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BREXIT: Spain stresses TIE card will help resident Brits with border crossings

Although Spanish authorities still say the TIE card isn’t compulsory for British holders of green residence certificates, a new joint message with the British Embassy suggests that the new biometric card could prove more useful than ever.

Published: 23 December 2020 14:07 CET
BREXIT: Spain stresses TIE card will help resident Brits with border crossings
Spain’s Secretary of State for Migration Hana Jalloul. Photo: Screenshot

Spain’s Secretary of State for Migration Hana Jalloul and British Ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliott on Wednesday shared a video with words of reassurance and advice for Britons in Spain, with just a week left until Brexit. 

“I know that many of you have built your homes here and we want you to stay. You are part of the Spanish family. You are part of us,” Jalloul said.

“As I said in July, this is, and will always be, your home… my key message is, as long as you were legally living here before December 31st your rights will be protected, and recognised in Spain”.

The video message also touched on the matter of the ‘Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero’ (TIE), the new biometric residency card which Brits who haven’t registered in Spain before July 6th 2020 have to apply for before December 31st 2020, a card for whom holders of the two old green residency documents (A4 sheet or card-sized) is currently optional.

“More than 50,000 British citizens have applied for the new TIE card,” Jalloul stated.

READ MORE: How many Brits have left Spain and how many are staying?

“The Spanish Government would like to keep on encouraging British Nationals to exchange their green residency document for the new biometric TIE card as it may speed up administrative processes and, especially in the current situation regarding border crossings.”

Previously the emphasis on the advantages of exchanging the documents had been primarily its practicality: a hard, laminated, credit card-sized biometric document which is more robust than the green ‘residencia’ paper certificates that used to be issued.

Earlier messages by the British Embassy had discouraged green certificate holders from applying for the new TIE in order to allow more application spots for Britons who hadn’t registered before, especially at times and in places where there were holdups.

But with travel between the UK and Europe now seeming more difficult than ever, Spanish and British authorities have wanted to highlight how a biometric document that’s scannable by border officials and serves as photo ID could save time and trouble, especially as not all authorities outside of Spain are necessarily familiar with the old, green residency documents.

The UK is after all having to juggle two travel bans from Europe: one due to the new Covid strain that’s developed in the British Isles and the next one once 2021 comes along and under EU Covid restrictions non-resident UK nationals cease to be allowed easy entry as third-country nationals.

READ MORE: 

It’s not the first time British consular authorities point out the advantages of the TIE, but with the bulk of the applications by previously non-residents presumably now registered, the shift seems to be to get as much protection as possible for Brits in Spain during these uncertain times.

“It’s important to be very clear – if you already have a green residency certificate this document remains valid proof of your residency and of your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement,” British Ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliott stressed.

“It is not obligatory to exchange it. There is no hard deadline to exchange it either”.

“I know that some people have had challenges using their green certificate, for example when going to the bank. So, the Spanish government are creating a document that they will share with the relevant authorities and that UK nationals will be able to download.

This is clearly good news for green certificate holders, with one person commenting below the video that even immigration staff at their local extranjería office had wrongly told them the green document would no longer be valid come 2021.

Receiving different information and requirements depending on the immigration office that you deal with in Spain is a recurring problem according to the large number of Britons who highlight this issue on forums. 

“This will clarify the continued validity of the green residency document,” Elliott stated.  

READ MORE: 

 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

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