captain cojones

The immigrants (illegal ones) are getting food from the Red Cross and charities. Nobody else. They only get emergency medical help as well. No routine stuff at all without paying for it. Plenty of people living onn the streets (unfortunately) Even EU nationals are getting billed for healthcare if they do not have their papers in order. There was a recent outcry in the area of Torrevieja (South of Alicante) when 14,000 people (Eu citizens and most of them were brits) lost their rights to healthcare in one go. It was their own fault in most cases, despite being given months of warnings to get their papers in order (residence mostly) they didnt. BANG! Out of system. Vital that holidaymakers have insurance or at least a free EHIC card (IN DATE!) to avoid being billed.

Nationality is quite difficult to obtain. As an example a British person that wants to apply has to have a minimum of ten years LEGAL residence before they can even apply. They have to supply full details of basically their whole life Including giving the Spanish ministry of the interior full permission to investigate any aspect they choose. (and they do) including contacting the police in the last place they lived in the UK for details of their life there. It normally takes around 3 years before the ministry says yes or no, and they do not allow dual nationality with the British. They have to formally renounce their British nationality in front of a judge and hand in their passport. You see now why Residence" and "Nationality" are two different things....Compare what ive just said with the simple task of going to get a green piece of A4 at 10€! Have a good weekend Chesters. Im sure its too cold for going round those ponds....

True. Sloppy reporting is not just limited to the UK. I would imagine that the separate concepts of residence and nationality are not known in many countries. They are two entirely different things. Example..When a Brit pensioner (for example) comes to live here..They are legally obliged to go to a National police station within 90 days of arrival. They take their UK passport and photo copy, a copy of the proof that healthcare entitlement has been transferred from the UK, and proof they have registered on their town census. They pay about 10€, and are given a green A4 sized "Residence certificate" which confirms them as living here legally. With this comes entitlement to many social services and State health care. The certificate also confirms their unlimited right to live in their property for 12 continuous months of the year if they wish. They do not get a Spanish passport!!! The link earlier that refer to Arab citizens wasn't just limited to them. At the moment (as i mentioned earlier in the thread) Non EU citizens can only live in their properties for 2 x 90 day periods in any one year. There is whats called an "Ante projecto del ley" going through congress at the moment, basically a proposal that if any non EU person buys a property of more than 160,000€, they can get a "residence certificate that gives them the right to live in it year round. This proposal specifically forbids the non EU people to work, and is in no way a travel document for cross border travel. It is aimed more at the Russians and Chinese that want to move here but are put off by not having the right to live in their properties without restriction.

Toast for breakfast with coffee. Lunch a quick roll of Manchego cheese with olive oil. Later....A few beers with various tapas in the bar.

And with the second link...Legalisation does NOT mean giving nationality. It means giving a residence card.. Again this just gives the right to live in Spanish territory only. And only up to the expiry date on the card.

The top link has some serious factual errors...The most obvious this one. Quote “Residency to Spain means access to Europe. It means free movement in Europe and free trade with other European countries. “Spanish passport holders can visit up to 165 countries in the world without a visa, which makes the Spanish passport the 5th most advantageous in the world.” Unquote: Residency does NOT give access to Europe, it just gives a right to live in Spain, and that is only up to the time specified on the residence card. They are mixing residency up with Nationality. You DO NOT get a passport with residency. You do with nationality. Errors like this are just pathetic..

Isnt it more likely they were just buying a holiday home? But bought at the top of the market rather than at the bottom or middle?

Very nice! Love a good coffee in the morning. Normally have a couple between 8-10 ish

Dont think "garylee" is a foreigner??

I can see that your retirement would be a real loss to the health service. Shame.

They are known as "Jurel" here. BBQ food.

I dont see anything there about 2 million unsold properties?? At the height of the property boom (March 2007) there were 1.5 million, this is now down to 600,000. It will never be zero, it never is in any country..Ever. As always, picking on one particular development and then implying that the situation is the same all across the country. Pathetic . I don't see what you are trying to achieve Barry. I am a Spanish National, work in media,.... radio, TV and written form all day everyday. I am far more up to date with what is happening here than you ever will be. I have already put up the link showing that one of the major development banks is planning to start construction because of a lack of properties to sell in some areas. Do you think the bank is making it up? P.S..Ive not mentioned it before but i am also one of the BBC Spanish radio correspondents. My last slot was an invited guest on the Jeremy Vine show ( BBC radio 2) at peak time, with an audience of around 5 million according to the producer. I was also interviewed on your ITV television last year on the financial crisis and its effect on tourist property sales. Possibly as i know what i am talking about?

Local butchers have always been a better idea. Even more so now..

That is another food that is not eaten in the UK! Good point. I hear people say it is "Inedible"..It is actually quite nice but a little bony compared to some other fish, and sold all over continental Europe.

Then they will prosecute. At the moment however there is no official source saying it is a food safety issue.

It could be that the substitution of beef with horse was intentional., hence the criminal investigation. Just listening to the BBC world service, even they are saying it is not yet a food safety issue. If the horse meat was destined for human consumption in France or Belgium or whatever...Then it would be safe for consumption in the UK....No difference.

They don't.That is totally false..That is why there are calls for new construction in some areas, as the article i put up indicated

That is the Daily Mail article repeated in another paper Barry... Didn't you spot that? How is a " property glut to keep growing" when construction has been paralysed for the past 5 years?......It is so silly an article to be funny. There are lots of bargains though...That is if you want to live in the ghetto hovels that make up areas like Torrevieja. Thousands of little boxes all the same with no character or style.No wonder they are so cheap there.

It doesn't have to be "tested for the UK market"...It is inside the European union and as such will be tested to EU standards. Food standards are just that..Standards that are applied across every country.Have you not noticed the "CE" symbol on certain other products? There is absolutely no suggestion that this is a food safety issue, in other words no suggestion that the horsemeat was from a source that was not destined for human use. The problem is both cultural, (the lack of custom of eating horse) and also the trading standards issue fact it is labeled beef but isn't.

So full of untruths to make it funny. I really cant believe that people buy stuff like this..

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/01/30/suvivienda/1359571999.html Not being funny Baz, but i doubt that what you have seen is the "latest".. Try the link above which details how Banco Sabadell is saying that new construction is needed in some areas because they have sold out of properties.... There are still thousands of unsold properties but they have sold a huge amount over the `past few years..Mainly to British and Russian buyers. Some of the British are worried about being forced out of the EU though....Non EU citizens can only occupy their properties for 2 X 90 day periods in a calender year. They are not too keen on the Romanians potentially having more rights than them either.

Of course it does. In places where horse meat is prepared for human consumption it is tested and prepared to the same standards as any other meat.

So a few people push and shove to get free vegetables, cant see your point? I can imagine that happening anywhere in the world, not just an EU country? Why would the EU be "proud" of that? You tell me.

Sad isnt it...And how they swallow every word.