Number of Brits requiring consular assistance in Spain falls

Fewer Brits required consular assistance in Spain in 2012

With Spain still top spot for holidaying Brits, one would expect that the number of holidaymakers seeking consular assistance in Spain would be constantly on the rise, but recent figures released by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have revealed that the number of Brits in need of help actually fell sharply last year.

Throughout 2012, a total of 4,658 British citizens called upon the assistance of the British Consulate in Spain, according to the FCO’s annual British Behaviour Abroad Report 2013 (and yes, that is a real thing)…

In 2011, however, some 5,405 Brits required assistance, which indicates that there has been a 15 per cent drop in the number of enquiries. The FCO report shows that there were far fewer incidents of British arrests, detentions and hospitalisations in 2012, which can partly be attributed to a slight drop in the number of Brits that visited Spain last year as compared to 2011.

However, a fall from 143 to just 101 arrests of British nationals for drug offences in the past 12 months represents progress, and cause for optimism among both the UK FCO and the Spanish authorities.

In total, there were 1,599 Brits arrested in Spain in 2012, which is a positive step in the right direction following the 1,909 arrests made in the year previous. However, one figure that did increase last year was incidences of sexual assault, with 31 British nationals seeking consular assistance for alleged rapes and sexual assault in 2012 – up from just 18 incidents in 2011. Of these, 42 per cent occurred in the Balearics, according to the FCO.

“The priority for our consular staff is the safety and wellbeing of British travellers, and we will continue to work, including with other Governments and tour operators, to help prevent further cases and provide all possible support for victims,” said FCO Minister, Mark Simmonds.

“This support includes explaining local procedures, accompanying people to the police station, helping them deal with local authorities and medical staff, and contacting friends and family at home if that is wanted.”

According to the FCO report, Spain received a massive 13,635,846 visits from British nationals last year, which is slightly behind the 17,100,000 entering France, but doesn’t take into account the volume of people merely passing through France en route to other countries in central and eastern Europe.

It is also estimated that Spain is currently home to 795,784 UK citizens, the majority of whom consider Spain their permanent residence.