The importance of the TIE residents card for UK residents in Spain post-Brexit

FOR YEARS, MANY BRITISH nationals living in Spain have been issued with a small green piece of paper that proves their right to residency in the country, but a new official document introduced last year now replaces the previous residency card.

If you already possess a Spanish residency document, either the A4 paper document or a smaller credit card sized certificate, they remain valid as proof of your residency in Spain and also prove your rights of entitlement under the EU/UK Withdrawal Agreement.

But with the new TIE residency card comes a new residency status specifically created for British nationals which sits in between complete EU entitlement and the status of non-EU citizens that applies after the end of the UK´s transition period.

Since 6th July last year, any UK citizen applying for residence in Spain will be issued this biometric TIE card if they meet the requirements for residency.

British residents in Spain are under no obligation to exchange their existing residency documents for the new TIE card, but doing so can provide benefits and protect their rights in the future.

What is a TIE residency card?

A TIE card is a Foreigners Identity Card (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero), an identity card for foreigners which is issued to non-EU residents in Spain.

About the size of a credit card, the TIE is far more technically advanced than the small slip of green paper that it replaces, and contains biometric information about the cardholder and a passport-sized photograph.

Do I need a TIE residents card?

UK citizens and British nationals who have not yet registered as residents in Spain but intend to live in the country after December 31st 2020 (for more than 90 days every 180 days) will need to get a TIE card.

For UK citizens who have registered as residents in Spain and already possess a green A4 residency certificate or a small green residency card, the TIE card is optional.

Despite being optional, many British residents in Spain have chosen to replace their green residency certificates with TIE's since they began to be issued.

What are the benefits of the TIE Spanish residency card?

For British nationals (residents of England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland), the TIE documents individual protected rights, personal rights as a beneficiary of the EU/UK Withdrawal Agreement, including the right to live and work in Spain, and lifelong access to healthcare for UK state pensioners, including those who claim a pension in the future (after one year of being resident).

Previously the emphasis on the advantages of exchanging existing documents for the new TIE had been primarily the practicality of the new format: a flexible, laminated, credit card-sized biometric document which is more robust than the green "residencia" paper certificates that were issued before.

But in the future, the TIE is expected to simplify administrative processes and, especially in the current climate, facilitate the hassle-free exercise of rights such as border crossings or international travel.

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 a photo ID, could save time and trouble, especially as not all authorities outside of Spain are necessarily familiar with the older green residency documents.

The UK is currently subjected to effectively two travel bans from Europe: one imposed by Spain due to the COVID variant of concern that appeared on the British mainland, and the EU mobility restrictions that currently prohibit non-resident third-country nationals from entering Europe.

Applying for your TIE in Spain, what's the procedure?

Earlier messages by the British Embassy had discouraged green certificate holders from applying for the new TIE to allow more application opportunities for Britons who had not registered before, especially at times and in places where there were delays.

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 your rights under the EU/UK Withdrawal Agreement," British Ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott stated.

"It is not obligatory to exchange it, and there is no hard deadline to exchange it either. But I know that some people have had challenges using their green certificate, for example when going to the bank, so the Spanish Government have introduced a document that they will share with the relevant authorities."

Would you like to exchange your residency document for a Spanish residency TIE card? Contact us and we´ll arrange your TIE for you.

Take a look at the property featured in this article. This beautiful beach apartment in Cabo Roig is on the market right now, view the property listing and photos of this wonderful Mediterranean home.