Spanish PM says he’ll guarantee 300,000 Brits rights in Spain even in no deal Brexit – as long as UK reciprocates The Spanish PM delivered a ‘message of calm’ to both Britons in Spain and Spaniards in the UK

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the rights of the 300,000 British people living in Spain would be secured even in the case of a no deal Brexit as long as the same was offered to Spanish people in the United Kingdom.

The socialist PM said the government was working on measures to ensure Britons living would keep their rights even if Britain crashed out of the EU without a deal on 29 March.

Measures were, however, conditional on the roughly 100,000 Spaniards getting the same treatment in Britain, he said.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

Talking in his traditional end of year press conference broadcast from the Palacio de la Moncloa on Friday, Mr Sanchez said: “I want to convey a message of calm for the Spaniards who live in the United Kingdom and also the British who reside in Spain.”

“We will preserve your rights whatever the scenario.”

No deal Brexit plans

He said his Government was working with the European Commission and Council and other member states to put in place contingency plans for a no deal Brexit.

Spain is the most popular European retirement destination for Britons and is home to around 300,000, mostly settled on the coast. Among foreign nationals, they are by far the biggest users of Spain’s state-funded, universal health care system.

Sanchez said he would present legislation in February outlining the rights of citizens in the respective countries and would also put forward measures to protect the commercial relationship between the two countries.

EU settlement scheme

In Britain, Spanish citizens, along with all other EU nationals from the remaining 26 member states, will have to apply to the Home Office’s EU Settlement Scheme if they want to remain in the UK after 31 December 2020.

A video shared on social media by the Home Office promoting the scheme has provoked outrage, with critics branding its message as ‘menacing.‘

Around 3 million EU nationals live in Britain, while around 1.3 million British people live in European Countries, the largest contingent living in Spain.

Theresa May’s Brexit deal safeguards the rights of British people living in the EU until the end of the transition period in 2020, but if the UK crashes without a deal these rights may have to be secured through bilateral agreements with all 27 remaining member states, such as the one proposed by the Spanish Prime Minister.

(Additional reporting by Reuters)