Spain rejects 2,000 residency applications after Brexit – these are the most common reasons

Spain rejects 2,000 residency applications after Brexit – these are the most common reasons

Many Britons wish to retire in the Mediterranean country, looking for sun, warm weather and delicious food. This year, however, many UK nationals who applied for Spanish residency under the Withdrawal Agreement had their applications rejected. Many even received notices saying they had to leave the country within 15 days or they could be classified as illegal. Why? According to recent data by the EU’s Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights, Spanish authorities received 168,700 applications for residency in September 2021. Out of these, 141,700 have now been concluded. According to the report, 81,200 applications were approved for permanent residence, meaning it was granted to those Britons who had been living in Spain […]

Olive Press newspaper interview with Diego Echavarria

Olive Press newspaper interview with Diego Echavarria

Olive Press reporter Katherine Brook sat down with one of Spain’s best lawyers, Diego Echavarria, to discuss how he’s helped over 50 people who were victims of the floor clause claim back hundreds of thousands of pounds, as well as what problems Brits are currently facing in the country. Tell us a bit about yourself Diego? I was brought up in Madrid, which is where I studied to become a lawyer, splitting my time between there and Germany. I moved to Marbella in 2001 and then set up my own company, Fairway Lawyers, in 2006. Why Marbella? I specialise in being an English speaking lawyer, and Marbella’s a great place […]

Residency in Spain for UK nationals: Can a lawyer fix application problems and speed up the process?

Residency in Spain for UK nationals: Can a lawyer fix application problems and speed up the process?

Diego Echavarria of Fairway Lawyers in Marbella has recently been interviewed by The Local Spain after several of their British readers have contacted them to say they’re having problems getting their residency in Spain, and questioning why there are so many delays. The reporter spoke to several lawyers to find out what most the common residency issues are, how to correct them and why getting legal help might speed up the process. Gerard Martínez from Balcells Group in Barcelona explained to The Local that the vast majority of residency problems they are seeing now involve foreigners not knowing the best path to residency and not being sure about what their options are. Most […]

How to buy a home in Spain as a foreigner

How to buy a home in Spain as a foreigner

By www.thedeliciousday.com Diego Echavarría has practised real estate and immigration law in Malaga and throughout Andalucía for 20 years. I chatted with him via Zoom to learn the ins and outs of home buying in Spain for foreigners and why a real estate attorney is an absolute must. Here is a little of what he had to say… Why is a lawyer required when buying a home in Spain? Basically, you always need an attorney when you’re a foreign person investing in Spain. There are a lot of legal requirements and issues that most people do not know about. Lawyers check if the property has any debts and if the mortgages have […]

Expat buyers in Spain are scooping €50,000 and more after Fairway Lawyers crack compensation route in floor clause mortgages

Expat buyers in Spain are scooping €50,000 and more after Fairway Lawyers crack compensation route in floor clause mortgages

‘ABUSIVE’ MORTGAGE FLOOR CLAUSES SPAIN: Are you entitled to compensation plus interest – even if you have sold your property and paid off the mortgage? They had taken out the mortgage through Bankia in 2004. The villa in Mojacar, Almeria, was the home they had always dreamed of buying for their regular trips south for the weather. With its sizable garden and sea views, it was the perfect place to unwind during the hard winters of northern England. But the Thompsons, like so many buyers who took out mortgages in the happy days between 2002 and 2009, soon found out that their mortgage was not fairly setup. While initially the […]

Decision day for the one million floor clause mortgages in Spain that may have paid an average of €25,000 too much

Decision day for the one million floor clause mortgages in Spain that may have paid an average of €25,000 too much

This week, finally, Spain’s Supreme Court will rule on mortgages that were linked to an IRPH rate, more than six months after Europe left it to the Spanish judges to rule on their legality or lack of transparency. While the standard Euribor rate has been negative since February 2016, the mortgages linked to the IRPH have been paying interest at around 2%. It is estimated that the average cost of overpaid interest payments to these clients could be around 25,000 euros each. The Supreme Court validated the use of the IRPH in 2017, but Court number 38 of Barcelona raised a preliminary question to Europe to enquire about the control […]