Laurence Dollimore
MORE than 2,000 Brits along the Costa del Sol signed up to the padron in 2020, figures have revealed.
In expat hotspots like Mijas, more than 800 Britons added their name to the local register last year, cementing their rights as foreign residents.
The padron essentially acts as a census, allowing authorities to calculate population numbers and award services and upgrades accordingly.
It also allows one to vote in local, regional, national and European elections – although Brits can only vote or stand in local polls, and only after living in the country for three years.
Mijas, which was the first town to have a Foreigners Department, now has more than 9,000 British expats on its padron.
“They feel like any other resident, because we treat them that way,” councillor Arancha Lopez told La Opinion de Malaga, “They are from Mijas with a British accent.”
Government sources told the same paper that Spain and the UK are working on their own special agreements following Brexit.
Specifically, reported La Opinion, they want to ‘maintain good relations and have the transit of citizens be as it was before.’
Hundreds of Brits rushed to join the padron in other municipalities along the Costa del Sol last year, including in Marbella, which invested in promotional campaigns to get its UK residents on the local register.
“I’m optimistic because our British residents are remaining loyal and choosing to live among us,” said councillor Remedios Bocanegra.
In 2019, 20% of foreign visitors to Spain came from the United Kingdom, representing some 18 million Brits, according to the National Institute of Statistics.
Of the more than 250,000 British residents in the country, almost one in five are in Malaga province.
