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BREXIT: When is the deadline for Brits to apply for residency in Spain? 

Until when do Britons who were living in Spain before 2021 have to apply to become residents? The UK Embassy told The Local what the law states. 

BREXIT: When is the deadline for Brits to apply for residency in Spain? 
Photos: Jose Jordan/AFP, Camilo Rueda López/Flickr

With the first 90 out of 180-day deadline for non-resident Britons fast approaching – March 31st – many UK nationals who were living in Spain before January 1st 2021 are wondering when the deadline for registering as Spanish residents is. 

It’s true that in many cases unregistered Britons should have started the application process with plenty more time in hand, but there are numerous setbacks those who have wanted to register in recent months have faced. 

These include Spain’s travel ban on UK arrivals (due to be lifted on March 30th), Covid restrictions that have meant some Spanish immigration departments are operating with a skeleton staff, as well as a general backlog of applications and lack of appointments in places in Spain with a large British population. 

Different sources catering to British audiences in Spain have also been mentioning two different dates for a deadline for UK nationals who have never registered before: June 30th and March 31st. 

The Local Spain contacted the UK Embassy in Madrid to clarify, to which they replied:

“There is no hard deadline to register for residency – so neither March 31st or June 30th 2021 –  or to exchange your green certificate for a TIE.

“However UK nationals in Spain have always had to apply for residency in Spain if they intended to live here beyond three months. 

“This applies equally to nationals of other countries, including EU countries.”

The British Embassy recommends that UK nationals in Spain find out all there is to know about visas and residency in Spain in their Living in Guide on Gov.uk.

On this page, the deadline of June 30th 2021 is mentioned but only in reference to the date UK driving licence holders who are residing in Spain have until to exchange their UK licence for a Spanish one. 

This may be the source of the confusion regarding the alleged June residency deadline. 

Even though there is no hard deadline for residency on March 31st either, it is the day which marks the first 90/180 deadline for non-resident Brits in Spain and the Schengen Area, if they’ve been here or in the EU since January 1st 2021. 

The British Embassy did tell The Local in early March that there would be no extension for unregistered Brits in Spain due to the state of alarm and other coronavirus restrictions and difficulties caused by the current state of affairs. 

READ ALSO: 90/180 day Schengen rule: What are the consequences of overstaying?

In effect, and this may be subject to interpretation, now is the time for undecided Britons who’ve spent the winter months in Spain, or own a holiday home here, to decide how attached to Spain they want to be and if they want to be residents. 

If they lived in Spain before Brexit fully came into effect on January 1st 2021 and can prove it, it’s their choice to make, they can still apply for residency. But they must do it as soon as possible.

READ ALSO:

But if there’s no intention to become a Spanish resident and/or they can’t prove it, they should leave before March 31st, without forgetting there are other visa options available to them.

“UK nationals (UKNs) who were legally living in Spain before 1 January 2021 can continue to live and work here; these rights will be protected by the Withdrawal Agreement for as long as they remain living here,” a UK Embassy source told The Local.  

“Their rights come from being lawfully resident here before the end of the Transition Period, rather than from possessing the residency document itself. 

“However, it’s really important that people take steps to register as soon as possible.

“The 90/180 day rule applies to any UK nationals who are visiting Spain for leisure purposes since 1 January 2021. 

“Any stays beyond the 90 days in any 180-day period will be dependent on the applicable visas and immigration rules for Spain. This may require applying for a visa and/or permit”.

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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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