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Concerns raised over violation of rights of British residents travelling to Spain

The lobby group EuroCitizens has expressed its concern about violations of the rights of British residents traveling to Spain in the first days of the new year.

Published: 8 January 2021 14:57 CET
Concerns raised over violation of rights of British residents travelling to Spain
Photo: AFP

During the first week of the new normal of Brexit, the practical application of the UK's Withdrawal Agreement, the treaty protecting the rights of British residents in the EU and Europeans in the UK, has been chaotic in Spain as well as in other member states.

The Local reported how over the first few days of 2021, British residents in Spain were denied permission to travel or turned away on arrival because they weren’t in possession of the new TIE card.

Several countries have denied entry to British residents even though they were in possession of the necessary documentation (passport, valid residence document and negative PCR).

On Saturday January 2nd, around ten UK citizens arrived in Barcelona only to be returned to London because they did not have the new Identity Card for Foreigners (TIE), despite being in possession of both their passport and their valid community residence certificate.

This incident had a knock-on effect on other flights and several families, who were trying to return home, were blocked on the ground on the instructions of airlines.

The issue was resolved with the release of a statement by the Spanish embassy in London, issued on Sunday January 3rd, that once again confirmed the continuing validity of the “community green card”.

This statement is consistent with the repeated statements that EuroCitizens has received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation that there is no administrative requirement to replace the old green certificate (with the NIE) by the new TIE for British residents: the new Biometric card is more convenient, but no British resident in Spain is obliged to have it if they already have their NIE and the community residence certificate.

But on Friday EuroCitizens said in a statement that they had contacted the Spanish authorities to repeatedly express concern about the use of both documents, both in Spain and on entry and departure to and from the Schengen area.

As Nigel Aston, the President of EuroCitizens, points out “The events of the last few days have generated personal suffering and economic difficulties for British residents in Spain. We are aware that Covid-19 complicates the situation, however the virus is little more than an excuse for the clear lack of attention to the details of implementation.

“Problems have continued in several EU states and many British residents in EU 27 member states have had their passports stamped, contrary to the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement, something that can lead to problems for them at borders later.

“Although the Spanish Administration has reconfirmed that the community residence certificates are still valid, it has announced that the receipts ('resguardos') of Britons who applied for residence last year are only valid for this week,” he explained.

“This deadline lacks common sense, taking into account the administrative postponements and delays in immigration offices due to Covid-19, and means that British residents with resguardos may encounter difficulties in returning to Spain.”

“It is clear that the Covid-19 crisis, the third wave and the new 'British' strain of COVID are complications in the current situation. However, this does not justify the denial of rights established in an international treaty and we hope that these events are not a bad omen for the future.”

Aston added: “Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, British residents have felt like bargaining chips in a political game. The apparent inability of UK and European administrations fully to protect our rights, as established in the Withdrawal Agreement, makes the vulnerability of citizens clear: the Agreement protects us only to the extent that it is implemented; if not, it is a dead letter. “

EuroCitizens is an association created by British citizens living, working and studying in Spain. Together with other associations of Britich citizens in Spain, such as BREMAIN and ECREU, it forms part of British in Europe, the largest coalition of British residents in Europe, with around 40,000 members. They support and cooperate with the 3million and Spanish in the UK.

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TRAVEL NEWS

What will Europe’s EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

The EU's Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport checks will usher in big changes for travellers - here we answer readers' questions on the position for dual nationals.

Published: 22 April 2024 17:10 CEST
What will Europe's EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

The EU is preparing, after many delays, to introduce the EES system for travel in and out of Europe.

You can find a full explanation of how it works HERE, but in essence it is an enhanced passport check – registering biometric details such as fingerprints and facial scans and introducing an automatic calculation of how long you have stayed within the EU/Schengen zone in order to detect ‘over-stayers’.

And it’s already causing stress for travellers. We asked readers of The Local to share their questions here – and one of the biggest worries was how the system will work for dual nationals ie people who have a passport for both an EU country and a non-EU country.

EES: Your questions answered

EU passports 

One of the main purposes of EES is to detect ‘over-stayers’ – people who have either stayed in the EU longer than their visa allows or non-EU nationals who have over-stayed their allowance of 90 days in every 180.

As this does not apply to EU nationals, people travelling on an EU passport are not required to do EES pre-registration and will continue to travel in the same way once EES is introduced – going to the ‘EU passports queue’ at airports, ports and stations and having their passports scanned as normal.

Non-EU 

Non-EU travellers will, once EES is up and running, be required to complete EES pre-registration.

This means that the first time they cross an EU/Schengen zone external border they will have to go to a special zone of the airport/port/terminal and supply extra passport information including fingerprints and a facial scan.

This only needs to be done once and then lasts for three years.

Non-EU residents of the EU/Schengen zone

This does not apply to non-EU citizens who are permanent residents of an EU country or who have a long-stay visa for an EU/Schengen zone country – click HERE for full details.

Schengen zone passports/Irish passports 

EES applies within the Schengen zone, so people with Swiss, Norwegian and Icelandic passports are treated in the same way as citizens of EU countries.

Ireland and Cyprus are in the EU but not the Schengen zone – these countries will not be using the EES system at their borders, but their citizens are still EU citizens so can continue to use EU passport gates at airports and will be treated the same as all other EU citizens (ie they don’t have to do EES pre-registration).

OK, so what if you have both an EU and a non-EU passport?

They key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any of the rules on immigration – it’s just a way of better enforcing the rules that are already in place. 

Therefore the rules for dual nationals remain as they are – for most people which passport to travel on is a matter of personal choice, although Americans should be aware that if you have a US passport and you are entering the USA, you must use your American passport. 

But it’s also important to remember that the passports of dual nationals are not ‘linked’ – therefore if you present an American passport at the Italian border, you will be treated exactly the same as every other American, there is no way for the border guard to know that you are also Italian.

Likewise if you are a UK-Germany dual national and you travel back to the UK on your German passport, you can expect to be treated the same as every other German at the border, and might be asked for proof of where you are staying in UK, how long you intend to stay etc – the system has no way of knowing that you are also British. 

Therefore whether you have to complete EES pre-registration or not is entirely a matter of which passport you are travelling on – if you use your EU passport you won’t have to do it, if you use your non-EU passport you will.

It’s also possible to use two passports for the same trip – so let’s say you’re travelling from Spain to Canada – you enter Canada on your Canadian passport, and show your Canadian passport again when you leave. However, once you re-enter Spain you show your Spanish passport in order to benefit from the unlimited length of stay.

If you’re travelling between France and the UK via the Eurostar, Channel Tunnel or cross-Channel ferry, you need to remember that the Le Touquet agreement means that French passport checks take place in the UK and vice versa. You can still use both passports, but you just need to keep your wits about you and remember to hand the French one to the French border guards and the British one to British guards.

In terms of avoiding immigration formalities using two passports is the most efficient way for dual nationals to travel, but some people prefer to stick to one passport for simplicity, or don’t want to keep both passports together in case of theft.

Basically it’s a personal choice, but you just need to remember that you will be treated according to the passport that you show – which includes completing EES pre-registration if you’re showing a non-EU passport.

It’s also worth remembering that if the changes do cause border delays (and there are fears that they might especially at the UK-France border), then these will affect all travellers – regardless of their passport. 

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