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BREXIT

Brits in EU demand to be spared from Brexit ‘train crash’ after May’s deal rejected

Lawmakers in the UK parliament overwhelmingly rejected Theresa May's Brexit deal on Tuesday evening sparking frustration among EU leaders and anger from campaigners for the rights of Britons across Europe who were left furious by the prime minister's statement.

Published: 15 January 2019 22:26 CET
Updated: 16 January 2019 09:58 CET
Brits in EU demand to be spared from Brexit 'train crash' after May's deal rejected
Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP.

A huge majority of UK parliamentarians rejected Theresa May's Brexit deal on Tuesday evening, leaving the government's plan for the UK's exit from the EU in tatters and the future of 1.2 million Brits in Europe shrouded in yet more doubt.

LIVE: Brits in EU demand to be spared from Brexit 'train crash' after May's deal rejected

More than two thirds of MPs voted against the Brexit deal, known as the Withdrawal Agreement. The numbers represented a crushing defeat for the PM: 202 voted in favour of the agreement but a staggering 432 MPs voted against.

The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn seized on the government's massive defeat, the largest for any government since the 1920s, to call for a vote of no-confidence.

MPs will now debate whether they have confidence in May's government on Wednesday January 16th.

Jean-Claude Juncker returned to Brussels early from meetings in Strasbourg, with May expected to seek a new round of meetings with the EU Commission and EU leaders to thrash out a new deal. 

But Juncker was not hopeful and urged the UK to “clarify its intentions”.

“The risk of a disorderly withdrawal of the UK has increased with this evening's vote. While we do not want this to happen, we will continue our contingency work to help ensure EU is fully prepared,” Juncker said in a statement shortly after the vote. 

Donald Tusk, the European Council president, outlined the Brexit impasse and suggested Brexit should be called off for the good of both the EU and the UK.

Meanwhile the first thoughts of the president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani was with those Britons in the EU and Europeans in the UK.

“The Brexit vote is bad news. Our first thoughts are with the 3.6 million EU citizens living in the UK and Britons living elsewhere in the EU. They need assurances with regards to their future. We will always stand by their side,” Tajani said.

 

While campaigners for the rights of the 1.2 million Britons in Europe expected the result their anger at being left in limbo by negotiators for 934 days was heightened by May's statement after the defeat.

Kalba Meadows from British in Europe and Remain in France Together told The Local: “There was no great surprise in the result but the sheer hypocrisy in Theresa May's statement afterwards was just breathtaking when she said 'People, particularly EU citizens who have made their home here and UK citizens living in the EU, deserve clarity on these questions as soon as possible.' 

“We've been asking for clarity for over two years now, and neither she nor any of the DExEU Secretaries of State have been willing to meet us.

“I doubt there's one single EU citizen in the UK or UK citizen in the EU that didn't choke on those words. If she really wants to give us certainty, then she must push hard for the ring-fencing of our rights and do so now. It's the only just solution. Human lives must be taken out of this train crash”

The group British in Italy were similarly outraged.

“Following the largest defeat of any government in over 100 years, Theresa May said only that EU citizens in the UK and British nationals in the EU deserve clarity as to their future and their rights.
 
“But she singularly failed to offer any plan as to how to achieve that. 
 
“Our citizens' rights that have already been negotiated and agreed between the UK and EU could so easily be ring-fenced (protected).
 
“Theresa May has offered nothing – not even an extension to the Article 50 period in order to discuss such a proposition with Europe.”
 
Some campaigners said May must now allow the British people to make a decision on what happen's next.
 
Brian Robinson from Brexpats Hear Our Voice told The Local: “The defeat of her personal Brexit deal was comprehensive, despite her frequent threats of the danger of a 'no deal' Brexit. The stark reality is that the clock is still ticking and parliament must urgently restore democracy and respond to the irresistible demands for a People's Vote.”
 
After the vote British in Europe reiterated its call for Theresa May to seek the “ringfencing” of the rights of EU nationals in the Uk and British nationals in the EU. 
 

Citizens' rights campaigners called on Theresa May, who name-checked UK nationals in Europe shortly after the heavy defeat in parliament, to return to Brussels and strike a deal for their rights.

But Theresa May may not be in a position to renegotiate any deal. First of all her government has to survive Wednesday's confidence vote.

It may be a long time yet before Britons in Europe get any clarity over their futures.

Member comments

  1. “Lawmakers in the UK parliament overwhelmingly rejected Theresa May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday evening sparking frustration among EU leaders” – That’s pretty awesome news!

  2. “The numbers represented a crushing defeat for the PM: 202 voted in favour of the agreement but a staggering 432 MPs voted against.

    …the government’s massive defeat, the largest for any government since the 1920s”

    Beautiful! The woman (May) is evil and it’s about time to revolt against her.

  3. Brexit is wrong. The UK must NOT leave the EU. The UK needs the EU and God help us, the EU definitely needs the UK.

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BREXIT

‘Get the TIE now’: Brits in Spain urged to exchange residency document

The British Embassy in Madrid says it's “really important” that the 200,000+ UK nationals in Spain with a green residency certificate exchange it for a TIE card "as soon as possible" to avoid issues with the EU’s new Entry Exit System. 

Published: 13 May 2024 17:00 CEST
'Get the TIE now': Brits in Spain urged to exchange residency document

British authorities in Spain have urged thousands of Brits in Spain who have held onto their old green Spanish residency certificates since Brexit “to follow suit and get a TIE as soon as possible, ahead of the introduction of the EU’s new Entry Exit System (EES), expected in autumn this year”.

“It’s really important that any British person who lives in Spain gets the TIE – not only because it is the most durable and dependable way to prove your rights in Spain, but also to avoid disruption at the border when the EU’s Entry Exit Scheme comes into force,” outgoing British Ambassador Hugh Elliott said in the statement to the press.  

“We are working with the Spanish Government and the EU to prepare for the implementation of this new scheme and we have requested that more TIE appointments are made available.”

READ MORE: How Brits in Spain can exchange their green residency document for a TIE in 2024

The green certificate – issued in either card or A4 sheet size – is the residency document of EU nationals and is officially called Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión. They do not contain a photo, nor do they have an expiry date, and they’re sometimes wrongly called NIEs. 

Example of a smaller green residency certificate, which used to be issued to UK nationals residing in Spain before Brexit took place.

The British Embassy has encouraged Brits with these green certificates to exchange them since the Spanish government began issuing Withdrawal Agreement TIEs to Brits in July 2020.

However, the exchange has never been made compulsory, just strongly encouraged.

The TIE, which stands for Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, is the biometric residence card that non-EU residents in Spain get, so this corresponds to the new status of UK nationals. 

A 2023 study by Spain’s Immigration Observatory revealed that more than half of UK nationals living in Spain last year hadn’t exchanged their green residency documents for TIEs following Brexit. 

This amounted to 211,274 UK nationals residing in Spain who preferred to keep their green certificates rather than follow the advice of British authorities.

However in their latest announcement, the British Embassy says “most British people living in Spain already have the TIE, having abandoned the formerly issued paper Green Certificate following Brexit”.  

The justification for encouraging the exchange up to now has been mainly to avoid problems with border and airport officials, as there have been some British travellers whose green certificates were not recognised as valid residency documents and weren’t allowed to board their flights.

“The biometric TIE proves that the holder is a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary with the right to reside and work in Spain,” the embassy writes. 

So what’s changed now to increase the urgency of British authorities? 

The EU’s new Entry Exit system, which has been marred with problems and delays since its announcement.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Spain and the EU’s new Entry Exit System

“The EES will require all non-EU short stay travellers to register via an automated system at the border. They will need to provide their name, passport details, biometric data (fingerprints and captured facial images) and the date and place of entry and exit upon entering Spain,” wrote the British Embassy in Madrid on Monday. 

“This will replace the current passport stamping at the border. These details will be held on file for three years, meaning Britons making repeat visits to Spain within a three-year period will not have to go through the same registration process each time.  

“To be exempt from registering with the EES, British residents in the EU will need to show a valid uniform-format biometric card, which in Spain is the TIE.” 

In essence, as the EU’s travel system is going fully digital and biometric, the green certificates will no longer be accepted. 

As the UK Embassy writes: “The non-biometric Green Certificate, though a valid residency document in Spain, was issued prior to EU Exit and does not feature in the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement or in Annex 22 of the Schengen Border Guard Handbook. 

“Therefore, it is expected that Green Certificate holders may lose out on the chance to be exempt from registering. 

“As a result, they may encounter difficulties and delays at the border, especially when entering other EU countries where the Green Certificate may not be recognised.”

It’s important to note that the British Embassy has not stated that is now compulsory for Brits to exchange their green certificates for TIEs, but they are strongly advised to do so.

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