Residing in Spain on 31 December 2020 and their families
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Residing in Spain on 31 December 2020 and their families
Residing in Spain on 31 December 2020 and their families
Information for UK nationals residing in Spain on 31 December 2020 and their families
ATTENTION: WITH THE ENTRY INTO OPERATION OF THE ENTRY/EXIT SYSTEM, BENEFICIARIES OF THE WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT WILL BE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN A TIE (TARJETA DE IDENTIDAD DE EXTRANJERO) TO BE EXEMPT FROM THE NEW CONTROLS ESTABLISHED BY THIS SYSTEM.
New border crossing requirements after the entry into operation of the Entry/Exit System
With the forthcoming entry into operation of the EU's new computerized external border crossing systems (Entry/Exit System; EES, expected in November 2024, and European Travel Information and Authorisation System; ETIAS in the first half of 2025) the Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (“TIE art.50 TEU”) will be the only document that allows the beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement to be exempt from the accounting of their time of stay in the EES, and from the application for travel authorization through ETIAS. The registration certificate or the EU citizen's family member card will therefore not be sufficient to avoid these controls.
Information for UK nationals residing in Spain on 31 December 2020 and their families
The Withdrawal Agreement established a transitional period from 1 February 2020, the date on which the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU took effect, until 31 December 2020.
Under its terms, all UK nationals and their families residing in Spain before the end of that transitional period, will maintain their rights arising from the application of Union law (except for the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament and the exercise of the EU Citizens’ Legislative Initiative).
The Withdrawal Agreement offers Member States two possibilities to address the documentation process:
- lay down a procedure of a constituent nature, in which a new residence status must be applied for in the host State (Article 18.1);
- Do not set down this procedure and issue, if citizens so request, a residence document expressly identifying them as beneficiaries of the Agreement (18.4).
Spain has opted for this second option, and based on this, and on the Commission Implementing Decision of 21.2.2020 on documents to be issued by Member States pursuant to Article 18(1) and (4) and Article 26 of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Instruction signed by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration and the Ministry of Interior, was published on July 4.
This Instruction determines the procedure to obtain the document that expressly accredits the beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement as such, distinguishing between those who already had a registration certificate or a European Union citizen's family card, and those who were not in possession of them for various reasons. The system established facilitates the accreditation of the status of beneficiary for those who had complied with the obligation to have the registration certificate or the family card: in these cases it is a one-step procedure at the Police Offices in which one document is exchanged for the other, and the “TIE art.50” is obtained.
On the other hand, those who never had the required documentation can go to the Immigration Offices and prove their status as beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement at any time and with any legally valid means of proof. Once a favourable resolution has been obtained, they can go to the Police Office to issue the “TIE art.50 TUE”.
With the forthcoming entry into force of the new computerized systems for crossing the EU's external borders (Entry/Exit System; EES, expected in November 2024, and European Travel Information and Authorisation System; ETIAS in the first half of 2025), this “TIE art.50 TUE” will be the only document that allows the beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement to be exempt from the accounting of their time of stay in the EES and the application for travel authorization through ETIAS. In other words, the registration certificate or the family card will not be valid to avoid these controls.
Therefore, all those British citizens who do not yet have an “TIE art. 50 TUE”, should apply for it as soon as possible.
For more information you may consult this guide of possible questions and answers about the situation of UK nationals residing in Spain and their family members due to BREXIT.
In addition, in the following links you can find more information on who benefits from the Withdrawal Agreement and what are their rights:
- European Commission: EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement - Citizens' rights - Related links.
- Communication from the Commission - Guidance Note to Title II Citizens’ rights under withdrawal agreement.
- Commission Question and Answer Guide.
For those arriving after the end of the transitional period, i.e. from January 1, 2021, and in general for those who are not included in the application of the Withdrawal Agreement, the general immigration regime, i.e. the national regime applicable to third country nationals, will apply.