Advice surgeries for British expats in Spain
Advice surgeries for British expats in Spain
British expats living in the Alicante region can now benefit from advice surgeries following calls for help during the economic crisis. The surgeries are being run by the British Consular Service in partnership with Age Concern and the Department for Work and Pensions.
The surgeries will run every fortnight at two different venues across the region, according to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). Launched by the UK's minister for consular affairs, Gillian Merron, the move is set to benefit Britons who have relocated to
Alicante and surrounding province.
The surgeries will offer a range of advice about pensions, UK benefits, healthcare, charitable organisations and moving back to the UK. Visitors to the sessions will also advised of their eligibility for Spanish unemployment benefit and other help. Those using the service will be guaranteed confidentiality.
Consular staff will run the
advice surgeries in the areas where it is considered they are needed most. This includes running sessions from the Age Concern centre in
Torrevieja.
On her visit to expat communities on the
Costa Blanca, Merron said that many Britons living in
Spain were not adequately prepared for when "the dream turns sour", according to The Telegraph. "Life happens and things go wrong whether people stay at home or move abroad," she told the paper.
The minister said that problems were exacerbated by the differences between the systems in the UK and Spain. "It is made worse out here, where people don't have access to the services they are used to in the UK. The Spanish system is very different to that at home and people have to be aware of that and the problems it may bring."
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