You can’t apply for Spanish residency remotely from the UK. You have to be at the appointment in person because the the National police agent who reviews your file will by verifying who you are against your original passport.
During the appointment, with our assistance you don’t actually have to say anything. The person who processes your application would direct all the questions to the person assisting you. If you decide to go by yourself then you need to be prepared to answer the policeman’s questions.
Although you have to physically be there in person and you can’t apply remotely from the UK, what you can do is get your paperwork well and truly prepared beforehand. If you plan on getting residency when you arrive in Spain, then there’s a lot of things you can do before you leave the UK. So when you arrive, your appointment’s already booked and you have all your paperwork in place.
Application forms and the taxes need to also be prepared, normally you would need somebody on the ground in Spain to do for you beforehand.
It’s not advisable if you don’t speak Spanish to go to one of these appointments on your own. The police wont speak to you in English though in some situations, they do have a translator or maybe a volunteer there. Most situations, if you haven’t got your application, neat, tidy, and ready for presentation, they’ll knock you back and ask you to come back when it is complete.
Currently we are in the Transition Period which allows British citizens to get residency under the same conditions as before Brexit. This means at your appointment you will be treated the same as any other EU citizen. But this will end after the Transition Period and the process will undoubtedly be more complicated with stricter conditions put in place, similar to what’s in place already for non-EU citizens.
On a positive note areas like Malaga, have really gone above and beyond to assist people in getting their paperwork sorted out before Brexit, opening extra appointments and putting on extra staff to deal with the surge of appointments.