After all the discussion why should it be a condition of residency? I do think people are missing out by not speaking the language of the country they live in but the Brits who come here are not freeloading, they are injecting a substantial amount of money from other countries into the local economy, most people have fat transfers coming into banks here (and charged highly for them) which in one way or another goes into the spanish economy.
Judging by the ex-pats I meet (and NOT only on the CDS) probably 98% would have to leave España if this were a requirement. I have met more true Spanish speakers in the UK.
Isn't this the point? we have ghettos of English speakers in Spain that never make the effort, when the Pakistanis do this in the UK, we get postings saying they should integrate and learn English!!
I cant agree with the figure of 98% - yes on the coast there is no necessity to be able to speak Spanish you can survive perfectly well in English. But go Inland and you HAVE to be able to speak the language as NO-ONE will be able to speak English fluently and your children will learn only in Spanish at the local school.
Many of The Brits I meet all have fluent Spanish, many learnt Spanish before they moved out and that's the reason they came to Spain for the culture, had nothing to do with it being cheap! They enjoy the lifestyle - very family orientated/ a lots more laid-back and less stressful and many run B and B or teach English to get an income. They are familiar with spanish authors/films and watch local TV, and go to the local ferias/fiestas.
Of all the nations in Europe the Brits have the worst reputation among the Spanish - why because we continue to exist in Ghettos, not speaking Spanish, NOT integrating with the locals and spend hours getting *beep* in bars and walking around dressed completely inappropriately - how many times have you watched the Holidaymaker burst into a church wearing bikini tops/vests and shorts and talk loudly during the mass showing no respect for the locals praying?? Likewise we go into shops and abuse and swear at the the owner for not being able to communicate in English with us!!
Cant agree about the freeloaders either, in general yes a majority of Brits have retired or have private funds, but I've seen postings on here about people getting money from Government, avoiding paying tax and boasting about it! A real social security (everyone owes me a living) attitude they have brought over from the UK.
Spanish lessons should be compulsory for residents, after all we are horrified about the amount of money spent in the UK translating government documents into Asian Languages, doesn't anyone else hear the hypocrisy here????