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RESIDENCY PERMITS

EU Commission: ‘A stamp in a British passport does not put residency rights into question’

After hundreds of British residents of EU countries had passports stamped when returning from the UK in the New Year the EU Commission has responded to The Local's request for information and advice on their behalf. Here's the response in full.

Published: 9 January 2021 13:26 CET
Updated: 9 January 2021 15:04 CET
EU Commission: 'A stamp in a British passport does not put residency rights into question'
Photo: AFP/UK Passport Office
In recent days it has emerged that scores of British nationals living in EU countries have wrongly had their passports stamped with a date of entry when returning home. One couple was told to contact a lawyer by consular officials in Germany.

British nationals coming to the EU have previously not needed to have their passports stamped, but Brexit and the end of freedom of movement has changed things somewhat.

While visitors are now subject to the Schengen area's 90-day rule, meaning they can spend a maximum of 90 days out of every 180 in the Schengen area, those Britons legally resident in the EU are not, and therefore should not have their passports stamped.

But since January 1st scores of UK residents in the EU have seen immigration officials stamp their passports with an entry date when returning from the EU.

Many British nationals have contacted The Local, while citizens' rights groups have raised concerns that passport stamps may cause problems the next time British citizens leave the Schengen area if they are over the 90-day limit.

The Local asked the EU Commission to explain why passports were being stamped and what advice it had for British nationals.

 

Passports should not be stamped

Firstly the Commission confirmed that the passports of British residents whose rights are protected by the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement should not be stamped. EU officials have tried to get that message across to border police in all member states, they added. 

“We regret the difficulties some UK travellers encountered. We have worked very closely with member states on the implementation of the (Brexit) Withdrawal Agreement to avoid such difficulties. Overall, the changes linked to the end of the transition period and end of application of EU law on free movement of EU citizens to United Kingdom nationals were implemented smoothly.

“Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries have a right to enter their host member state and their passports should not be stamped when they cross an external Schengen border.

“Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries are moreover exempted from the Council Recommendation on the temporary restriction on non-essential travel into the EU linked to the coronavirus pandemic. As non-EU nationals legally residing in the EU, they must not be denied boarding for travels into the EU under the Council recommendation.”

READ ALSO: 

 

What if you have no post-Brexit residency permit? 

The problem for many British travellers resident in the EU is that they are not yet in possession of a new post-Brexit residency permit given that many governments have only recently opened the application processes. 

That has left them relying on trying to convince border guards themselves that there was no need to stamp passports.

The EU commission said it has created guidance for all border guards, but it seems that guidance is not being read.

The Commission said: “We have discussed these specific issues in three expert group meetings (June, September and 1 December) and prepared guidance in all languages.

“The final version has been put at the disposal of the member states on 4th December 2020 (in English) and on 23rd December in all other languages (Annex 42 of the Practical Handbook for Border Guards).

The guidance sets out how to identify beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement before these beneficiaries are in possession of a residence document issued in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement for the purpose of not stamping their passports.”

“We have also prepared a document containing all specimen which will evidence that a person is a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement before being in possession of the document issued in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement (Annex 43 of the Practical Handbook for Border Guards) based on the input received by Member States. This document has been transmitted to the Member States on 15th December (and updated on 21st December).”

 

Entitled to compensation

The EU Commission said any British traveller who was denied entry to a plane after failing to prove legal residency is entitled to compensation.

“We have also transmitted the information on future rules and provided the specimen to the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s TIMATIC which provides carriers with information about entry procedures and visa requirements in all countries of the world. The onus is on airlines to apply the new rules correctly.

“UK nationals who have been denied boarding by an EU air carrier can seek compensation as well as reimbursement of their ticket or re-routing under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, unless where the air carrier can prove in the specific case at hand that the denied boarding was based on reasonable grounds related to e.g. inadequate travel documentation.

“Please note that Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 would not apply to those denied boarding by UK carriers from January 1st, 2021. In this case, possible rights in case of denied boarding should be assessed on the basis of UK legislation.”

A stamp is no threat residency 

The final message from the Commission is that an erroneous passport stamp will not put residency rights into question.

It also said British nationals can ask border guards to cross out stamps, as some have done, according to reports we have received.

However, once again, it appears British travellers might have to explain themselves if those immigration officials have not read the “Practical Handbook for Border Guards”.

“If the beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement can provide evidence that they have been incorrectly stamped, the stamp can be annulled by the border guard as explained in the Practical Handbook for Border Guards (see p. 68/69 of the Handbook).

“However, depending on national practices, some Member States may still stamp passports of beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement, even if they hold notified documents: Member States may stamp residence permit they issued themselves and if this possibility is provided by national law.

“In any case, a wrong stamp in a passport can never put into question the right to reside in the host Member State.”

 

Member comments

  1. Of course going the other way, you are on your own. Priti Patel will doubtless deport you if you overstay an erroneous stamp even if you have UK residency established. Wouldn’t be the first time.

  2. While not claiming residency rights, well not yet, we have had a home in Provence for nearly 50 years, have paid taxe d’abitation, and VAT, have a bank account and have,’till now spent 4 or 5 months in France. We have been deprived of our citizenship of Europe and access to our home and assume we must now apply for a visa.

  3. It seems that some people have had the best of both worlds and want their cake and eat it. If you have a home in an EU country besides a home in the UK, you can obviously afford to sort out your residency from the UK before you go back to your EU-country home. Also, you must have known something like the situation you are in would happen, once the referendum vote was announced – that’s four and half years ago. I sorted mine out long ago, even though I was in favour of the UK leaving the EU. I dislike the Schengen Agreement and see it as a way for a (Dis)United States of Europe, which will dilute each countries identity into dust.

    By the way, the two correspondents’ names – Robert Altinger and Raymond Attfield – sound like a psuedonym of each other. A coincidence?

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BRITONS IN SPAIN

FACT CHECK: Spain’s ‘£97 daily rule’ isn’t new nor a worry for British tourists

The British tabloids are at it again causing alarm over the so-called '£97 daily rule’ which Spain is apparently imposing on UK tourists, who in turn are threatening to ‘boycott’ the country. 

Published: 15 April 2024 14:28 CEST
FACT CHECK: Spain's '£97 daily rule' isn't new nor a worry for British tourists

American playwright Eugene O’Neill once said: “There is no present or future – only the past, happening over and over again – now”.

In 2022, The Local Spain wrote a fact-checking article titled ‘Are UK tourists in Spain really being asked to prove €100 a day?‘, in which we dispelled the claims made in the British press about Spain’s alleged new rules for UK holidaymakers.

Two years on in 2024, the same eye-catching headlines are resurfacing in Blighty: “’Anti-British? Holiday elsewhere!’ Britons fume as tourists in Spain warned they may be subject to additional rules” in GB News, or “’They would be begging us to come back’: Brits vow to ‘boycott Spain’ over new £97 daily rule” in LBC.

The return of this rabble-rousing ‘news’ in the UK has coincided with calls within Spain to change the existing mass tourism model that’s now more than ever having an impact on the country’s housing crisis.

Even though Spaniards behind the protests have not singled out any foreign nationals as potential culprits, the UK tabloids have unsurprisingly capitalised on this and run headlines such as “Costa del Sol turns on British tourists”.

READ MORE: Why does hatred of tourists in Spain appear to be on the rise?

What is the so-called ‘£97 daily rule’?

Yes, there is theoretically a ‘£97 a day rule’, but it is not a new rule, nor one that applies only to UK nationals specifically, and not even one that Spain alone has imposed (all Schengen countries set their financial means threshold).

As non-EU nationals who are not from a Schengen Area country either (the United Kingdom never was in Schengen), British tourists entering Spain could have certain requirements with which to comply if asked by Spanish border officials.

Such requirements include a valid passport, proof of a return ticket, documents proving their purpose of entry into Spain, limits on the amount of time they can spend in Spain (the 90 out of 180 days Schengen rule), proof of accommodation, a letter of invitation if staying with friends or family (another controversial subject in the British press when it emerged) and yes, proof of sufficient financial means for the trip.

Third-country nationals who want to enter Spain in 2024 may need to prove they have at least €113,40 per day (around £97), with a minimum of €972 (around £830) per person regardless of the intended duration of the stay. It is unclear whether this could also possibly apply to minors.

The amount of financial means to prove has increased slightly in 2024 as it is linked to Spain’s minimum wage, which has also risen. 

Financial means can be accredited by presenting cash, traveller’s checks, credit cards accompanied by a bank account statement, an up-to-date bank book or any other means that proves the amount available as credit on a card or bank account.

Have Britons been prevented from entering Spain for not having enough money?

There is no evidence that UK holidaymakers have been prevented from entering Spain after not being able to show they have £97 a day to cover their stay, nor any reports that they have been asked to show the financial means to cover their stay either. 

17.3 million UK tourists visited Spain in 2023; equal to roughly 47,400 a day. 

Even though British tourists have to stand in the non-EU queue at Spanish passport control, they do not require a visa to enter Spain and the sheer number of UK holidaymakers means that they’re usually streamlined through the process, having to only quickly show their passports.

The only occasional hiccups that have arisen post-Brexit have been at the land border between Gibraltar and Spain (issued that are likely to be resolved soon), and these weren’t related to demonstrating financial means. 

Therefore, the British press are regurgitating alarmist headlines that don’t reflect any truth, but rather pander to the ‘they need us more than we need them’ mantra that gets readers clicking. 

To sum up, there is a £97 a day rule, but it is not new, it has not affected any British tourists to date, and it is not specific to Spain alone to potentially require proof of economic means. 

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