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COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA Vol. 4 Issue 87 www.theolivepress.es April 6th - April 19th 2023 FREE
FIRE TERROR Arsonists to blame as thousands are evacuated around Eastern and northern Spain - with over 100 blazes set deliberately See Page 4
Expat goes on hunger strike after residency application is rejected due to Brexit withdrawal nightmare A BRITISH man has gone on hunger strike over his ‘right to residency’ in Spain. Mark Saxby is protesting the authorities’ refusal to grant him a resident’s permit because he did not have private medical insurance by the Brexit deadline. Expat Saxby, who lives in Safor, near Valencia, has vowed to only drink water until the situation is resolved. The 55-year-old teacher, from Birmingham, is now entering his fourth day without food. He moved to the Valencia region at the beginning of 2020 with
EXCLUSIVE By Alex Trelinski
plans to work as an English language teacher, but returned to the UK just as the pandemic struck. Once travel restrictions eased in the autumn that year he returned to Spain with an intention to become a resident. However continual delays in getting appointments resulted in his application only being sent in December - weeks before the Brexit Day deadline of January 1, 2021. His application was eventually denied over the lack of private medical insurance, which Mark told the Olive Press could easily have been remedied without the delays. “There were difficulties accessing websites to log in my details and then I kept being referred to different offices for appointments across the Valencia region due to Covid delays,” he explained, this week. “We were promised a three-month period to deal with any problems which would have identified the insurance See issue, but as everySpain’s thing ended up being Weirdest submitted in DecemEaster ber 2020, I was left Events on with no time to do p6 anything about it,” and Rain he added. God on our After Brexit Day and back page being told of his rejection, he immediately acquired the right medical insurance and informed the authorities. “If this stipulation had been
Will it rain on the parade? While the tourists might disagree, most locals and long-term expats are praying for the heavens to open this Easter as we approach a summer of drought...And as the Spanish will tell you it always seems to pour during Semana Santa. Happy Easter come rain or shine!
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HUNGER FOR JUSTICE: Mark Saxby is weighing himself daily and has lost two kilos so far
clearly flagged up in the initial application process it would have saved me a lot of time and bother,” he commented.
Errors
He also argued that the Withdrawal Agreement made clear that the host state would help any applicants correct mistakes in their application. It added that any such errors or omissions could not be used as an excuse to deny residence. Mark immediately appealed to Valencian immigration authori-
SOLAR PANELS
ties but was refused and although the Ombudsman took up his case, the answer ended up the same. He then appealed to the European Commission which agreed Spain may have misapplied the regulations in the Withdrawal Agreement. But unfortunately it added it could not intervene in any specific case. Mark is now worried about leaving the country in case he is fined on his return for not having a residencia or even denied entry. “It’s madness really. I normally work around the world on shortterm contracts, earning money that I then spend back home, effectively bringing money into Valencia,” he said. “But right now I cannot travel so I cannot work and am surviving on my savings.” As a final throw of the dice, he launched a hunger strike on Monday where he will only drink water until his situation is resolved. “This is not something I am doing for a day or two to get some publicity, but to get action, as my life is in limbo as I cannot do anything,” declared Mark.
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Opinion Page 6