Brexit: New Residency Procedure for British Nationals

Sponsored by Klev&Vera International Law Firm.

For UK Nationals who wish to reside in Spain post-Brexit, Spain introduced in the beginning of July a new procedure to obtain residency certificates. This has caused a good bit of confusion and numerous questions from the British expat community living in Spain. We caught up with immigration attorney, Anna Klevtsova to get some of the most common questions answered.

What is the difference between the new residency application process and the old one?

Until recently the British nationals who wanted to live in Spain needed to apply for a residence certificate under the same procedure as any other EU national. The Withdrawal Agreement between UK and EU sets a transitional period that ends on December 31, 2020. It is a multilateral treaty that is obligatory for all signatory countries. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, UK citizens retain all the same rights as any EU citizen—essentially, as if the country were still a member of the EU.

However, Spain has introduced a new two-step procedure for all residency applications for UK nationals that are filed from July 6, 2020 onward. All new applicants must first apply for a residence authorization in the immigration office of the province where they live. Then, after the authorization is granted, they must apply for a residence card in their local immigration police station. UK citizens will not be issued a green-residency certificate as had been done in the past, but with a credit-card type ID called a tarjeta de identidad del extranjero (TIE). This TIE card will indicate the type of permit as “Beneficiary of Article 50 TEU” and state that it has been “issued in accordance with Article 18.4 of the Withdrawal Agreement.”

So then is it the same procedure as for third-country nationals, such as Americans or Australians?

No, it is a sort of transition between the application process for EU citizens and third-country nationals. The two-step scheme is the same in principle, but with the significant difference that currently the requirements for UK nationals in the first step remains the same as for the other EU citizens during the transitional period until December 31, 2020. Also, all paperwork is done in Spain directly, not through the consulates. The two steps are:

1. Obtaining a residence authorization from the immigration office of the province you reside in.
2. Obtaining a TIE card in a police station of the province you reside in.

Can you speak more about the requirements? What documents are needed for each step?

For the first step—the same as you would need to bring to the police station up until now:

• Your passport.
• Depending on your status in Spain, your employment contract or registration as a sole trader.
• Or, if you don’t intend to work initially, proof of funds of about €7,000 and a private health insurance policy.
• You would also need your padrón (address registration), however several town halls don’t issue a padrón unless you already have a NIE, so if that is your case you can bring an alternative proof of address to the immigration office.

The new procedure requires to prove that you already started your residence in Spain by “any proof accepted in Law”. Basically any of the ones mentioned will do, but it is better to study individually to see what else you could provide.

Note that the application forms have changed and now there is a new form called EX-20.

Step one of the application can be submitted electronically—if you have a digital certificate or through a legal representative. If you don’t have a digital certificate, then you need to book an appointment with the immigration office, and the procedure is different for each region. In Barcelona you need to send them an email to the email address created specifically for that.

Once submitted, you will receive a receipt that will be sufficient to prove your legal stay in Spain until the application is resolved.

After you receive the authorization from the immigration office, you have one month to apply for your TIE card—a credit-card size residency card—at the corresponding police station.

For that you will need to book an appointment with the police on the immigration office website. Depending on the region the exact option may vary, but in all of them it will have the word BREXIT. In Barcelona, for example, the exact option says “Policia—expedición tarjeta asociada al acuerdo de retirada de ciudadanos británicos y sus familiares (BREXIT)."

Is there anything specific I need to bring to the appointment at the police station, or is just my passport is enough?

In Spain, it is never enough, and yes, you will need to bring a different set of forms: the new one is called EX-23. You will also need to pay a fee in advance, for now it remains the same as the fee for the EU citizens—€12. You will also need to bring passport-size photos, as the new card is a photo ID, and a copy of the residency authorization that you received.

How long will the process take?

It will certainly take much longer than it did before. The first step, by law, can take up to three months. I am hopeful that it will be much less. We submitted the first few applications online last week and are waiting impatiently to see the outcome. Those must literally be the first applications submitted.

And, in terms of the time frame, this process is for new applications submitted from July 6, 2020 to December 31, 2020.

What will happen after December 31, 2020?

Unfortunately, I do not yet have the answer. It will depend on the outcome of the negotiations between the UK and EU and if there will finally be a deal or at least any specific agreement on the movements of persons. Considering the very close relations between Spain and UK I am confident there will be an agreement of some sort to regulate the procedure for the new arrivals after January 1, 2021. We will see in the next few months.

What about those who already have the green residency certificate, do they need to exchange it for the new TIE cards?

Those people do not need to do anything; the green residency certificate will remain valid as a proof of your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. The British Embassy has been very reassuring in this topic.

Eventually British nationals with the green residency certificates may choose to exchange it for a TIE card. However, it is a good idea not to rush with it. The British community in Spain is quite large and the immigration offices are already backlogged due to the extended lockdown and continuing office closures in many areas. Applying for your TIE now would only increase the backlog and potentially collapse the immigration office.

When the time comes for you to exchange the green certificate, you can go directly to step two to obtain your TIE at a police station.

If you have questions that you would like answered or are looking for professional advice about how the new residency requirements affect you, your family or your business, you can contact Klev&Vera at (+34) 93 17 60 190.

Anna Klevtsova is managing partner of Klev&Vera with over 18 years of experience in public service and international cooperation projects. Anna leads the corporate and immigration practice, specializing in company formations, investment transactions and immigration strategies. Anna is fluent in English, Russian, Spanish and also speaks French and Catalan.

Sponsored by Klev&Vera International Law Firm.

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