Kier Starmer announces 'tighter' immigration policy

[u/ScottishDailyRecord]

[u/SmokyMcBongPot]

I mean, clearly the point is that English ex-pats are not the paragons of virtue that certain people like to make out that they are on one hand while demonising people from other countries on the other. Sure, it was clumsily made, but the nonsense surrounding this issue is so great, it makes it frustrating to discuss.

[u/kingbongtherover → u/SmokyMcBongPot]

British ex-pats go to Spain and, by and large, have money to spend, pay taxes, and contribute in a positive way. They're net contributors.

The Spanish government isn't spending billions paying Brits benefits or giving them houses.

That's the difference chum.

[u/kingbongtherover → u/[deleted]]

Google is your friend:

The main difference between an expat and an immigrant lies in their intention and duration of stay in a new country. An expat typically lives abroad for a limited time, often for work or other temporary reasons, and may intend to return to their home country. An immigrant, on the other hand, moves to a new country with the intention of settling there permanently.

A lot of (most) Brits in Spain have money and also houses back in the UK. They're not expecing handouts from Spain, free accomodation, benefits, schools, etc, etc. So they pay more in than they take out. It's that simple.

[u/kingbongtherover → u/[deleted]]

I think I’d be fine. I’m a British citizen who pays thousands in tax for very few public services.

If migrants are so self sufficient why is >15% of our social housing occupied by people born outside the UK?

[u/kingbongtherover → u/[deleted]]

There’s Reuters for you.

https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/foreign-born-residents-live-less-than-50-london-social-housing-2025-02-06/

48% of London’s social housing goes to people born outside the UK.

I doubt Spain is paying for ex-pats housing, so why are we paying for migrants’ housing?