Paying for consular/passport fees, will get a whole lot easier for British expats living in Lanzarote. Following feedback and demand from customers the British Consul will now accept payment from credit/debit fees.

This was one of a number of announcements made by the new British Ambassador to Spain, Denise Holt, during her visit to the Canary Islands to officially introduce the new Consul, Steve Jones. During her stay she met up with representatives of the British community to explain the modernisation of consular services through an ambitious programme tailored to the needs and requirements of the growing number of British tourists and residents who visit and live in Spain.

As well as introducing the card payment service the Consul will be appointing an honorary consul for Lanzarote in the near future, as reported earlier by the Gazette. There are also plans for the appointment of another for Fuerteventura. And in a radical new step the Ambassador announced a new partnership project teaming up with Age Concern and the Department of Work and Pensions. A spokesman for the Ambassador’s office explained: “This will help us to direct British residents to the right places where they can get support and information - eg moving to Spain, accessing local services, entitlement to UK pensions and benefits - issues not covered by British Consulates.”

The appointment of Steve Jones as Consul for all the islands is part of the modernisation of consular services in the region. Steve hails from the tourist industry and has been running the consular offices in Las Palmas and Tenerife for the last six months.

British Ambassador to Spain
Mrs Holt, who was Ambassador in Mexico from 2002 to 2005, has extensive experience of the Hispanic world. She studied Spanish, French and Politics at Bristol University before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1970. As Research Analyst for Iberia, a post she occupied until 1984, she observed at first hand the extraordinary transition to democracy in Spain and Portugal.

In 1984 Denise Holt was appointed First Secretary in Dublin, where she met her husband David Holt (also serving in the British Embassy in Ireland). She subsequently served as Head of the Central America Section in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as First Secretary in Brazil.

Denise Holt was born in Vienna in October 1949, the daughter of a British diplomat. She and David have a son, Patrick, currently studying Spanish at Birmingham University.

On taking up her appointment Mrs Holt said:
" The links between the UK and Spain are strong and getting stronger, thanks to close commercial ties between businesses, high levels of tourism in both directions and joint work between governments and authorities at all levels. My role will be to strengthen and build on those links in cooperation with Spanish and British partners and I relish this prospect.

“ It gives me particular pleasure to be the first woman ever to represent the United Kingdom in Spain - one of our most important partners."