# emigrate to spain full time



## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

Hiya...info please...i want o live in SPain full time.,.i will not have uk address...how do i go about my bank accounts?.....i have a work pension paid yo me into my uk bank each month...i am also receiving incapacity benefit..i am 64...so will soon get a state pension...what happens?...i could not manage to live if my incapacity was stopped before i got my strate pension....as my wife has now left me and returne d to the uk....so i am now without her financial help...and i have no savings as she has taken it all....i just want to stay here in Spain...as my arthritis is less painful than in uk....im not too down...jjust need a road to go down about arranging it all....:confused2:


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Jubbly52 said:


> Hiya...info please...i want o live in SPain full time.,.i will not have uk address...how do i go about my bank accounts?.....i have a work pension paid yo me into my uk bank each month...i am also receiving incapacity benefit..i am 64...so will soon get a state pension...what happens?...i could not manage to live if my incapacity was stopped before i got my strate pension....as my wife has now left me and returne d to the uk....so i am now without her financial help...and i have no savings as she has taken it all....i just want to stay here in Spain...as my arthritis is less painful than in uk....im not too down...jjust need a road to go down about arranging it all....:confused2:


Oh heck, you sound a bit distressed!!TOP TIP: Dont panick, it wont help!! 

I know little about pensions or bank accounts. But as long as you have access to your uk bank account where you work pension is going then you should be alright to get hold of that for now. As for you wife taking the savings, you staying here, where and what happens to your pensions, I dont know. But you need to get some sort of legal advise from someone who understands the rules in the UK 

Dont get annoyed with me for asking this but are you sure that your wife is not coming back? and that things are completely over between you?????

Jo xxx


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Jubbly52 said:


> Hiya...info please...i want o live in SPain full time.,.i will not have uk address...how do i go about my bank accounts?.....i have a work pension paid yo me into my uk bank each month...i am also receiving incapacity benefit..i am 64...so will soon get a state pension...what happens?...i could not manage to live if my incapacity was stopped before i got my strate pension....as my wife has now left me and returne d to the uk....so i am now without her financial help...and i have no savings as she has taken it all....i just want to stay here in Spain...as my arthritis is less painful than in uk....im not too down...jjust need a road to go down about arranging it all....:confused2:


Getting a UK bank account if you are not resident in the UK is almost impossible. Benefits however and pensions (state) can be exported and paid into a Spanish bank account, subject to exportability criteria... For example, I think your state pension is a given and will be exported, but if you receive any top ups or pension credits then maybe not.

Incapacity benefit depends on your circumstances and contributions... YMost UK banks will allow you to keep your accounts when you move to spain if you talk to them. You can then arange for a transfer of your benefits each month to spain OR just have them paid direct to spain.

Contact the benefits people regarding exporting....they have a specialist department who will advise and handle everything, do not try and stay in Spain and claim as if you were in the UK... 1) It´s wrong and if you get caught the penalties can be servere, and 2) You need to officialy reside in Spain to get healthcare... 

How long have you been here now? What are you doing for healthcare etc at the moment?


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## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

jojo said:


> Oh heck, you sound a bit distressed!!TOP TIP: Dont panick, it wont help!!
> 
> I know little about pensions or bank accounts. But as long as you have access to your uk bank account where you work pension is going then you should be alright to get hold of that for now. As for you wife taking the savings, you staying here, where and what happens to your pensions, I dont know. But you need to get some sort of legal advise from someone who understands the rules in the UK
> 
> ...


thanx im would not get annoyed at you at all....my wife will be back to collect her personal things...but not to stay...she is bored here and misses her friends etc...i have access to my uk bank..the legal bit will be coming in the form of divorce papers im told...im not too down.....and not depressed.i wll contact the work pension to see if they would pay it into a spanish bank account for me...thanx for your time in repying.lane:lane:


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## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

steve_in_spain said:


> Getting a UK bank account if you are not resident in the UK is almost impossible. Benefits however and pensions (state) can be exported and paid into a Spanish bank account, subject to exportability criteria... For example, I think your state pension is a given and will be exported, but if you receive any top ups or pension credits then maybe not.
> 
> Incapacity benefit depends on your circumstances and contributions... YMost UK banks will allow you to keep your accounts when you move to spain if you talk to them. You can then arange for a transfer of your benefits each month to spain OR just have them paid direct to spain.
> 
> ...


..thanx...i registered on Thursday 10th...got a nie...am registering at doctors tuesday...thanx for your time in reying to me.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Jubbly52 said:


> thanx im would not get annoyed at you at all....my wife will be back to collect her personal things...but not to stay...she is bored here and misses her friends etc...i have access to my uk bank..the legal bit will be coming in the form of divorce papers im told...im not too down.....and not depressed.i wll contact the work pension to see if they would pay it into a spanish bank account for me...thanx for your time in repying.lane:lane:



This "living in Spain" lark can wreck marriages and stuff cant it!!! I'm sure you'll get some helpful replies on here to put you in the right direction - sorry that I cant be of more help 

Jo xxx


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## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

jojo said:


> This "living in Spain" lark can wreck marriages and stuff cant it!!! I'm sure you'll get some helpful replies on here to put you in the right direction - sorry that I cant be of more help
> 
> Jo xxx


Thanx Jo....you are a very caring person.......you only live once as they say....i love it in Spain.......but as my wife realised...its not for everyone...and i wouldnt want her to stay with me and be unhappy......lifes too short......


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

If you've already got a UK bank account then just change the address to your spanish one. That's all we did with ours with the HSBC & LLoyds TSB.


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## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

gus-lopez said:


> If you've already got a UK bank account then just change the address to your spanish one. That's all we did with ours with the HSBC & LLoyds TSB.


ahhh...thankx i will givew it a try....see what happens....but every time i want to transfer money to my spanish account they charge me£25 form uk bank...and the spanish one charges me 40 euro....


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Jubbly52 said:


> ahhh...thankx i will givew it a try....see what happens....but every time i want to transfer money to my spanish account they charge me£25 form uk bank...and the spanish one charges me 40 euro....


That´s outrageous! It will be be cheaper to get cash from an ATM with your UK bank card until you can sort this out. Which bank are you using in Spain? You will need to change to a residents account anyway now, so go and see the bank manager and if they can´t sort out something sensible for you, I´m sure one of the forum members can recommend a better one.


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## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> That´s outrageous! It will be be cheaper to get cash from an ATM with your UK bank card until you can sort this out. Which bank are you using in Spain? You will need to change to a residents account anyway now, so go and see the bank manager and if they can´t sort out something sensible for you, I´m sure one of the forum members can recommend a better one.


..Hi...i use Nationwide...for every 300 euro i get from the ATM..they charge me about £7...Ii now have a credit card so where i can i use that then clear the balance at the end of month.
tomorrow i am getting a Spanish bank account....but have been up al night thinking things...and now my wife has taken all the savings ( premium bonds in her name)...i have only my work pension coming in...i wont be able to afford to even eat after paying out bills...got to try and sell the car today. as the insurance is due next month...along with..ITV. !!!...oh well,it can only get worse from now on...dont know really what my next move will be here...as this site is my only way to talk about it ...sad or what?
time for another cup of tea i think!!!... :juggle:


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Jubbly52 said:


> ..Hi...i use Nationwide...for every 300 euro i get from the ATM..they charge me about £7...Ii now have a credit card so where i can i use that then clear the balance at the end of month.
> tomorrow i am getting a Spanish bank account....but have been up al night thinking things...and now my wife has taken all the savings ( premium bonds in her name)...i have only my work pension coming in...i wont be able to afford to even eat after paying out bills...got to try and sell the car today. as the insurance is due next month...along with..ITV. !!!...oh well,it can only get worse from now on...dont know really what my next move will be here...as this site is my only way to talk about it ...sad or what?
> time for another cup of tea i think!!!... :juggle:


OK, the way you are thinking of transferring mony is probably not the best. And before you change your address to a Spanish one with your bank, check they are OK with it. Not all banks are happy about accounts with non residents.

For information, there are banks in Spain that dont charge for receiving internet funds. SOL Bank is one of them, I'm sure there are more. Check on any charges before you sign up. Often using a bank in the UK to do money transfers can be expensive. You can set up a bank transfer with someone like Currencies Direct. they dont charge a fee if you have a direct debit, and the rates of exchange are fairly competitive. The way that works is that the d/d comes out of your UK in sterling on a nominated day, it is converted by them to € and then credited to your Spanish account usually 4 days later. You just need to make sure that the Spanish bank you choose dont charge for receiving the funds. In that way you get a decent rate of exchange and you loose your charges ... the downside is theres a 4 day delay as opposed to immediate cash when you use the ATM.

Credit card rates of exchange are often actually quite good ... however when you get your Spanish account you will have the option of a Spanish card .... just make sure there are no charges for the card (quarterly) as that can often be the case

If you go to the train station when you reach 65 you will be able to get a gold card, which gives you discount off train fares.

Keep coming back here for advice. We dont know it all, but at least we can lend some support to you.

But change the way you transfer your sterling to euros to save you a bit of money!


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## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

Stravinsky said:


> OK, the way you are thinking of transferring mony is probably not the best. And before you change your address to a Spanish one with your bank, check they are OK with it. Not all banks are happy about accounts with non residents.
> 
> For information, there are banks in Spain that dont charge for receiving internet funds. SOL Bank is one of them, I'm sure there are more. Check on any charges before you sign up. Often using a bank in the UK to do money transfers can be expensive. You can set up a bank transfer with someone like Currencies Direct. they dont charge a fee if you have a direct debit, and the rates of exchange are fairly competitive. The way that works is that the d/d comes out of your UK in sterling on a nominated day, it is converted by them to € and then credited to your Spanish account usually 4 days later. You just need to make sure that the Spanish bank you choose dont charge for receiving the funds. In that way you get a decent rate of exchange and you loose your charges ... the downside is theres a 4 day delay as opposed to immediate cash when you use the ATM.
> 
> ...


...thanx for replying...very informative.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

We use an offshore account for our income from the UK. We have sterling and euro accounts.
We transfer funds into our Spanish account as we need them.
We have found this is the easiest way to manage our financial affairs.
But if you go offshore do not use LloydsTSB Offshore.
They are useless. They had to pay me -well, ADANA my dog charity - compensation for messing up my account.
They have not managed my OH's deposits well either.


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## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> We use an offshore account for our income from the UK. We have sterling and euro accounts.
> We transfer funds into our Spanish account as we need them.
> We have found this is the easiest way to manage our financial affairs.
> But if you go offshore do not use LloydsTSB Offshore.
> ...


.thanx


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Jubbly52 said:


> ..Hi...i use Nationwide...for every 300 euro i get from the ATM..they charge me about £7...Ii now have a credit card so where i can i use that then clear the balance at the end of month.
> tomorrow i am getting a Spanish bank account....but have been up al night thinking things...and now my wife has taken all the savings ( premium bonds in her name)...i have only my work pension coming in...i wont be able to afford to even eat after paying out bills...got to try and sell the car today. as the insurance is due next month...along with..ITV. !!!...oh well,it can only get worse from now on...dont know really what my next move will be here...as this site is my only way to talk about it ...sad or what?
> time for another cup of tea i think!!!... :juggle:


Although £7 seems a lot for changing £300 at an ATM, when you do this you are getting a more reasonable exchange rate than you would if you were buying your foreign currency over the counter in the UK. So it probably won't cost you much more.

Take it steady, don't get flustered - make a list of what needs doing and concentrate on one thing at a time! And do come on here and let off steam if it helps! 

So where are you living, have you bought somewhere here or are you renting? Can you move somewhere smaller/cheaper?


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## Jubbly52 (Feb 10, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> Although £7 seems a lot for changing £300 at an ATM, when you do this you are getting a more reasonable exchange rate than you would if you were buying your foreign currency over the counter in the UK. So it probably won't cost you much more.
> 
> Take it steady, don't get flustered - make a list of what needs doing and concentrate on one thing at a time! And do come on here and let off steam if it helps!
> 
> So where are you living, have you bought somewhere here or are you renting? Can you move somewhere smaller/cheaper?


..my wife is in uk,and ignoring my emails text...i have had enough..why should isit her trying to sort it all out on my own...i have nobody in all the world to turn to.....im going to go back 
to uk...she will have to come out here and sell everything...car as well....i wil get my solicitor to contact her in about 4 months to see if i have any money coming to me....im not bothered how much i get...its unimportant.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Jubbly52 said:


> ..my wife is in uk,and ignoring my emails text...i have had enough..why should isit her trying to sort it all out on my own...i have nobody in all the world to turn to.....im going to go back
> to uk...she will have to come out here and sell everything...car as well....i wil get my solicitor to contact her in about 4 months to see if i have any money coming to me....im not bothered how much i get...its unimportant.


Good luck, hope the story has a happy ending!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Jubbly52 said:


> ..my wife is in uk,and ignoring my emails text...i have had enough..why should isit her trying to sort it all out on my own...i have nobody in all the world to turn to.....im going to go back
> to uk...she will have to come out here and sell everything...car as well....i wil get my solicitor to contact her in about 4 months to see if i have any money coming to me....im not bothered how much i get...its unimportant.


Just calm down and try not to have "knee jerk" reactions, they dont help. Take your time, think and plan carefully before you do anything! "Act in haste, repent at leisure"

Jo xxxx


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