Humphrey CarterPalma06/04/2019 18:43
TW

Register, register, register with your town hall, make sure you comply with all the necessary requirements to live and work in Spain. That is the paramount message which the British Ambassador, Simon Manley, and his team across Spain are driving home to Britons living in Spain in order to prevent further complications if and when Brexit happens.

However, a senior official in one of Majorca’s largest municipalities, in which a sizable number of Britons live, told me a few weeks ago that there are still a large number of Britons who have lived on the island for many years, decades even, who are not registered. They could find themselves in a complicated situation post-Brexit.

But never mind Brexit, being registered with your town hall brings a mountain of extras. For example, in Palma, I am entitled to my citizens’ card which comes with a host of benefits, not to mention cheap travel on the city’s superb public bus network. It means, if I have to, I can print a digital copy of my Padron to secure my 75% domestic travel discount. It makes life so much easier. It also means you are entitled to vote in municipal elections, and the foreign vote is going to prove crucial in a number of municipalities next month.

It means you can have an active say in how your local council conducts its business and your life. It also gives you the right to complain. You can’t if you have not voted. If you have not registered, get on with it.