The Brexit bonanza for Spain: Cottage industries spring up to help bewildered expats navigate new paperwork

Spain has the highest number of British residents of any EU country. Now many will have to deal with the bureaucratic realities of Brexit, reports Graham Keeley in Barcelona

After the flag waving comes the paperwork (Reuters)

As Britain prepares for the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of the month, a cottage industry of agencies are taking advantage of UK residents in the EU who are desperate to get their documents in order.

Spain has the highest number of British residents of any EU country. At least 300,000 are registered with authorities, while many more are thought to live there without notifying the government, usually for tax reasons.

As the deadline of 31 December approaches, companies are charging Britons huge sums to negotiate Spain’s byzantine bureaucracy to get residency documentation.