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BREXIT

Brits refused flight home to Spain after Brexit paperwork error

British residents of Spain trying to fly home on Saturday were stopped from boarding their flight to Madrid after airline staff said their residency documents were no longer valid.

Published: 3 January 2021 10:18 CET
Updated: 3 January 2021 14:47 CET
Brits refused flight home to Spain after Brexit paperwork error
Illustration photo of Heathrow Airport, December 2020: AFP

Nine people were not allowed to board the joint BA/Iberia flight at Heathrow on Saturday evening because they were told their green residency papers were no longer valid.

Both the Spanish and British governments had previously stated that the old Foreign National Identification (NIE) document and the new Foreign ID Card (TIE) would still allow travel after Brexit.

British journalist and photographer Max Duncan was among the nine who were refused onto the flight and tweeted from the airport.

Responding to Max, the British Embassy in Madrid tweeted:  “This should not be happening, the Spanish authorities have reconfirmed again this evening that the green residency document will be valid for travel to return to Spain as stated in our travel advice.”

It was not just the Madrid flight that was affected. Another person tweeted:

Spain's foreign ministry later confirmed that “a very small number of travellers” were affected by “a specific communication problem with some airlines.”

“Once brought to the attention of the Spanish authorities, it was corrected immediately, and today (Sunday) air traffic between the United Kingdom and Spain flows normally,” added the spokeswoman.

Although journalist Max Duncan tweeted that some people's Covid tests are now no longer valid so they have to wait longer before returning to Spain.  

The British embassy in Madrid updated their travel advice on their Facebook page on Saturday evening reaffirming that the green residency document will be accepted for travel to return to Spain.

It added it had also received many messages from UK residents in Spain who did not have either the green residency document or TIE card to return to Spain under current restrictions. 

It said that the embassy had requested greater flexibility from the Spanish government for certain cases, including students, those who have started the residency process but have been unable to collect their TIE card and those caring for the elderly or other compassionate cases.

Spain restricted passenger travel from Britain on December 22 due to the rapid spread of a new coronavirus strain identified in the UK, with exceptions for Spanish nationals and those legally resident in Spain.

Around 370,000 Brits are registered as living in Spain – more than in any other EU country and thousands more are believed to be settled in the country without ever having notified the authorities.

Britons can keep their residency rights in Spain, as long as they applied for residency before December 31, when Britain's transition period out of the EU ended.

The Spanish government announced last year that in the light of Brexit, British residents in Spain would be given a photo ID card that would replace the former residency paper carried by EU citizens.

Tens of thousands of Britons have registered for the new card and the application process appears to have gone smoothly. However, there are no available dates to collect the card because the system is so overloaded.

READ ALSO: BREXIT: What Brits in Europe need to know about travel from January 2021

 

 

 

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TOURISM

‘It’s become unliveable’: Spain’s Málaga plans protests against mass tourism

After recent protests in the Canaries and seemingly growing anti-tourism sentiment across Spain, locals in the Costa del Sol city of Málaga are also planning demonstrations in June against the 'touristification' of their city.

Published: 2 May 2024 11:20 CEST
'It's become unliveable': Spain's Málaga plans protests against mass tourism

Locals in Málaga are set to take to the streets in protest against mass-tourism in June, demanding an end to the ‘touristification’ of their city.

This comes after large protests in the Canary Islands in recent weeks and growing anti-tourist sentiment around the country.

Tension among locals in places such as Barcelona, Valencia, the Balearic and Canary Islands, as well as Málaga, stems from frustration with the mass tourism model and its impact on their cities.

READ ALSO: Why Spain is a cheap mass tourism destination

Often, it is also about the post-pandemic influx of remote workers and digital nomads from abroad, many of whom come to Spain to enjoy a (relatively speaking) cheaper cost of living with high foreign wages and purchasing power than many local Spaniards struggle to compete with.

READ ALSO: Mass protests in Spain’s Canary Islands decry overtourism

In this sense, much of the building anti-mass tourism sentiment brewing in Spain is bundled up in a more general (and at times somewhat confused or misplaced) anti-foreigner feeling that views outsiders, whether it be traditional tourists or digital nomads, as exploiting Spain and the expense of Spaniards.

In cities such as Málaga, locals are being priced out of their own neighbourhoods as more and more properties are turned into short-term tourist rentals owned by landlords (many of them Spaniards or commercial multi-property owners) wanting to cash in.

A growing number of Malagueños have had enough and will take to the streets on June 29th under the slogan ‘for decent housing and against the processes of touristification and precariousness of life’.

The event’s aim is to protest the tourist model in the city: ‘Málaga has become an unliveable city for those of us who live there. It is over! For a Málaga to live in and not to survive’ are among the catchphrases expected to be used at the demonstration.

Organised by the Málaga Tenants Union, the protest will challenge the ‘exploitation of housing, work and life’ in the Andalusian city.

Locals would say this has been a long time coming. In many ways, Málaga has become a victim of its own success, particularly after it was voted as the best city for foreign residents in the InterNations Expat City Ranking 2023. In the post-pandemic period, scores of foreigners have moved to the city.

READ ALSO:  Why Spain’s Málaga is becoming a victim of its own success

So much so that eight out of 10 new residents moving to Málaga are currently foreigners, according to recent data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). Stats show that in 2022 Málaga welcomed a total of 56,242 inhabitants, of which 44,656 were foreigners and 11,586 were Spanish nationals.

In recent months the city has become inundated with anti-tourist stickers.

“This used to be my home” (antes esta era mi casa) , “go f*cking home” (a tu puta casa), “stinking of tourist” (apestando a turista), “this used to be the city centre” (antes esto era el centro) and “Your dead loved ones, mayor” (Alcalde tus muertos) are some of the hostile messages recently adorning walls and doors in Málaga.

READ ALSO: ‘Get the f*ck out of here’: Spain’s Málaga plastered with anti-tourism stickers

The growing foreign population, combined with the pre-existing mass tourist model, has inflated the local property market. Rental prices have increased by 16.5 percent compared since the end of 2022 and have now reached an average of €15.5/m2, stats from property portal Idealista show, while the cost to buy a home in Málaga has increased by 11 percent to an average of €3,049/m2, reaching a new historic high.

According to a study by HelloSafe, Málaga is the second most expensive province in the country when compared to the average salary, just behind Barcelona. It estimates that 81 percent of the average salary in Málaga is used on living and rent.

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