We have received this message from the British Consulate regarding voting rights in Spain :

“As part of my new role at the British consulate in Alicante over the next few months, I will be trying my best to keep you all updated with the latest brexit news and any changes that may happen.

I would be very grateful if you could forward any concerns or issues you may hear about from British nationals to me, for example; those who are having difficulty trying to register on the padrón, issues when trying to vote in their local elections or when trying to apply for residency. Having this information will really help us feedback to town halls and departments and seek clarification and advice that we can then share with you all.

In case you are not aware of the latest updates with regards to voting rights in Spain, I thought I would share the latest information we have available on our website:

The UK and Spanish Governments have signed a treaty that secures the rights of British and Spanish citizens to stand and vote in local elections in each other’s countries after the UK leaves the EU.

The treaty signed was signed on the 21 January 2019 and means that British citizens living in Spain and Spanish citizens in the UK can continue to participate in local elections in the future.

The treaty contains transitional provisions, ensuring that UK nationals who are registered to vote in the upcoming local elections in Spain this May, will continue to be able to do so in any Brexit scenario.

In future, UK nationals will need to have resided in Spain for three years to exercise their rights under this treaty. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expat-voting-rights-treaty-secured-with-spain

The deadline to register is 30th January so please pass the message on to your friends and neighbours to register now if they want to vote and haven’t yet registered.

Guidance on how to ensure you are registered can be found on the Spanish government website. http://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/Paginas/index.aspx

As I´m sure you already know, the best place to find out about the latest updates is on our website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain and remember to sign up for email alerts by clicking on the link: https://www.gov.uk/email-signup/?topic=/world/living-in-spain

I can be contacted by phone, my direct line is 96 565 14 46 14 Monday to Friday between 08.00-16.00 or by email

Thank you once again for all your assistance.

Warmest regards

Michaela

Michaela Robinson | Consular Officer | British Consulate Alicante

Tel: +34 965 21 60 22 | Fax: +34 965 140528  | Email: Michaela.Robinson@fco.gov.uk