Across Borders: Weekly Expat Briefing
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Greetings from Paphos.
Each week, Across Borders reviews developments that matter to expats, internationally mobile professionals, and globally minded families. This edition covers upcoming EU travel authorisations, proposed UK immigration reforms, a real-world tax residency lesson from Spain, Cyprus’s Schengen ambitions, and a lighter cultural note to close.
1. ETIAS: EU travel authorisation expected in late 2026
EU institutions are now consistently pointing to late 2026 (Q4) as the expected operational window for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS).
ETIAS will apply to visa-exempt nationals — including UK, US, Canadian, and Australian passport holders — travelling to the Schengen Area for short stays. The application fee has been set at €20, and approvals will generally be valid for three years or until passport expiry, whichever comes first.
For expats, the practical impact is often indirect. Friends and family visiting from outside the EU will need to complete a pre‑travel authorisation rather than simply arriving with a passport. It is a modest procedural change, but one likely to catch out unprepared travellers during the early stages of rollout.
2. Spain: why day‑count planning alone can fail
A well‑publicised Spanish tax dispute involving international pop star Shakira, relating to the years 2012–2014, has again highlighted a point tax advisers have long stressed: Spain does not rely solely on the 183‑day rule when determining tax residence.
Under Spanish domestic law, an individual may be treated as tax resident not only through physical presence, but also where Spain is considered the centre of economic interests, or where close family circumstances create a rebuttable presumption of residence.
The takeaway for expats and digital nomads is straightforward. Counting days is necessary, but not sufficient. Family location, business activity, and economic substance all matter — and can override even the most carefully managed travel calendar.
3. Cyprus and Schengen: ambition, not certainty
Cyprus remains an EU member state outside the Schengen Area, maintaining its own border controls. However, the Cypriot government has reiterated an ambition to complete Schengen accession by 2026.
This should be viewed as a policy objective rather than a guaranteed timeline, but it is nonetheless worth monitoring. Full Schengen participation would simplify travel across much of continental Europe for Cyprus‑based residents, while also changing how short‑stay visitors’ time is counted for Schengen purposes.
For now, the prudent approach is caution: plan based on current rules, while remaining prepared for future alignment.
Read more: Cyprus and Schengen accession
4. UK immigration: a longer road to settlement
The UK government’s latest immigration proposals outline a shift toward an “earned settlement” model. Under this approach, the standard qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain could increase from five to ten years, with reductions possible for certain forms of contribution.
While these proposals are not yet law, they clearly signal a move toward longer planning horizons, higher cumulative costs, and extended periods of visa dependency for internationally mobile professionals considering the UK.
Anyone mapping medium‑ to long‑term residence in Britain should factor this direction of travel into their decision‑making.
5. Cultural footnote: the Mediterranean still takes lunch seriously
To end on a lighter note, a reminder that not all cross‑border challenges are regulatory.
While Northern Europe increasingly embraces working lunches and compressed schedules, much of the Mediterranean quietly maintains a different tradition: lunch is still lunch. In Spain, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus, it is not unusual for offices to slow between 2pm and 4pm, emails to go unanswered, and meetings to resume later in the afternoon.
For expats arriving from Northern or Western Europe, this can initially be frustrating. In practice, it is better viewed as a cultural calibration exercise: align expectations, plan calls accordingly, and remember that responsiveness norms vary as much as tax systems do.
If you would like to discuss how any of these developments affect your personal circumstances, we would be happy to advise - contact us today.
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