Retiree Travels to Morocco Without Notice, Ordered to Pay Heavy Fine

Spanish justice has just closed the case of a 75-year-old beneficiary who had been receiving a non-contributory disability pension of just over 600 euros monthly since the end of 2013. According to legislation, this aid prohibits staying outside the territory for more than 90 days per year, except in cases of serious illness. However, the administration found that the septuagenarian had systematically exceeded this limit during her trips to Morocco, accumulating notably 135 days of absence in 2018 and 136 days in 2019.

On Bladi.net : Over 1,800 euros in fines for traveling to Morocco without notice

The year 2020 marked a peak with 260 days spent in the kingdom, followed by 149 days in 2021. To justify this lengthy Moroccan absence, the defense cited the coronavirus health crisis and border closures. The newspaper La Razón reports that the magistrates rejected this argument. Resolution 1945/2026 emphasizes that legal residents retained the right to return to Spain even at the height of lockdown, making this absence of more than eight months legally unjustifiable.

Beyond these prolonged stays in Morocco, the management agency detected a breach of financial thresholds within the household. The daughter with whom she cohabited received a substantial disability pension, pushing the family unit’s income to 73,291 euros in 2021. This amount represents more than double the authorized threshold. The claimant attempted to escape sanctions by claiming that eight people lived under the same roof. Lacking proof, the judges calculated this threshold based on a household of three first-degree relatives.

On Bladi.net : Jobless Man’s Moroccan Getaways Cost Him $8,500 in Benefits

Faced with these infractions, the court validated the retroactive cancellation of the social benefit. The retiree is thus obliged to return all aid received since June 2018, amounting to a debt of exactly 32,857 euros equivalent to more than four years of payments. The request for prescription to erase the oldest fiscal years was also rejected by justice, as the legal action initiated by the beneficiary herself interrupted all legal deadlines.