British nationals living in Spain have been urged to replace their existing green cards – a pre-Brexit authorisation to live in the EU member country – with the new biometric Foreigner Identity Card (TIE – Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero).
The United Kingdom’s embassy in Madrid has issued a warning on Tuesday, April 22, on its official Facebook page, calling on all nationals living in Spain, to exchange their green card s for a TIE, as those who fail to do so, risk facing legal troubles once a new system starts operating at the EU borders at the end of the year.
Only those with a biometric TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) are exempt from the EES when entering Spain. If you only have the green certificate, it will not be accepted as proof of residency for EES purposes.
The Embassy has further clarified that those without a TIE document will be treated like tourists when entering and leaving any of the EU countries, as a result of which, the period of their presence in the bloc could be potentially flagged as an overstay.
UK Nationals Complain of Insufficient Appointments for TIE Exchange
The Embassy’s statement has been followed by lots of criticism from UK nationals who say securing appointments to obtain or renew a TIE has become increasingly difficult.
Christine Markuss, a British resident in Spain, says the situation has become problematic since appointments are now necessary not only for those applying for a TIE for the first time, but also for those renewing them.
Many existing TIEs will be approaching renewal and appointments are already scarce. With the additional requirements to exchange Green Certificates, it will become very stressful, especially with fewer staff working in August due to holidays, the situation could be problematic.
Whereas Facebook user Michael Soffe has criticised the Embassy for, allegedly, misinforming UK residents in Spain, by at first telling them a TIE was only needed for irregular residents.
You clearly misunderstood the process, advising those of us legally resident here to leave appointments for the illegal Brits. This was incorrect as new residency requests were dealt with through different processes and even in different buildings in many areas.
She also noted that the price for a TIE application has gone up from around €12 to €25.
Despite bureaucratic hurdles, Spain remains a famous destination for British nations wishing to live in sunnier places, Statista reveals. In 2022, 313,975 UK passport holders were recorded living in the country, the highest number since 2013, when there were 316,362.
A large share of them are centered in the coastal region of Andalusia (92,180) and the region of Valencia (87,700).