British Embassy in Madrid offers advice to UK nationals living in Spain about new residency system arrangements

The British Embassy in Spain’s Madrid has issued a warning to UK nationals living in Spain to wait for more information from the Spanish authorities before considering paying for any additional services related to residency.

Taking to social media on their ‘Brits in Spain’ Facebook page the Embassy offered the following advice, “We understand that there are lots of rumours going around on social media about the new residency system for UK nationals and that as a result people are concerned.

“As you will be aware from our previous posts and the Ambassador’s recent video, the Spanish government is introducing a new residency document for those UK nationals who are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement – the Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero or TIE.

“We understand that this will be introduced shortly and instructions are being issued to local authorities in the next few days. This will mean a revised appointments process for UK nationals – we expect details to be published on www.lamoncloa.gob.es and we will share this information as soon as we have it.

“We also understand that in some areas there may be a gap of about a week between the current system and the introduction of the new one, where no appointments will be available. This is a change in the system and does nothing to affect your overall rights.

“Whether you have the green A4 certificate, the green credit card-sized version (pic above) or whether you are issued directly with the TIE – all remain equally valid in demonstrating your rights as a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement, even after the end of the Transition Period. You may choose to exchange your current certificate for a TIE in due course, but it is not obligatory.

They stressed, “We know how keen people are to understand the new system, but we would encourage you to wait for official information from the Spanish authorities before you consider paying for any additional services related to residency. We expect this official information in the next few days and we will share it as soon as we have it.”