Simon Wade
THE number of British opting for a new life in Spain has leapt up by 500 per cent since the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, according to an Oxford University study.
The report’s authors say that the big hike in number has implications for the UK and said that “the increase is akin to a country being in crisis.”
Figures suggest that only an annual average 2,300 British expats would apply for a Spanish residencia between 2008 and 2015.
But in the two years following the referendum, 21,250 Brits applied for official registration.
The figures are part of a study by Oxford University and the Berlin Social Science Centre.
Co-author Daniel Auer said: “These increases are of a magnitude that you would expect when a country is hit by a major economic or political crisis.”
His colleague Daniel Tetlow said that the rise was: ” a striking commitment to integrate or socially embed.”
Guardian graphic. Source: Berlin Social Science Center
He continued: “We’re observing a phenomenon and a redefining of what it means to be British European.”
During the research, half of interviewees revealed they chose to leave the UK quickly, showing: “increased impulsiveness, spontaneity and risk-taking.”
Tetlow admitted to The Guardian: “An increasing number are emigrating to protect themselves from some of the most negative effects of Brexit.”
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