Boletín de Prensa del Observatorio Europeo de Gerontomigraciones - European Observatory on Gerontomigration Press Bulletin (3 julio 2026)

 Boletín de Prensa del Observatorio Europeo de Gerontomigraciones / European Observatory on Gerontomigration Press Bulletin, nº 490, de 3 de julio de 2026.

"The surprising reason Britons are no longer Spain’s biggest foreign home buyers", Euro Weekly News, 01 | 07 | 2026 - Reportaje (Molly Grace)
While British purchasing levels have held broadly stable, other European buyers have increased their activity at a quicker pace. The result is an overtaking, not a withdrawal. ... Brexit has not removed British buyers from Spain’s housing market, but it has altered the conditions around them. UK citizens are now classed as third-country nationals. That brings the 90-day rule for non-resident stays, more administrative steps during purchase... For some buyers, that has changed timing rather than intention. Many now visit first, rent before committing, or delay purchases until retirement plans are fully in place. ... Spain is not seeing one nationality replace another, but a broader redistribution of demand shaped by how Europeans now choose to live, work and spend time abroad.

"El acceso de los extracomunitarios a las prestaciones asistenciales: el Tribunal de Justicia avala la «prioridad» de los residentes permanentes, pero garantiza la igualdad plena para los beneficiarios de protección internacional (con estatuto de refugiados o protección subsidiaria)", Diario La Ley, 30 | 06 | 2026 - Opinión (José Luis Monereo Pérez y Alejandro Muros Polo)
Si bien el Tribunal de Justicia ya determinó en 2024 que exigir más de cinco años de residencia previa para ser beneficiario de subsidios era una medida indirectamente discriminatoria por razón de nacionalidad, el Tribunal de Luxemburgo en la sentencia Luevi ha interpretado que la regla de igualdad de trato de la Directiva 2011/98 de permiso único no se aplica a las prestaciones no contributivas... se refuerza el margen estatal para exigir la autorización de residencia de larga duración en cuanto al acceso a los subsidios y ayudas de asistencia social. No obstante, la reciente sentencia de la Gran Sala del TJUE de 7 de mayo de 2026, KH v. INPS, cambia las reglas para los beneficiarios de protección internacional... para la UE el acceso a las prestaciones no contributivas depende del estatuto jurídico protector que se le haya concedido al nacional extracomunitario, con independencia de la necesidad real o la dificultad económica por la que se esté atravesando.

"Italia confirmó un beneficio fiscal para jubilados que se muden a estos pueblos: quiénes pueden acceder y cuáles son los requisitos", El Cronista, 30 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje
La iniciativa tiene el objetivo de atraer nuevos residentes a pequeñas localidades de Italia.

"Falsificaban testamentos de ancianos extranjeros que morían solos: 3 abogados detenidos en Nerja", Euronews, 29 | 06 | 2026 - Noticia
Vaciaban las cuentas de personas ya fallecidas. Ese era el modus operandi de la red ya desarticulada por la Guardia Civil... Una trama que durante años se cebó con las víctimas más indefensas: ancianos extranjeros sin familia cerca que fallecían solos para quedarse con sus herencias. ... De momento, los tres abogados ya se enfrentan a una interminable lista de delitos (estafa, falsificación documental, usurpación de estado civil, usurpación de bienes inmuebles, apropiación indebida, blanqueo de capitales y pertenencia a grupo criminal) que podría engordarse aún más si, tal y como sospecha la Policía, apareciesen más víctimas.

"Detenidos tres abogados por apropiarse de una cuantiosa herencia extranjera en Nerja", Sur, 29 | 06 | 2026 - Noticia
La Guardia Civil ha detenido a tres personas en el marco de la 'operación Donova', una investigación centrada en la supuesta apropiación de una cuantiosa herencia ... procedente de una mujer extranjera que había fallecido sola en una residencia de mayores. ... había sido ingresada en el centro a petición de los Servicios Sociales de Nerja. Antes de su ingreso, según la investigación, eran sus vecinos quienes le proporcionaban alimento y ropa debido a sus problemas de salud mental, una circunstancia que refuerza el perfil vulnerable de algunas de las presuntas víctimas del entramado. Para apropiarse de la herencia, los detenidos habrían utilizado un testamento ológrafo falsificado, supuestamente escrito de puño y letra por la fallecida. ... se habría recurrido a otros miembros del grupo criminal como testigos... La investigación sigue abierta para determinar si hay más víctimas o integrantes del presunto grupo criminal...

"Life after Brexit in southern Spain: 'I used to travel to England five times a year to visit my children; now I only go once'", Sur in English, 29 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje (MJ Arrebola)
British residents in Almuñécar and Salobreña on Granada province's Costa Tropical explain the consequences of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU have had on them

"My parents retired to Spain 20 years ago. Brexit is stopping me caring for them", iNews, 28 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje (Flora Symington)
Ten years on from Brexit, the strict rules now governing UK visitors are making it a living nightmare for some families. An ageing cohort of British expats, struggling to manage their health, are finding that their families are blocked from moving over or spending more time in Spain to take care of them due to the end of freedom of movement. ... She says this is made worse by the fact that the Spanish care system is designed for families to help, with even hospitals expecting that they take part in the care. ... Talks between the UK and the EU to negotiate a “reset” are due to take place this summer, though the issue of visas for family carers is not due to come up. ... The European Commission, which handles migration policy for the EU, told Reuters that cases where the absence of a family member providing care ⁠would force the elderly beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement to leave the host state were evaluated on merit.

"The EU gives the States two years to speed up the census of expatriates in municipal elections", Demócrata, 24 | 06 | 2026 - Noticia
The EU gives Member States until 2028 to facilitate the registration and municipal voting of EU citizens residing in another member country.

"Los Veintisiete tienen dos años para simplificar el registro electoral a expatriados para que voten en municipales", Infobae, 24 | 06 | 2026 - Noticia
...lo ha anunciado el Ejecutivo comunitario en un comunicado, que ha concretado que los Estados miembro tendrán hasta el 28 de junio de 2028 para transponer la actualización de la norma a sus legislaciones nacionales... La nueva normativa, adoptada el pasado mes de mayo por los Veintisiete, busca eliminar trabas que todavía afrontan los denominados ciudadanos europeos "móviles", entre ellas dificultades para acceder a información clara sobre cómo votar, procesos de inscripción complejos o el riesgo de ser eliminados automáticamente del censo electoral de su país de origen al registrarse en el extranjero.

"Over 2,000 Brits living in Spain and the EU are claiming disability benefits from UK at a cost of £10m a year to British tax payers", The Olive Press, 24 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje ( Maeve Gorman)
British tax payers are funding around £10 million a year in disability benefits for more than 2,000 Brits living in Spain and across the EU. ... Expats living in the EU can claim disability benefits if they are able to prove a ‘genuine and sufficient link’ to the UK, such as receiving a UK state pension. They can only receive the Daily Living component of PIP, which ranges from £76.70 to £114.60 per week, to assist with essential tasks like washing, preparing meals and dressing. Expats are not eligible for the ‘Mobility’ benefit which covers travel within the UK.

"Massive demand from Britons heading to live in Spain for the Non-Lucrative Visa", Majorca Daily Bulletin, 23 | 06 | 2026 - Noticia
Demand among Britons ... has reached record levels and it is the most common and primary pathway for British retirees, investors, and passive income earners to stay in Spain for longer than 90 days.

"Families caring for elderly parents in Spain say Brexit has left them with impossible choices", Euro Weekly News, 22 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje (Harry Dennis)
Brexit has made family care harder for some British residents in Spain. Many UK pensioners living legally in Spain can access state healthcare through routes such as the S1 form, which is registered with Spain’s Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social (INSS), the National Social Security Institute. Once registered, this can give access to state healthcare on the same basis as a Spanish citizen. Social care is different.

"Vox’s anti-immigrant ‘national priority’ plan starts to take shape as far-right party gains influence across Spain – should expats be worried?", The Olive Press, 22 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje (Maeve Gorman)
A controversial ‘national priority’ agenda being pushed by Vox is beginning to take shape across Spain as the far-right party expands its influence in regional governments. ... The growing influence of Vox and the expansion of these policies across multiple regions has sparked concern over how they could affect access to housing and public services. ... areas with large expat communities such as the Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol and Valencia region are facing uncertainty over what the new measures could mean for them.

"More than 2,000 British expats living in European holiday hotspots are still claiming UK taxpayer-funded disability benefits", Daily Mail, 22 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje (Rory Tingle)
Brits soaking up the sun in holiday hotspots including Spain, Italy, France and Portugal can still apply for taxpayer-funded Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Some 2,244 people are currently claiming the benefit despite living abroad, according to statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The figure has surged by 86 per cent since before Covid, when 1,203 expats were receiving the benefit.

"Costa del Dole. Thousands of Brit expats in EU hols hotspots still claiming UK-funded disability benefits costing taxpayers £10m a year", The Sun, 21 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje (Thomas Godfrey)
A so-called “Costa Del Dole” rule means Brits who relocated to the continent can apply for UK taxpayer-funded Personal Independence Payment (PIP) while living in foreign villas and holiday resorts. ... It means the Department for Work and Pensions is potentially shelling out as much as £10 million a year to fund the daily living costs of expats lounging in European sunspots. Of the total figure, 414 got aid for psychiatric disorders, 1,001 for musculoskeletal diseases, 60 for respiratory conditions and 79 for hearing and visual disorders.

"Elderly British residents in Spain face post-Brexit care crisis Lorraine", In Spain News, 21 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje ( Williamson)
Elderly British residents in Spain are facing a growing post-Brexit care problem as adult children and relatives struggle to spend enough time in the country to look after ageing parents. For many families, the problem is not whether they want to care for elderly relatives in Spain. It is whether they are legally allowed to stay long enough to do it. ... Many older British residents have lived in Spain for years or even decades. Their homes, friends, doctors, routines and support networks are here. ... Some no longer have property there. Others no longer have a local support network. Many would face long waits and pressure within the UK care system. ... Spain does provide public support for people with care needs, but the system is run through the autonomous communities and the level of help depends on assessed dependency. ... Families often fill the gap. However ... the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement ... does not automatically give adult children in the UK a simple right to move to Spain later to care for ageing parents. ... This is not only about immigration paperwork. It is about how families plan care across borders.

"In Spain, elderly UK expats struggle for care post-Brexit", Reuters, 19 | 06 | 2026 - Reportaje (Victoria Waldersee)
A senior European Commission official said cases where the absence of a family member providing care ⁠would force the elderly beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement to leave the host state were evaluated on merit. Otherwise, general migration rules applied. ... The number of Britons living in Spain has remained largely stable since the Brexit vote, official data shows. About a third of them are pensioners... The Spanish social care system provides home care to infirm citizens and residents, but this is ​capped at 94 hours a ⁠month for those classified as suffering from a "total loss of autonomy" - around 3 hours a day.
Returning to the UK is a daunting and unrealistic prospect for those who have spent decades in Spain and have no community or property to return to, said ... a welfare officer at the 'Help at Home Costa Blanca' charity providing support to elderly Britons ⁠in the area.

"La Unión Europea acuerda nuevas normas para proteger a los adultos vulnerables en situaciones transfronterizas (27 de mayo de 2026)", Diario La Ley, 19 | 06 | 2026 - Noticia
El Consejo y el Parlamento Europeo han alcanzado un acuerdo político sobre un nuevo Reglamento destinado a reforzar la protección jurídica de los adultos vulnerables en contextos transfronterizos dentro de la Unión Europea. Dicho Reglamento facilitará el reconocimiento de medidas de protección y poderes de representación entre Estados miembros, reforzando la autonomía, la seguridad jurídica y los derechos fundamentales de las personas que necesitan apoyo para adoptar decisiones personales o patrimoniales. ... Una vez finalizada la redacción definitiva del texto y formalmente aprobada por el Consejo y el Parlamento Europeo, la nueva normativa entrará en vigor veinte días después de su publicación en el Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea. La aplicación efectiva de las nuevas disposiciones se realizará progresivamente durante los veinticuatro meses posteriores a su entrada en vigor, con el objetivo de permitir a los Estados miembros adaptar sus sistemas nacionales y desarrollar las estructuras necesarias para su correcta aplicación.

 

Nota: Este Boletín de Prensa realiza un seguimiento periodístico de los aspectos más destacados del fenómeno de la movilidad transfronteriza de personas mayores estudiado en el Observatorio Europeo de Gerontomigraciones. Mi agradecimiento a la Coordinadora del observatorio, la Profesora Mayte Echezarreta Ferrer, así como a sus miembros, investigadores y colaboradores, por su labor y por permitir su difusión en Conflictus Legum.