Ten years after Brexit referendum shock, life in Spain goes on for Britons

UK-EU

The morning after 23 June 2016, the night of San Juan, UK residents on the Costa del Sol woke up to the threat of big changes in their lives

Jennie Rhodes

On 23 June 2016 Spain was in the throes of preparations for la Noche de San Juan. Spaniards and the thousands of foreign residents on the Costa del Sol, inland Malaga and beyond were in a party mood. It was the start of summer; it was a Thursday, maybe the beginning of a long weekend for some.

However, that year there was an additional aspect to the evening, especially for the approximately 300,000 British residents in Spain: the UK referendum on leaving the European Union.

Yet despite the political upheaval, the British presence in Malaga province remains strong. English continues to dominate in many coastal areas. Many British businesses continue to thrive and flights between the UK and Malaga remain among the busiest international routes into Spain.

Estate agents say British buyers never disappeared entirely, although Brexit introduced additional tax, legal and residency considerations that altered the market and the official statistics show there has actually been an increase in the number of Britons registered in Spain.

Population increase

In 2015, on a national level there were 283, 243, while in Andalucía alone there were 87,895. By 2026 the national figure had risen to 383,880.

But it should be pointed out that this last number was actually a 4.6% drop from the same time in 2025, according to the government.

Lawyers specialising in immigration and cross-border taxation saw demand surge when rules changed as a result of the referendum

Andalucía, meanwhile, had a fall in numbers registered: there were 82,624 Brits as 2025 closed, according to the INE’s population census.

Some sectors adapted quickly. Lawyers specialising in immigration and cross-border taxation saw demand surge, while accountants and relocation firms expanded services aimed specifically at post-Brexit Britons.

For Britons in Spain, many of whom felt detached from the domestic politics that drove the referendum campaign, the experience has often been one of adapting. A decade on, Brexit is an ongoing process whose consequences continue to unfold.

Younger Britons hoping to relocate to Spain now face a very different landscape from the one enjoyed by earlier generations, although there has been good news for students with the announcement that the UK is set to rejoin the Erasmus programme in 2027.

The Costa del Sol has adapted, but ten years after the vote that reshaped Britain’s relationship with Europe, one thing remains clear: the ties between Spain and the UKrun far deeper than politics alone.