Help meetings restart on 5th September at 10.30 am.
We will start to hold meetings again after the summer break next week. In September we will be having a tapas lunch in a nearby restaurant after one of the meetings. Also we have planned to organise a course of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation provided by the Spanish Red Cross. Further details of both meetings will be published soon.
Also in October there is the trip to Ibiza which is fully booked. We hope everyone has had a good summer break and we look forward to seeing you all again.
Loss Passport now you can apply online for Emergency Travel Documents
EMERGENCY TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
Any British national who needs to travel urgently but doesn´t have a full validity passport (it could be lost, stolen, expired or damaged) has to apply online for an Emergency Travel Document.
If you or anyone else is in that situation, they should apply online at: www.gov.uk/emergency-travel-document
They will have to upload their photo, travel booking confirmation and any other documents requested and pay online.
As long as the application has been completed correctly, the customer will get an email within two working days advising them to go and collect the document from their nearest British Consulate.
If you have any vulnerable customers who are finding it difficult to apply online, they can contact the British Consulate on 965 21 60 22.
Returning to UK
Recent casework of Help has again reminded us of the advice given by the British Consulate in Alicante regarding British citizens resident in Spain returning to the UK because they have increased care needs or financial problems. These people normally are required to fund themselves for the first three months on return to the UK as they will only be entitled to social services help,such as free residential care or housing benefit or council housing after a period of three months back in the UK. This is known as the Habitual Residency Test. Even people who are quite disabled such as being confined to a wheelchair or needing kidney dialysis have found themselves homeless on returning to the UK. However hospital care if needed is available from day one of return, but should be arranged in advance. For further information contact the British Consul in Alicante on 965 216 022
British Consulate Meeting with English Speaking Charities 7th March 2019
The British consul recommends that all UK nationals living in Spain keep themselves up to date about how Brexit concerns their life in Spain by regularly following gov.uk/living-in-spain, which is constantly kept up to date by embassy staff in Madrid.
They also advised us that they can help in situations of domestic abuse. You can call them on (0034) 965 21 60 22
Also in emergencies call the police on 112 they should have English speaking operators. There is a Spanish freephone helpline 016. See their leaflet for more contact details in the menu section of our Facebook page.