Amongst the array of British property investors and holiday home buyers in Spain, some Brits have chosen to become Spanish residents.

At the end of June 2004 there were 117,322 British residents in Spain (registered with the Spanish authorities as resident in Spain and in possession of current residency papers), up from 105,479 at the end of June 2003, an 11% rise.

British residents in Spain tend to favour the provinces of Alicante and Málaga, and the autonomous regions of the Canaries and the Balearics (66% of all British residing in Spain live in these regions). Andalucia or the autonomous region of Valencia is also popular amongst Brits, while there are also a significant number of Brits in Almeria, Granada, Murcia and Cádiz.