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BREXIT

How Britons can prove they are resident in Spain when entering the country

After recent reports of some British residents in Spain being denied boarding when returning home from the UK, how exactly can you prove Spanish residency?

How Britons can prove they are resident in Spain when entering the country
Image: Niklas HALLE'N / AFP

On December 22, 2020 Spain banned travellers flying in from the UK except nationals and those who are resident in Spain, due to fears over the new Covid-19 strain that has spread rapidly in Britain.

This travel ban has now been extended to January 19. 

The situation, combined with the fact that Brexit has now become a reality, has left many travellers, airline staff and indeed Spanish authorities confused.

Spain recently moved to clear up the confusion for returning British residents after it emerged that several had been denied boarding at UK airports amid confusion over what residency documents they needed to prove they lived in Spain.

Here's a quick look at what you need to proof you are a resident in Spain just in case you run into problems, and also what won't work as proof.

 

TIE card

You can prove residency in Spain by presenting your TIE card (the new biometric cards issued to British residents in Spain since July).

These are the post-Brexit residency cards that show that British residents in Spain, living in the country before the end of 2020 were covered by the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. 

However not all Britons living in Spain have their TIE card because appointments have been hard to come by in certain areas. Many have been waiting for months.

Also, the Spanish authorities have said many times that it isn't necessary for those already living in Spain to change their green residency ‘Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de Union Europea’ (commonly referred to as a NIE) for a TIE. 

Green certificate  

The ‘Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de Union Europea’ (although many refer to it as a NIE) is a green residency certificate, either A4 size or credit card size, which features your NIE (Numero de Identidad Extranjero) number can also be used. 

Britons carrying the green residency certificate have been wrongly refused entry but Spain has since made it clear the cards are valid. However whether that information gets to all immigration officials on the ground is another question.

The Spanish authorities have created a downloadable pdf, which states which documents are valid for proof of residency and shows a picture of each. Travellers are being advised to print a copy (see below) and take this along with them to the airport to show airlines in the case of being denied boarding.

This is to show the airlines that you have the correct documents and which are accepted. Along with your certificate, you must show a valid passport when you travel.

'Proof of application'

Those who do not have the green residency certificates (NIE), but have applied for and are still waiting for their new TIE cards, are also allowed to travel to Spain and have been given a seven-day grace period until January 10 to be able to get it.

They just need to print off their proof of application, which they will get after they've handed in their documents to get the TIE.

The Spanish authorities said in statement on January 3rd: “We can also confirm that those UK nationals who can prove that they have started their registration process, but who do not yet have their new TIE card, should be allowed to board flights to return to Spain.

“The Government of Spain will put in place this measure for a grace period of seven days from January 4 2021. The document ‘resguardo de solicitud o renovación de tarjeta de extranjero' can be considered as acceptable evidence'.”

This is normally sent out after you have booked an appointment along with a reference number but there was some confusion among Britons about how to get hold of this document.

But what can't be used?

The British government website also warns that “padron certificates, utility bills and property deeds will not be accepted by Spanish authorities as proof of residency.”

 

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GIBRALTAR

UK soldiers expelled from Spain after crossing from Gibraltar posing as tourists

Spain has expelled four Royal Navy servicemen who crossed the Spain-Gibraltar border on foot three times in a single day while dressed in civilian clothing, with Spanish media claiming they were checking the porosity of the border.

UK soldiers expelled from Spain after crossing from Gibraltar posing as tourists

Spanish police expelled four British soldiers from Spain on Monday night, removing them from the country and sending them back to Gibraltar after it emerged that the four Royal Navy personnel had entered Spain illegally while “posing as tourists”, as the Spanish press has reported.

The incident comes a week after the British Navy carried out military drills in the waters surrounding Gibraltar, the British overseas territory that Spain still claims sovereignty of, and amid the seemingly never-ending negotiations between Spain and the UK to finally settle a post-Brexit deal.

READ ALSO: Gibraltar Brexit deal ‘close’ as Brits crossing into Spain use fake bookings

The expulsions, now reported in the Spanish press by Europa Sur and confirmed to El Periódico de España by official sources, occurred after the four soldiers arrived in Gibraltar on a civilian flight and entered into Spain. They also had return tickets via Gibraltar.

They then reportedly passed themselves off as tourists and entered Spain on foot, staying at a four-star hotel in La Línea de la Concepción, the town in the Cádiz province of Andalusia that borders Gibraltar.

Stranger yet is that they crossed the border at La Línea on up to three occasions in the space of a few hours.

READ ALSO: What Brits need to know before crossing the border from Gibraltar to Spain

Spanish authorities detected their presence because two of the soldiers tried to return to Gibraltar at night.

At the border, Spanish police officers enquired as to the reason for their entry, to which the soldiers replied that they were on their way to work and brandished British military documentation.

The police decided that their entry into Spain had been irregular because they did not meet the Schengen Borders Code requirements demanded of non-EU citizens entering EU territory.

According to Europa Sur, Spanish police then asked the two soldiers to call their colleagues in the hotel in order to collect their luggage and return to Gibraltar, which took place at midnight on Monday 18th March.

The Spanish press has stated that it is common for soldiers to try to stay in Spanish territory by concealing their military status and entering while posing as tourists.

The motive for the soldiers’ presence, particularly their repeated trips across the border, remains unknown.

The military drills in the area seem to suggest that the soldiers may have taken part in or be due to take part in further exercises and wanted to enter as tourists.

Spanish media also suggests that they could have been testing the porosity of the border, though these claims remain unsubstantiated.

Gibraltar’s post-Brexit status still remains unresolved. The EU and UK government are now onto their 18th round of treaty negotiations after the framework agreement between London and Madrid made on New Year’s Eve 2020 essentially ‘fudged’ the border issue, leaving Gibraltar’s status within the Schengen area undefined.

Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in late-2023 that “we are very, very close” to finalising a Brexit agreement.

“I would sign a deal with Britain over Gibraltar tomorrow,” Albares told journalists at the time. Yet no agreement was made, despite the Minister’s positivity, nor the appointment of former UK Prime Minister David Cameron as Foreign Secretary.

Albares’ comments came at a time when it was reported in the Spanish press that many UK nationals have been using fake hotel bookings in order to try and bypass the Schengen rules and trick their way through border checks.

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