# The Brit and the Irish..



## LovingMallorca (May 29, 2021)

We live in Canada..my spouse has a Irish passport, I have a British passport ,..
We have been spending our winters ( i.e. 5 months) in Mallorca with no problem before Brexit.
I realize my partner as a Irish citizen can stay 90 days, depart one day and return for another 90 days but the question is.. ...
Am I, as his partner , on a British passport allowed to travel also the same period ?
Would really appreciate if anyone as the answer, or knows where I can get this answer from. 
I contacted the Embassy in Toronto..and they told me 
I would have to speak to immigration when I arrived. 
Would like to know before I make these commitments . Thank you


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

LovingMallorca said:


> I realize my partner as a Irish citizen can stay 90 days, depart one day and return for another 90 days


You 'realise' wrongly.

It's a common fallacy that departing for one day and returning resets the 90/180 day clock, it does not and never has, for it to do so would make a total mockery of the Schengen rules.

As a British citizen the mere fact of being married to Irish passport holder neither infers nor bestows any privileges and as tourists you are both subject to exactly the same 90/180 day limitation, nothing other than Spanish residency by way of a Non Lucrative Visa (applied for and granted in your home country BEFORE you travel) can change that.

As an EU citizen your husband is able to enter the Schengen area without having his passport stamped which is why he might get away with overstaying. Pre Dec 31st. that's how you got away with it too but now you will be stamped in and if you do not leave and get stamped out within the 90 days then you will be flagged as a overstayer and very likely be given a ban on re-entering the block along with a fine.

I'm sorry to say that for you at least your days of spending 5 months of the year in Mallorca, or anywhere else in the EU, are over.


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## LovingMallorca (May 29, 2021)

MataMata said:


> You 'realise' wrongly.
> 
> It's a common fallacy that departing for one day and returning resets the 90/180 day clock, it does not and never has, for it to do so would make a total mockery of the Schengen rules.
> 
> ...


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## LovingMallorca (May 29, 2021)

thanks for your info ... 
I have found this information on many sites... 

"As an Irish citizen, not British, you are still a citizen of Europe and able to enjoy free movement. As long as you spend your 91st night in another country, you can return the very next day. The 90 day rule is not cumulative in this respect, what you need to avoid is spending 183 days in any one calendar year in another EU country as you may me perceived as tax resident."

But obviously will confirm..again thank you


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

I cannot comment about how long an Irish passport holder can stay in Spain without registering as resident. But I can comment on your situation, a non-EU spouse of an EU citizen (which is my situation too). You can only stay in Spain for 90 days in any 180 period without having to formalize your stay and become a resident. To formalize your stay you either obtain a non-lucrative visa before coming to Spain (which entails contracting a 12 month Spanish health insurance policy, providing a police backround check, a medical, proof of economic means...) or your spouse registers as resident in Spain and then you apply for residency as the spouse of an EU citizen (which also entails having health insurance in Spain and providing proof of economic means). Either way, you would become resident of Spain and give up your residency in Canada. Unfortunately this what losing your freedom of movement in the EU means.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

LovingMallorca said:


> thanks for your info ...
> I have found this information on many sites...
> 
> "As an Irish citizen, not British, you are still a citizen of Europe and able to enjoy free movement. As long as you spend your 91st night in another country, you can return the very next day. The 90 day rule is not cumulative in this respect, what you need to avoid is spending 183 days in any one calendar year in another EU country as you may me perceived as tax resident."


But how many of them official?

Leaving for one day is just a wheeze to avoid spending 180 days in the country and therefore being deemed tax resident, it is not a legitimate workaround for the 90/180 day rule.

Either way it only applies to your husband and doesn't alter your situation as a UK citizen where 90 days in any 180 is your lot.


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

MataMata said:


> But how many of them official?
> 
> Leaving for one day is just a wheeze to avoid spending 180 days in the country and therefore being deemed tax resident, it is not a legitimate workaround for the 90/180 day rule.
> 
> Either way it only applies to your husband and doesn't alter your situation as a UK citizen where 90 days in any 180 is your lot.


I am sorry but you are mistaken. For an EU citizen, the 90 day clock is reset every time you leave the country, in theory you could 90 days in Spain, then overnight in France, then return to Spain for a further 90 days and so on. The fiscal clock cannot be reset as it is a cumulative 183 days in one year.


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## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

Deleted


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

stevesainty said:


> I am sorry but you are mistaken. For an EU citizen, the 90 day clock is reset every time you leave the country, in theory you could 90 days in Spain, then overnight in France, then return to Spain for a further 90 days and so on. The fiscal clock cannot be reset as it is a cumulative 183 days in one year.


I thought you had to leave the shenzhen zone, just moving from one Eu country and the next is just a continuation (the EU is supposedly one big country now, with no borders) 
So how would you prove you had left Spain and entered France, to reset the clock?

Just a question, not saying you are incorrect.

Seems a silly rule to me.


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

Barriej said:


> I thought you had to leave the shenzhen zone, just moving from one Eu country and the next is just a continuation (the EU is supposedly one big country now, with no borders)
> So how would you prove you had left Spain and entered France, to reset the clock?
> 
> Just a question, not saying you are incorrect.
> ...


It is because it is a Spanish rule not an EU or Schengen rule per se.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

stevesainty said:


> It is because it is a Spanish rule not an EU or Schengen rule per se.


OK, all clear now.

Normal service to be resumed, nothing to see here


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## Joey Testa (Jan 5, 2021)

Irish citizens can live in Spain without any restriction. Tax residency is a separate issue. Ireland is not part of Schengen but this is irrelevant as 180 day rule does not apply to EU citizens. A person who does not register and pay taxes volates tax law, not residency law. There is no shortage of Spanish citizens who don´t pay all the taxes they owe. 
An irish citizen can live in Spain without paying taxes and be guilty of tax fraud but this does not have any effect on the right to reside in Spain.


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

Joey Testa said:


> Irish citizens can live in Spain without any restriction.


Not True I am afraid. They must register on the foreigners register and obtain the necessary certificate, if they intend to live in Spain for more than 90 days.


https://www.uma.es/media/tinyimages/file/regimen-comunitarios-eng.pdf


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Joey Testa said:


> A person who does not register and pay taxes volates tax law, not residency law.


No, this is not true. An EU citizen (including an Irish one) who does not register as resident in Spain is contravening Spanish immigration law, in particular Royal Decree 240/2007 of 16th February.


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