Spaniards and Brits both enjoy benefits of EU living, study finds

The study finds 30,000 Brits claim unemployment benefits in the EU, with 65,000 EU citizens doing likewise in Britain

Despite the oft-repeated narrative that immigrants are swamping the UK in order to bleed the country’s benefits system dry, recent data analysis has revealed that at least 30,000 British nationals currently receive unemployment benefit elsewhere in the EU.

The data, compiled by the Guardian, suggests that although there are more EU nationals claiming unemployment benefit in Britain compared to Brits claiming on the continent, the divide is not as stark as often claimed…

In fact, in countries with a higher average GDP than the UK – richer nations, basically – the number of Brits claiming unemployment in those countries is three times higher than the reverse, ie, nationals from the richest European nations claiming benefits in Britain.

Interestingly, the numbers for Britain and Spain were the most closely matched. While 3,870 Spaniards claim unemployment benefit in the UK, some 2,973 Brits do likewise in Spain. Compare that rate to Germany – where 6,022 Brits claim German benefits and only 1,470 Germans claim British benefits – and it appears to be a healthily reciprocal relationship.

But anybody wishing to use these figures as proof that Brits abroad are just as likely to claim benefits as citizens from Eastern Europe are likely to be disappointed. Poles, for example, number 14,880 on benefits in the UK, compared to just two – yes, 2 – Brits who claim unemployment benefit in Poland.

In general, the data seems to suggest that Europeans able and willing to will move across the continent in search of work and benefits in countries richer than their own. There are nine countries in the EU where the number of Brits claiming benefits is higher than the reverse – Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, France and Ireland – with 23,011 Brits on the benefit books, compared to just 8,720 nationals of those countries claiming in the UK.

This represents a rather distinct north-south divide, as well as a west-east one. But taken as a whole it seems that the proportion of Brits who live abroad and claim benefits is just 2.5 per cent – which is roughly the same as the proportion of EU citizens living in Britain doing likewise.

“Thirty thousand people, or 2.5 per cent of British nationals, in other EU member states means that the overwhelming majority of Brits abroad as well as European citizens in Britain are not an undue burden for the countries in which they live,” said Dr. Roxana Barbulescu, who is a researcher on international migration at the University of Sheffield.

It is thought that there are three times as many Brits living in Spain as Spaniards residing in Britain, and the data encouragingly shows that only a handful of the estimated 800,000 are currently claiming unemployment benefits in Spain.

Data from Spain’s authorities estimates that around 50 per cent of Brits who live in Spain are over the age of 50. Those that are not working are likely to be receiving a British state pension, with the majority boasting their own financial independence and security, as well as assets in either Spain, Britain or both.

In fact, the biggest ‘burden’ Brits bring to Spain is on the Spanish health service, even though the UK makes annual top-up payments to the Spanish government to compensate for this.

Spain’s climate and top-notch healthcare is regularly cited as one of the main draws for Britons, particularly as they approach retirement age. A study conducted in 2009 by London School of Hygiene lecturer Helena Legido-Quigley found that the average British pensioner’s experience of the Spanish healthcare system is overwhelmingly positive.

“They reported that they had very good experiences and it was mainly to do with the fact that healthcare professionals were making great efforts to communicate with them and provide them with relevant services,” she said.

Spain’s public healthcare system was particularly praised for its access to specialists and the quality of its machinery and hospitals, the study also found.

However, the failure of some Brits to register at their local town hall when moving to Spain continues to mean that Spain cannot accurately report back to the UK just how many Brits reside in certain areas. Thus, healthcare payments from the UK government are probably inadequate – which is all the more reason for any British pensioner moving to Spain to register at their local town hall.