San Juan is a festival celebrated on the night / morning of 23rd / 24th of June.  A magical night that welcomes the summer season, the celebrations take place during the shortest night of the year; the summer solstice. The festivities are usually held on the beach with friends around bonfires with drinks, food and fireworks.

Legends, tradition and rituals are connected by a common elements: fire and water.  Fire purifies and water recuperates, refreshes, and rejuvenates.  Young people jump over fires which, according to tradition, cleanses the body and the soul. Jumping in the sea at midnight is supposed to be a way to wash away evil spirits.

Every region in Spain has different local traditions, however all of them are related to fire and water.  After midnight, for example, people wash their faces and feet three times in order to be granted three wishes and for a happy twelve months thereafter. Bathing at this time is also said to be beneficial for skin complaints.

Traditionally, the Spanish did not visit the beach until this day in each year.  Thousands of people wandering into the water after midnight with the haze of bonfires everywhere is quite a sight.

Other rituals include, burning a piece of paper with your lovers name on it, or burning something old and personal to leave behind bad spirits from the past and start a new phase.

Dancing and praying around bonfires, and in some areas burning a rag man, which originally symbolized Judas Iscariot.  Pagan and religious traditions merge and blend in this fascinating celebration.

The largest celebration takes place in Alicante, where it is the most important festival in the city.  The San Juan bonfires festival in Alicante originated in 1928.   It was started by Jose María Py, who felt that Alicante needed an important fiesta.  She came up with an idea to combine bonfires with a Valencian tradition known as the “falles“, a traditional celebration held in commemoration of Saint Joseph.

Other countries such as Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Perú, Bolívia and Cuba celebrate this date influenced by Spaniards, Portuguese and other European immigrants.

Aside from the sunshine and many other perks of living in Spain, British mums can enjoy two special days every year.

Today is mothering Sunday in the UK, and people and families all over the country will be appreciating their mothers and treating them to a special day.

In Spain the equivalent day, ‘el dia del madre’, is on Sunday 5th May, so British mums in Spain can look forward to two days of pampering!

It’s not just British mums in Spain who benefit.  Dad’s do too.

Tuesday 19th March, is ‘el dia del padre’ in Spain.  Spanish Fathers Day.  In the UK this year, Fathers Day is Sunday June the 16th.

And while we’re on it, let’s not forget the kids.

For British kids, Father Christmas comes on Christmas Eve and leaves presents, and for those who don’t know, in Spain the Three Kings bring presents on the 6th January!  (‘dia de los reyes’)

Two Mothers Days, Fathers Day twice and double Christmas!

As if there weren’t already enough reasons to want to live in Spain!

Happy (British) Mothers Day!

Processionary Caterpillars, the larvae of the Pine Processionary moth,(Thaumetopoea pityocampa), usually start emerging February to April onwards.  So by March they will typically be getting their marching in full swing. However with the mild winters we’ve been experiencing in their range in Southern Spain, processions are being spotted in some parts a lot earlier, frequently as early as December and January.

These infamous Processionary Caterpillars, get their name from their behaviour of leaving their feeding spots in pines trees, in procession, to find suitable places on the ground to burrow for their pupation stage.  The hairy caterpillars start life as eggs laid by Pine Processionary, a moth who’s life spans just one day.  The caterpillars are sociable and as they grow, together they build nests that look like big clumps of cotton wool high up in the pine trees.

At this stage they a generally harmless, apart from stripping the poor pine trees of their needles, as they are high up out of reach of the pets and children that they are notoriously dangerous too.  It is when they reach maturity that they become the biggest, as it is then that they come down from the trees en mass, right under the noses of curious dog’s cats and children.

The Processionary Caterpillars hairs are poisonous, and when touched cause serious irritation and swelling.  The poisonous hairs detach from the skin of the caterpillar, and if inhaled can cause severe respiratory problems.  An animals that tries to eat them can end up with such severe swelling of the throat that the airways become blocked entirely, leaving the animal unable to breath and die by asphyxiation.

Th reaction from touching a Processionary Caterpillar starts like a prickly heat and will more often than not require medical attention.  There are many ideas about the best way to get rid of these creatures, one being to burn them.  This is perhaps not such a good idea as in theory the fire could create clouds or airborne poisonous hairs everywhere.  If you find these caterpillars, the best thing is to is keep away from them and they are in you home or garden, call in professionals to get rid of them.  If you live in an urbanisation, you should inform the community, so that they can get them dealt with, and if you suffer a reaction from coming into contact with Processionary Caterpillars you should seek medical help immediately.

Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa and Residency is now more than a year old and has become the second most popular Spanish residency after the Non-Lucrative Visa.  This visa or residency permit allows the holder to live in Spain and work remotely or online.  It can be applied directly in Spain, or via the Spanish Consulate in the country in which you currently reside.

The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa offers residency to British nationals who have the financial means to support themselves without working.  The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa scheme is therefore ideal if you are retired, or have passive income, for example income from rental properties or other investments.  The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa is intended for full-time residency in Spain, i.e. 6 months or more per year.

What does the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa Offer UK British Nationals?

The UK is no longer in the EU and the process and costs to register a UK car in Spain are a lot more than they were before Brexit.

This is because UK cars now are now treated as vehicles from third countries and must clear customs, have import duty and VAT paid, or get a waiver if your car qualifies for customs exemption.

The process you follow will depend on your situation, as will the cost.  You’ll need to budget for costs of around €1,500 with taxes as applicable on top.

Portugal has ended its Golden Visa residency program for property investors. This announcement came just a week after Ireland terminated of its ‘Golden Visa’ Immigrant Investor Program.

Both countries introduced Golden Visas in 2012, as did Spain, as they struggled to recover from the global financial crisis. The aim was to prevent banking collapse by bringing foreign money into their real estate markets.

Andalucía has become one the top 3 regions in Spain with the least taxes.  On the 21st September 2021, the regional president, Juanma Moreno, announced the scrapping of Wealth Tax in Andalucía.

The tax has accounted for just 0.6% of income for the regional government (€95m annually), and Moreno believes the change will have a very positive impact on increasing revenue by attracting investment.

A large number of the highest wealth tax payers left Andalucía in 2020, resulting in a loss of income of estimated at around €18m (€3.5 million euros in wealth tax and €14 million in personal income tax).

The president is hoping that removing Wealth Tax will encourage people with high income who spend long periods in Andalucía, but are not tax resident, to make it the region their permanent home and pay tax there.

Moreno’s estimate is that the tax reduction will attract 7,000 new residents, the result being that the 0.6% of income lost will be far exceeded, through income tax and other indirect taxes collected.

As wealth tax hasn’t been abolished, the annual tax return still has to be done according if, according to the law, ‘ . . . the value of their assets or rights, determined in accordance with the tax regulations, is greater than €2,000,000 euros.’  However 100% tax relief will be being granted to zero the liability.

New ‘Large Fortune’ Tax Proposed

The good news of Andalucía’s Wealth Tax reform, was shortly muted by news that the Spanish government plans to impose a temporary national ‘tax on large fortunes’.  The tax is yet to be approved by parliament, but is is expected to be implemented for 2023 and 2024 and will affect individuals with net wealth above €3 million.

Since wealth tax is collected by the regional Government, it was confirmed that any wealth tax paid would be offset against any ‘large fortune tax’ bill.  As Andalucía now give 100% wealth tax relief, residents in Andalucia won’t have to pay wealth tax, however if their net assets equal €3 million or more, they would have to pay the ‘large fortune tax’.

The proposed rates are as follows:

• 0% up to €3 million of net wealth
• 1.7% between €3 million and €5 million of net wealth
• 2.1% between €5 million and € million of net wealth
• 3.5% for a net wealth of over €10 million

According to the information provided by the Spanish Ministry of Finance, the tax on ‘large fortunes’ tax will affect 23,000 taxpayers and raise €1.5 billion in revenue, which will be used to finance policies to support the most vulnerable who are affected by the recent steep rises in cost of living.

The TIE, Tarjeta de Indentidad de Extranjero, is the Spanish identification card for citizens from third countries (non-EU) who reside in Spain.  The Withdrawal Agreement TIE is a special version of this card, issued to British UK nationals who have retained EU rights under the terms of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

The qualifying requirements for applicants e.g. for proof of means remain the same as they were when the UK was in the EU.  British UK nationals living in Spain who had not obtained a residency certificate, had until the 31st December 2020 to apply for the the Withdrawal Agreement TIE.

You can now apply for the Withdrawal Agreement TIE in these circumstances:

Importing a high value car from the UK in Spain post Brexit, now comes with added costs.  As the UK is no longer in the EU and the standard process to import and register a UK car in Spain now involves customs.

This means on top of the registration tax which in most cases will be 17% of the vehicle value, 10% customs duty and 21% VAT will apply, unless you can find away around it.

Paying nearly £50k to register a £100k motor is simply not a consideration.  There are however various ways these huge costs can be avoided, bringing the cost of importing and registering high value cars in Spain down to a few thousand Euros, rather than tens of thousands.