Niki Witton and her family want to swap Staffordshire for Spain
Niki Witton (R) has had her Spanish self-employment visa denied several times(Image: Niki Witton)
A Staffordshire family’s dreams of moving to Spain have turned into a nightmare – after a series of ‘baseless’ visa rejections. Niki Witton, 48, has been fighting to secure a self-employment visa for 16 months.
Stylist Niki purchased a salon in the Spanish city of Almira back in 2024 after discussing the idea of moving to Spain with her husband for 10 years and finally taking the leap following a health scare in 2023. The couple sold their house in November 2024 and looked forward to emigrating along with their 13-year-old son.
But their plans unravelled after Niki’s visa application was rejected.
Niki, of Great Haywood, told StokeonTrentLive: “The Spanish Consulate in Manchester have cocked up the application process time and time again. After I made my first application, they changed the forms they use and mine became outdated. I applied again and they rejected my application because they had sent me more outdated forms.
“When I applied again, I sat down with them and asked if they were sure that they were the right forms. They said they could confirm they were definitely the right up-to-date forms. I completed them and waited for my application to be accepted. But they rejected me again on the grounds that my forms were outdated. I don’t know if there was an administrative error and someone looked at one of my previous applications, but it was infuriating.
“My solicitor in Spain is tearing her hair out. She says that she has never seen anything like this in 23 years. We’re currently trying to appeal but I don’t know how far we’ll get. It’s got to the point where we don’t know what to do. Our lawyer is confident we sent the correct forms. But the Spanish authorities are still insisting we need to apply again.”
Niki and her family have spent upwards of £5,000 on their visa applications – and now their funds are running out.
She explained: “A big concern is that you need to have a minimum amount of money in the bank to be eligible for a self-employment visa. We had more than double that after we sold our house. But then we spent six months living in a Travelodge. Because it was taking so long, we had to find ourselves some proper rental accommodation. And now we’re living out of a camper van.
“The waiting has seriously dented our savings. We’re getting by on the bare minimum now. Because if this application process takes much longer, we may not have enough money. It’s a race against time.”
Niki says the family are also worried about the future of their business and relationships.
She continued: “My husband’s family are already living over there and my dad moved over in February last year. He’s an old-age pensioner who is not in good health. He can’t travel. Neither can I because I may need to do things here for my own visa. Our whole lives are waiting over there but we’re completely trapped here.
“My business and Almira is being put at risk. The owner is desperate to retire so I’m very concerned that she’s going to give the business to someone else. If that happens, we’ll have nothing. Our family will lose everything because of a series of completely avoidable errors.”
Niki says the application process has taken an extreme toll on the family.
“I knew the move would be tough, don’t get me wrong,” she explained. “I know there’s lots of red tape, paperwork and stress involved with something like this. But we expected it all to be over within six-to-12 months. Never did I think I would have to take on such an uphill battle against the system. There are times where you stop and think whether this dream is even still worth it anymore.
“We’ve tried reaching out to our MP Gavin Williamson and the Spanish Consulate in Manchester don’t even acknowledge or reply to your emails. It’s absolutely shocking. I’ve paid so much in fees only to be constantly let down. Nobody will admit liability or communicate with us.
“I just need some results now. I’m nearly at breaking point. I just need someone to help me. I’d give anything to have some kind of intervention. For someone to take notice and realise that this isn’t fair.”
StokeonTrentLive has approached the Spanish Embassy for comment.
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