MADRID – Spain was surprised by Sir Keir Starmer’s crackdown on immigration in which new arrivals must pass an English test – something which has never been a requirement for British expatriates in the Iberian nation.
About 410,000 Britons are registered to live in Spain and some have never learned Spanish.
Anyone applying for Spanish nationality does have to take a Spanish language test and pass a general knowledge exam about the country.
Spain’s Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez has adopted a radically different policy towards migration than the UK, welcoming more migrants to a country with a low birth rate and a jobs shortfall.
“Spain needs to choose between being an open and prosperous country or a closed-off, poor country. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
Spain’s economy grew 3.2 per cent last year and was named as the world’s best by The Economist in 2024.
Sánchez said migration was the only way to grow the economy and pay for the welfare state in a country which has one of the lowest birthrates in the European Union.
In contrast, Britain appeared to be lurching to the right on immigration, according to commentators in Spain.
One newspaper said after Labour’s immigration White Paper was published on Monday it meant there was no need for Nigel Farage to become prime minister.
“Farage doesn’t need to govern: it’s even harder (if possible) to live and work in the UK if you are a foreigner” ran the headline in El Confidencial, a respected online newspaper.
The article reflected on Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to cut immigration to the UK, make it harder to get British nationality and restrict access for graduates.
“It comes after the anxiety caused by the rise of Reform UK. The populist not only triumphed in local elections but beat Labour by six votes to the only seat up for grabs in the Commons,” Celia Maza, the journalist, reported.
square POLITICS I'm landlord of Blackpool's Reform pub - Starmer's immigration plan won't work
Read More
“It seems that Farage – the man who inspired Brexit, the close friend of Trump, returns to dictate the language in Westminster.”
Toni Peréz, the mayor of Benidorm, where Britons make up about 5 per cent of the population, said having no policy on learning Spanish made for a more tolerant society.
“It’s really good to have this tolerant attitude,” Mr Perez told The i Paper.
In Albox, a town in Almeria in southern Spain, many British retirees struggle to learn Spanish but most younger UK citizens are fluent.
“This attitude towards learning Spanish works well here. We want to be welcoming to people who come here, even if they cannot speak the language,” Mari del Mar Alfonso Peréz, mayoress of Albox, said.
Miriam Suarez, of the Spanish Commission for Refugees, an NGO which works with migrants, said no language test was required for British people who seek to gain residence in Spain.
“For residence and for work purposes there is no language test,” she told The i Paper.
Paco Almanzor, a Spanish political commentator, said that Starmer had allied Britain with US President Donald Trump.
“With Labour’s Starmer’s about-face today, announcing 1) knowledge of English to emigrate to the UK and 2) end of open borders, UK aligns with Trump,” he posted on X.
Luis del Pino, a journalist from Radio Libertad, a right-wing radio station in Spain, posted on social media site X that Starmer had aped the politics of Spain’s hard-right Vox party.
“The value of your vote: With the polls looking awful, Starmer has embraced Vox on immigration: We’re going to end the open borders experiment,” he posted on the social media site X.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( UK’s new visa rules slammed in Spain where thousands of Brits have never learned the language )
Also on site :
- EU country tells citizens how to spot Russian spies
- Real reason why Rite Aid hopes shoppers won’t transfer prescriptions after second bankruptcy and 68 closures
- Family Searches for Missing Teen Last Seen in Port Hueneme