Returning to UK/Spain with Permanent TIE?

@Spanospan

The padron is a separate issue. If you keep your Spanish property you can stay on the padron. If you do this, and visit occasionally, I'm not sure that the checks on your absence are particular aggressive. If it's, say, once or twice a year (even for a day or two) then you have not at any time, been outside Spain for more than a year. (Even though you'd be living elsewhere.)

Once you have your permanent TIE, you can definitely go back to the UK for a bit, and live/work there for a change of scene. However, the EU (and Spain) definitely have some rules about how long you can remain outside the EU without losing your PR. You'd need to read up on it to see if it's a year, 2 years, or longer. If you wanted to go back to the UK for a considerable period, and didn't want to lose your right to return to Spain a few years in the future... I would recommend you keep a Spanish property/padron and keep up your annual visits, as above.

Hi,

If you are a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary, you can be absent from Spain for upto  5 years without losing your residency (Article 16.3, I think). The 5 year clock is reset by a short visit. Personally. I'd sign off the the padrón if you resume residency back in the UK.

@littleweed60 thank you. What I [link under review] do you mean the clock is reset? Will I lose years paid into SS/my 5 years of residency?

@gwynj thank you, just don't want to lose my rights in Spain and believe it's 5 years due to being a beneficiary of the withdrawal agreement (usually EU citizens get 2 years before it's cancelled).

I don't own any properties in Spain but have heard Brits getting their residencia back after being away for more than 5 years in some cases, I believe it depends on luck and if the authorities notice you've been out for considerable time. I'll keep copies of everything just in case but need to get a permanent TIE before anything.

Hi, each visit to Spain means that you can then be absent for a further 5 years without losing your right to permanent residency. The visit only needs to be for a few days. I can't see why it should affect your Social Security contributions but I think you may need to reapply for new a health card when you come back.

Just for info here is the gist of the legal basis;

- The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement increased the 2 years to 5 years - Article 15.3 - Permanent Residency can only be lost after an absence of 5 consecutive years

- The meaning of the key word absence was clarified in 2022 by the EU Supreme Court (albeit in relation to a different piece of legislation) in Case C- 432/202, Landeshauptmann von Wien.

The the Court said that absence simply meant that you hadn´t visited the country, it specifically ruled out the idea that you had to be living there.