There seem to have been a number of cases recently where UK Expat residents have been stopped at roadside checks by the security forces to be told, when checking their documents, that the green residencia card is no longer valid.
Whether these are just isolated incidents or perhaps a wider incidence of the authorities not being in possession of the correct information, the situation has not changed, Green residencia certificates are valid and will remain so. It is not necessary to exchange them for TIE.
San Fulgencio Councillor for Foreign Residents, Darren Parmenter, has pointed me in the direction of two very useful documents, both issued by the Spanish Government, the first of which, a single page in both English and Spanish, he recommends printing off and keeping close at hand.
In outlining Residency rights for UK Nationals, the document states:
- To prove that they are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement and therefore their residence status, they can use the registration certificate (known as, green certificate) either A4 size or credit card, or the new residence document-TIE artículo 50 TUE.
- Registration certificates issued more than 5 years ago also remain valid, even if they do not say ‘permanente’ on them.
In addition, Councillor Parmenter also provides a link to an official Spanish Government guide in English covering many aspects of Brexit and residencias. Information relating to the TIE, which can’t be any clearer, is at the bottom of page 3.
Follow the two links below:
Single page in English and Spanish
Official Spanish Government guide in English covering many aspects of Brexit and residencias.
You’ll see at the bottom of Page 3 that it can’t be any clearer about exchanging to the TIE.
https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/brexit/Documents/GUIDE%20BREXIT%20eng.pdf
