Spanish college creates course to help Expats become Spanish citizens

It is estimated that more than one million Brits live in Spain, with many unsure of what Brexit could mean to them.

Although the immediate post-Brexit climate of panic and concern has largely ebbed away since the height of summer, many British expats living in Spain still have many unanswered questions regarding their future…

While it looks increasingly likely that very little will change for Brits who already reside in Spain – Brexit or no Brexit – those concerns are being addressed in a multitude of ways, not least by the Parnell Academy in Mijas, Costa del Sol, which has this week begun enrolling Brits on its Brexpats Spanish Nationality Course.

The course’s aim is to help Brits who live in, or want to move to, Spain learn more about the country’s cultures, customs, history, politics and language – essentially prepping students to pass a Spanish citizenship test, should they so desire.

The Brexpats in Spain group, which formed amid the fallout of the Referendum vote in June, is helping to run the course with the college, and decided to get involved after it faced a barrage of questions from British citizens concerned about what the future might hold.

The citizenship test is not easy, and not for everyone, but it is one option for Brits who have fallen in love with Spain and would like to live there for as long as possible.

The Parnell College says that the course covers everything a Brit needed to know in order to pass the Spanish Nationality Exam. “Questions on the test range from legal opening hours of businesses in Spain, to knowledge of national holidays and the different sort of climates that exist across Spain,” said the College.

“And then there is sporting knowledge and questions on how our political system works,” Natasha Parnell, the Academy director, told The Local.

According to Anne Hernández, who founded Brexpats in Spain, many Brits in and around the Costa del Sol have been left with a lot of unanswered questions regarding their rights in the wake of the vote. Until Article 50 is triggered by the British government – a decision that is seemingly being kicked further and further down the road – nothing will change, and even once that happens there is a two year ‘divorce period’ while terms of the UK’s extraction from the EU are discussed.

Those Brits who already live in Spain are likely to be granted permission to remain, although that could be contingent on the UK doing likewise with the EU citizens residing in Britain. Despite all of the rhetoric, it would be highly unlikely indeed if the British government moved to expel the millions of Poles, Spaniards, French, Germans etc… who contribute to British society.