Gran Alacant Forum
Gran Alacant Forum => General Discussions => Topic started by: BeachLife on December 26, 2020, 20:43.
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Thought I would start for a new thread that we could populate as information from the agreement gets analysed:
From @simoncalder on Twitter regarding EHIC
"From 1.1.21 UK residents will continue to get free health care in EU EHICs remain valid If yours has run out, they're not issuing new ones. Instead, you must apply for a "provisional replacement certificate" (PRC) from hospital.
The NHS is not issuing new EHICs to UK citizens. Instead, if you need treatment abroad you need to get a provisional replacement certificate (PRC) from hospital. You, or a companion/family member, must call NHS Overseas Healthcare Services on +44 191 218 1999 during working hours"
There, thats a start !
PS - not sure if its needed or not next year but I got a International Driving Permit for use in Spain last week, just £5 from a appropriate Post Office (check on the web first - not all Po's do them)
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Here's a few more...
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I keep reading conflicting accounts about EHIC cards and IDP's so am waiting for it all to shake out and come clear.
A gov.uk site said health cards would be valid until they expired (2023 for me) and would then be replaced with a UK equivalent, the papers say they are not valid unless you are in the EU at Brexit in which case they are valid until you return.
I've also read IDP's are not required, ive had a French one for 18 months and a Spanish one that has 6 months left on it. Don’t buy a Spanish one too soon as they are only valid 12 months.
Best to wait until someone reads the script and gives us a FAQ's.
There's plenty of time before most of us are going anywhere anyway; my plan earlier in November was to go tomorrow and cross into Spain on the 28th but travel across Spain is banned so that put paid to that.
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Here's a few more...
Certainly free calls etc remain on my mobile.
Derek
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If you are lucky enough to be in a position to pay CGT on the sale of your property you will also now face a higher bill...from memory CGT for EU citizens is in the order of 19% and for others 24%.
I remember quite a few years ago we as EU citizens were treated differently to residents in terms of the amount of property tax we paid every year, c.15 years ago the EU declared this as illegal and we were all treated the same, me memory tells me this reduced the bill by a few hundred euros a year....the different tax rate still exists for non EU property owners, so I guess a bigger bill is on the horizon.
A joy for us when we drove down was stopping at a few vineyards on the way home and buying a few cases for personal consumption....that's a perk that's no longer available unless you want to declare it and pay the duty.
Interesting thread BeachLife
Regards all
John
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Gov UK have updated their pages on driving abroad re. international driving permits. Neither Spain or France require one except:-
France - If you hold a paper driving licence or a driving licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need a 1968 IDP from 1 January 2021. Check with the French Embassy.
Spain - You do not need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months.
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From The Times today
Travelling to Europe
From New Year’s Day, British passport-holders arriving at EU destinations will have to queue with those from the rest of the world. Air passengers arriving at Heathrow and Gatwick from the EU will continue to use the same e-gates for passport checks as British passengers. They will join those from the rest of the world only for customs checks.
The travel industry hopes Britain will strike bilateral agreements with countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece, which would give British tourists preferential treatment in exchange for similar concessions for visitors. Britain already has such agreements with America, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.
Border controls will be more intrusive, with officials asking travellers to state the purpose of their visit. It will be forbidden to take meat or milk products (even in snacks) into the EU. Airlines such as Easyjet are advising passengers to check their passports have at least six months’ validity and are less than 10 years old, even though EU guidance requires only three months’ validity.
At some time in 2022, those visiting Europe will also have to apply for a three-year Etias permit, a €7 visa waiver akin to the American Esta. But motorists will not be required to obtain an international driving permit.
Taking your pet abroad will become more complicated. Although pet passports will still be valid for those travelling from Northern Ireland, for the rest of the UK dogs, cats and ferrets must be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies, which can be carried out only once they are 12 weeks old. Owners must have an animal health certificate to travel from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland and the EU.
Travellers returning from the EU will have a new duty-free allowance of 200 cigarettes, four litres of spirits or nine litres of sparkling wine, 18 litres of still wine and 42 litres of beer.
Using a mobile phone abroad should not become more expensive — at least for now. Mobile companies say they will not reimpose “roaming charges” abolished by the EU, but would be free to do so. As a protection, the government has set a cap of £45 in any billing period.
All this is assuming that you can travel to Europe. From January 1, the UK is set to be placed on the EU’s Covid-19 high-risk travel list, which means curbs on travel for weeks — or even months — until our rates of infection drop. At best, travellers may be required to produce a negative test certificate; at worst they could face a ban on non-essential travel.
Visiting your holiday home on the Continent
Matters will become more difficult for those who divide their time between Dorking and the Dordogne. They will have to obtain a visa to stay for more than 90 days out of any 180-day period within the Schengen free movement zone, to which most EU countries belong. Different rules will probably be introduced, with more generous arrangements offered by those EU countries dependent on tourism.
Working and studying abroad
Brexit means UK citizens will lose their automatic right to work in the EU, although those who have established residency by the end of this year can apply to stay. Anyone wanting to move to the EU from January 1 to work or retire will have to apply for a visa. The same is true for a Briton already resident in, say, France, who wants to work in Germany. Students at universities in Britain will no longer be able to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme, although the government has said there will be a new scheme. Students at universities in Northern Ireland will continue to be eligible under an arrangement with the Irish government.
Recent article from E lPais
https://english.elpais.com/brexit/2020-12-18/spains-brexit-fears-fewer-tourists-and-dwindling-exports.html
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Great topic, very useful information.
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Totally agree, all seems straightforward and easy to work with.
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Do we need a Green card if you have a Spanish registered car over in Gran Alacant or just an international driving permit please ?
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Hi Nick
The answer on international driving licences has all ready been given above being you do not require one. As far as insurance goes if it is a Spanish Reg car insured in Spain you obviously do not need a green card unless you drive it outside the country it is insured in.
I think so many are really making hard work of this and looking hard for problems. Just carry on with life and you will be fine.
Derek
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Thanks Derek for the info
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My spanish car insurance comes with a green card issued as standard as part of the policy documents.
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Brilliant topic, thanks for all the information
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hi beach life, good topic on e.u.i.c, i have 2 years left to run on my health card, just wondered if the medical centre will renew my temp SIP card which ran out sept if presented with my e.u.i.c along with your passport.
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Hi Nick
The answer on international driving licences has all ready been given above being you do not require one. As far as insurance goes if it is a Spanish Reg car insured in Spain you obviously do not need a green card unless you drive it outside the country it is insured in.
I think so many are really making hard work of this and looking hard for problems. Just carry on with life and you will be fine.
Derek
I do agree Derek in the last 20 years ive lived, worked and bought several properties and a business in Spain and would say that there have been so many obstacles and hurdles to get anything done. Some are necessary some are just bureaucracy gone mad, other times ive walked out thinking how easy was that. Many things require a lawyer or a notary, everything in triplicate but eventually you do get there. Some people seem to have this utopian view of Spain which is going to end next week to be replaced by chaos and mayhem. And lets think of it practically any country within the EU holiday destinations that make life or entry problematic will end up on the front page and people will quickly vote with there feet and go elsewhere. At Alicante airport nearly 70% of car rentals go to UK visitors are the authorities really going to make life difficult for UK drivers. As with every decision made this year it always comes back to money and many countries wont be bouncing back that easily.
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Hi Ian.
You made need to get some advice. Whilst I have never had one, the temporary SIP was granted I believe to only people from other EU countries (or foreign nationals with Residencia) and now we are out of the EU the same rules will not - probably - apply.
Details will filter out no doubt after the first few weeks of Jan. Might pay to seek clarification with FAB later next month ?
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On the animal "passport" thing. Just pulled this off the web (via the GOV.UK site so should be correct)
As of 23:00 on 31st December 2020, the UK will become a Part 2 listed country in regards to the EU and pet travel. Travellers to Europe with their pets (dogs, cats or ferrets) will no-longer be able to use a UK issued EU Pet Passport.
Instead pets will need to be issued with an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) from their vet. The AHC is:
Valid for one single trip only. New AHC must be issued for subsequent trips into the EU.
Must be used within 10 day of being issued.
Once entered EU, valid for 4 months OR when pet’s rabies vaccine expires (whichever comes first). Can be used for onward travel through EU only.
Valid for return to the UK within 4 months of issue.
Only for the movement/travel of non-commercial dogs, cats or ferrets.
Maximum of 5 pets allowed to travel with owners unless for competitions/training/shows/sporting event (please contact vet for these scenarios).
In order to qualify for an AHC, pets must:
Be microchipped (or tattoo that was placed before 03/07/2011).
Vaccinated for rabies a minimum of 21 days prior to travel.
NO rabies blood test is needed if pet is remaining in the EU for duration of stay and NOT travelling to OR through any unlisted countries.
When returning to the UK:
Dogs must receive tapeworm treatment 24-120 hours before return, and have the treatment administered by a vet.
These changes impact travellers arriving in the EU from 23:00 GMT on 31st December 2020.
Vets will be able to issue the new AHCs from 22nd December 2020 onwards. Your vet will need to have Official Veterinarian (OV) status from the Animal Plant Health Agency, please check with your local vet before booking your appointment for an AHC.
Hope thats useful to the pet lovers who bring them over to Spain ....
Link: https://www.vets4pets.com/services/pet-passports/
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Interesting comments on duty free allowances but beer wine spirits an cigarettes etc bought in the resort or shops or vineyards are not duty free but duty paid . No where that I have seen does it mention duty paid in EU and surely in a free trade agreement area then they don’t count as duty free. I’ve tried to google it but it only mentions duty free
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Interesting comments on duty free allowances but beer wine spirits an cigarettes etc bought in the resort or shops or vineyards are not duty free but duty paid . No where that I have seen does it mention duty paid in EU and surely in a free trade agreement area then they don’t count as duty free. I’ve tried to google it but it only mentions duty free
That would suggest that at worse everything stays the same price or when making purchases within the airport that as a non eu country that the lower no tax or duty price would apply. Seems like more good news.
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Going back to the mid 90s I remember that the allowances were 200 duty free or 400 duty paid cigarettes before it went up to as many as you could carry (for personal use).
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Hi Beach life, when I bought in G.A 15 years ago I took my n.I.e ,passport, & copy of deeds to Santa pola health centre, & they issued me a temp s.I.p card, which I renewed every 6 months @ g.a medical centre, this enabled me have doctor appointment, hospital treatment & 80% reduced perceptions as o.a.p, I just hope when I go back it will be honoured.
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Hi
I can't understand why Brits who pay their taxes to the UK Government should expect free health care in Spain. Surely it is the same as not belonging to the AA and then expecting them to fix your car for free.
Derek
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Hi Derek, hopefully most people don't expect free health care (or anything else free for that matter) anywhere, but where that care is provided on a reciprocal basis with a bi-lateral agreement between countries then surely it is there to be used as it is intended to be used.
The web page below should put the EHIC to bed regarding Spain; basically if you have one it's valid until it expires, if you haven't got one it's to late, except for a very few circumstances you have to wait for the UK GHIC to be issued
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-for-uk-nationals-visiting-spain
Going off piste a little the issue of the border at Gibraltar is coming to a head but the Spanish government seem to be keen to sort something akin to what is there already; as Wilson said earlier it's usually about the money, a little pragmatism and realpolitic. I think it's the bilateral deals that we need to look out for from the countries that rely on tourism; in our case Spain.
A classic quote from Gibraltar's Chief Minister - We can each win only if we all win. And we will definitely all lose if one of us loses. "So this is a moment where we have the choice to make for our people, of whether we ensure that none of us loses at this table even if none of us wins, or we ensure that all of us wins to ensure that none of us loses. A bit of the Donald Rumsfeld there.
https://news.sky.com/story/brexit-clock-still-ticking-ahead-of-deadline-for-gibraltar-deal-after-spain-warns-of-border-chaos-12174221
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thanks Dave for explaining the ehic new rules, i am aware that a spanish resident paying taxes in spain is entitled to free health care visiting U.K as is the case with U.K visiting spain.
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Thanks Ian, and at the risk of preaching to the converted on the Forum I think it's as well to stress the limitations of the EHIC / GHIC in as much as it is not intended as a substitute for travel insurance.
The following link is a gov.uk issue today setting out all you need to know regarding travel insurance and how to choose one for your specific needs - it's a really comprehensive overview.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/foreign-travel-insurance?utm_source=52abe477-ba33-4577-a721-0b43ecfd23a7&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=daily
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Personally I’ve always viewed the EHIC card as a safety net, I recall several years ago whilst in Poland going into AE the staff just shrugged and requested insurance, as is always the case your not in a position to argue as you need treatment now. Also in Tenerife a pool accident needing ambulance and hospital, advice from knowledgeable associate who lived on island, don’t travel to SantaCruz and wait possibly hours in state hospital but use state of the art private around the corner. Saying all that a friend who stayed with us in GA broke his arm and received excellent treatment at Elche hospital all using his card.
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When my late father and his partner were using my house in GA hid lady friend had a waterworks problem, they went to the health centre up the top of the estate and saw a doctor, the doctor wasn't interested in anything except for details off the EHIC card , a prescription was issued, a good service
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Hi Wilson, like you I consider it a safety net - I once read somewhere that it gets the ambulance that gets you to the hospital, into A&E, treated and out the other side; after that you're on your own and that's where your travel insurance should start, unless as you say you choose to go private. A general word of warning with private - if possible let your insurance know before you commence any treatment. Read all the policy wording always.
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The health service in Spain is very good but like any state medical services it has its limitations especially for specialist treatments.
Friends who live there have private medical insurance which is cheaper than uk and provides excellent treatment when needed although they use normal doctors etc for minor ailments
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Very informative thread and great to see the doom and gloom that was predicted by many hasn't come to pass.
Even better was the head of the Valencian region speaking yesterday about how important UK visitors, second home owners and residents were to the region and how he will do everything in his power to ensure that as little as possible changes.
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I've just picked this up in the online comments section of today's paper and can't seem to find what's prompted it. Anybody any ideas?
"So apparently Brits’ streaming services either won’t work or will have limited or local language content when we go on holiday to the EU now. No Sky nor Britbox, Amazon with very limited content and Netflix will default to local language content wherever you are, with no access to U.K. library. VPNs seemingly won’t be an effective workaround for streaming or at best will be exceedingly fiddly to make work for anyone but the most IT-literate so not really a solution for families used to things just working across multiple mobile devices. This is going to be such a pain for those of us with multiple kids who always spend summer holidays in the EU and do holidays involving a lot of driving".
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As soon as something gets blocked, someone will find a way around it.
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A few more comments refer to the UK falling out of the market for digital services and Portability regulations.
It's all Greek to me.
Maybe just mobile stuff. Early days and as you say someone usually manages to find a way round whatever it is.
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Best hope is Freesat, my neighbor has a 1.4m offset dish and gets good results, different story when it rains though, record loads of stuff when it's dry to watch when it's wet .I'm going for my own Freesat system this year as our community system is a bit limited for channels.
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I've used Freesat for years without problems. Expensive to install but then free for llife.
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i agree W.B.A freesat great, bit scrambled when bad rainy weather only 4 times a year though.
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Blue and White, what size dish do you have ?
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Just a standard 1.4 dish as readily available
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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/britons-flying-home-to-spain-caught-in-postbrexit-red-tape-spain-britons-brexit-citizens-british-b1781686.html?utm_content=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1609684570
Just saw this....
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Before we actually left the EU one blamed the EU for whatever went wrong. Now there is a choice as you can blame either Boris or Brexit. Rubbish reporting but I suppose it might sell the odd newspaper.
Derek
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£1900 on two flights, testing and getting to the airport, £950 each!!!
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Exactamente.
The trouble is people sometimes believe what they read.
Derek
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Ryanair to Barcelona from £9.99 one way. Shame we can't be helpful and point this out. Even British Airways only wanted £83 with hold baggage.
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Any system that uses bureaucrats or politicians to run a country or institution is usually chaotic and at times poorly run. 40 years of EU membership didn’t bring obvious benefits on a personal level to the normal joe in the street. Leaving won’t change much for most of us, it will still be all about the money.
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Wilson. It is difficult to know if we would have been better or worse off had we not been members of the EU. We certainly used to get ripped off on mobile phone charges until the EU put a stop to it. Then I remember the Spanish Government charging Brits more tax each year than they did the locals. Yes the EU put a stop to that also. Then there is the compensation on delayed or cancelled flights which was down to the EU. Distant selling regulations were also introduced to protect the guy in the street. There have in fact been loads of laws introduced by the EU to improve the working guy's lot.
The freedom of movement allowed Brits to have second homes on mainland Europe and supplied the UK with cheap car washing. The Eastern Europeans certainly need to hold their heads in shame coming over to the UK and actually doing a day's work. Believe me much as they have tried they will not encourage some Brits to change habits of a life time. Joking apart the EU was not all bad and who on earth can we now blame.
Derek
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Plenty of people bought and lived in houses in Spain before we entered the EU
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Seems to be very difficult for some UK people who are now residents to get back in with numerous reports of people denied boarding even with correct documents.
Some who’ve left paperwork in Spain won’t be allowed in so not sure what’s the way forward for them
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Derek my post was primarily about the 50 or so million UK citizens who aren’t as lucky as you and I have been in life. Whilst undoubtably the EU did bring in many laws that benefited me, it bought as many that didn’t. I notice that the eu went quiet over Ryanair’s shenanigans since March.
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Derek my post was primarily about the 50 or so million UK citizens who aren’t as lucky as you and I have been in life. Whilst undoubtably the EU did bring in many laws that benefited me, it bought as many that didn’t. I notice that the eu went quiet over Ryanair’s shenanigans since March.
I wonder how much of it was luck or the result of doing a day's work. Opportunities are out there, even today, for people to make a crust but the trouble is some can only see the problems and miss the opportunity. Sometimes a helping hand is all that is needed.
Derek