Expats are said to have left the hugely popular tourist destination “en masse” after stricter immigration rules were introduced when the UK left the European Union on December 31, 2020. Brexit went into effect on January 1 2021, but Britons are now looking to settle in Spain and other countries in the European Union face certain conditions to obtain residency status, including financial means and health coverage. More than 350,000 Britons are registered as permanent residents in Spain, but recent statistics have revealed that 2,400 British residency applications have been rejected this year.

UK citizens can now only Spain visa-free for up to three months for tourism and business purposes and the Spanish government has warned that extending their reception can be considered a “serious offense” by authorities.

The sanctions range from fines ranging from € 501 (£ 429) to € 10,000 (£ 8,562), a possible expulsion from Spain as well as a possible ban from the Schengen area (Spain, France, Greece and Portugal) for six months to five years. .

Asked about expats forced to sell their homes in Spain, Leon Fernando Del Canto, founder of London tax agency Del Canto Chambers, told Express.co.uk: “This is a serious problem for those who don’t want to become tax residents. in Spain and who bought their properties before Brexit.

“There is, in my view, a serious violation of human rights in these cases, because no one should be deprived of their right to freely enjoy their property.

“The 90-day Schengen limitation should be lifted in these cases.

“This is quite worrying for those who owned real estate in Spain before December 31, 2020 and have not yet obtained a residence permit.

“Their rights are violated by the Schengen limitations in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which states that individuals have the legal right to ‘peacefully enjoy’ possession of their home and that deprivation of property by states should be subject to certain fair and equitable conditions.

Mr Del Canto added: “It should be noted that in addition to the fact that the UK is a member of the Council of Europe, the ECHR applies to all foreign citizens in Spain.

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The number of UK new home buyers has fallen to an all-time low, according to the most recent official data from the Spanish Land Registry, which saw them account for just 9.5% of all purchases.

Recently, real estate expert and managing director of real estate, Robert Barnhardt, told Express.co.uk that many Britons in Spain are now starting to sell their properties due to growing post-Brexit difficulties.

He said: “A lot of retired Brits are starting to sell.

“They would come here in September or October, then stay until April / May for the six months of better weather.

“But now they can only come for 90 days and a lot of them used to drive down.

“The Spaniards are now getting pretty strict on cars registered abroad and mainly on British cars.

“On the country roads, where I live in the sticks, a lot of people drove in the same English cars.

“I mean I certainly saw them for 10 to 15 years with the same vehicle. And now it’s against the law and they’re being impounded.