Expat Life

Shopping on Fuerteventura

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Having lived on the island for many years felt it would be good to tell folk where all the food bargains are! Mercadona has taken over in Corralejo from the smaller chains, however I have found that many supermarkets offer different cuisine.

No madam, we can’t find a chef to make you haggis

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Foreign & Commonwealth Office reminds travellers what it can do to help

British nationals overseas

Can you recommend a Scottish chef in Brussels who can make haggis? How do I set my antennae to receive English TV channels in Italy? Can you find me cheap flights to New Zealand? These are just some of the recent enquires the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has received from around the world.

British Consulate Meeting in Caleta de Fuste

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British residents in the Canary Islands urged to register for healthcare and

social services for future peace of mind

British Consulate and Spain Healthcare Team to host four free information events this month

Some 45,000 British nationals are believed to live in the Canary Islands but only 32,000* are registered with their local authorities. That means one in three Brits risk missing out on basic social services when in future they need it most.

UK expats – Don’t miss out, you may be able to vote in the General Election

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This week the UK Electoral Commission has launched a dedicated overseas voter registration campaign. The campaign aims to encourage British citizens living overseas to register to vote ahead of the UK Parliamentary General Election, due to take place on Thursday 7 May 2015.

To mark the start of the campaign, the elections watchdog is hosting Overseas Voter Registration Day on Thursday 5 February 2015 in a bid to boost the numbers of UK residents overseas on the UK’s electoral registers.  

Merseyside Police Issue European Arrest Warrant

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MERSEYSIDE POLICE ISSUE EUROPEAN ARREST WARRANT FOR TIMMY O'SULLIVAN

FOLLOWING MURDER OF PC NEIL DOYLE

Merseyside Police is appealing for the public's help to trace a 30-year-old man who is wanted on a European Arrest Warrant for the murder of PC Neil Doyle.

Timmy Donovan, who is also known as Timmy O’Sullivan, is originally from the Huyton area and has connections with Childwall in Liverpool. He is understood to have left the country at about 8.30pm on Friday, 19 December, through the Eurotunnel and officers believe he was driving a five door grey Mercedes A180 (registration YE62 NWG).

Ralph Smith, MBE

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British lawyer Ralph Smith, international counsel at Gomez Acebo & Pombo law firm in Madrid, has been honoured with a Member of the British Empire (MBE) award for his services to the British Embassy and voluntary work on behalf of the British community in Spain.

Calls to benefit fraud hotline double, thanks to honest Brits

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Calls to the benefit fraud hotline in Spain have doubled since the British Government launched a major advertising campaign during the last week of October to encourage the public to call the hotline if they suspect benefit fraud, and to urge claimants to report changes in their circumstances.

Laughter is free

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The Festival of Clowns Fuerteventura will take place from 21 to 23 November in the streets, on the beach and on the avenue Gran Tarajal and there will be a preview from Monday 17 with activities such as courses clown therapy laughter and magic.

Can you reclaim Inheritance or Gift tax?

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European citizens can request the restitution of the Inheritance and Gift tax paid in Spain as nonresidents

The recent judgment of the Court of the European Union of 3 September 2014 on the discrimination against nonresident taxpayers and deceased in the Spanish Inheritance and Gift Tax with respect to Spanish residents who can resort to Autonomous Community Legislation, allows residents from the European Economic Area (the EU 28 and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) to request the refund of the excess tax paid in Spain.