Introduction

The British Consulate Open Day in Granada.

The British Consulate in Spain are holding monthly workshops at various locations throughout Andalucia. This is a breakdown of the written material from the workshop they held in Granada in April 2009. There are also pages from the DWP regarding Healthcare and Pensions available in Spain which we thought would be useful to you.

Spain is home to around 1 million British residents and the holiday destination to some 17 million British tourists per year. Residents have told us they need more information on a range of areas such as pensions, benefits and healthcare. There's a wealth of information on the consulate website (ukinspain.fco.gov.uk), but we know you also appreciate the opportunity to talk face to face to your consular representatives, and representatives from the Department for Work and Pensions who are working in partnership with consular staff here in Spain.

The British Consular Network in Spain is made up of 9 Consulates in Madrid, Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Ibiza, Las Palmas, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Tenerife. Complementing these are 12 Honorary Consulates in Andorra, Denia, Gerona, Granada, Jerez de la Frontera, Lanzarote, Menorca, Murcia, Seville, Tarragona, Valencia, and Vigo.

This series of articles has been designed to give you essential information on your pension, benefit and healthcare rights as a British citizen living in Spain, as well as the services that the British Consulate can offer. They are taken from the information handed out at the workshop by the consular staff that were present on the day.

You will find:

·         Support for British Nationals Abroad

·         Frequently Asked Questions on pensions and benefits

·         Information about getting healthcare in Spain

·         Information on what to do if you decide to return to the UK

·         Information on what consular services they can offer you in Spain