forthcoming referendum…

The survey of more than 2,700 British people living across the continent found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that 67% plan to vote to stay in the EU, with 28% in favor of Brexit. The remaining 5% were still undecided, the poll showed.

“This survey shows the overwhelming consensus among Brits living abroad for remaining in Europe,” the Chief Campaign spokesman for Britain Stronger in Europe, James McGrory, told The Local.

According to one expat interviewed by The Local, a chief concern for Brits in Spain is the potentially negative financial impact that a Brexit would mean.

“It’s a much tougher decision-making process for a British person who lives abroad,” said Maura Hillen, who lives in Almeria. “It potentially impacts expats more heavily.

“If we lived in the UK we might think differently,” she added, “but when you live abroad, I think the financial risks are bigger.”

Uncertainty over what the UK’s exit from the EU would mean for property owners is a big concern, although it is unlikely that there would be any negative impact for current owners. Buying a new home, however, could become that little bit more difficult for the non-EU citizens Brits would soon become.

A spokesperson for the Better Off Out campaign – which is pro-Brexit – told The Local that it had not had any contact with British expats thus far, stating simply: “We are concentrating on making a positive case to all voters and hope that those who wish to vote will recognise the benefits for the UK.”

Expat Hillen spoke of the “ironies of the debate” in Spain, saying that among many British expats who do favour Brexit the chief concern a great deal have is around uncontrolled immigration in the UK, even though they themselves are immigrants who have benefited from freedom of movement within the EU.

Interestingly, among the 2,700+ expats polled by The Local, only 673 people will actually be able to vote, with the majority having either lived abroad for more than 15 years and are thus ineligible to vote, or have failed yet to register to vote.