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BREXIT

BREXIT: Where can Brits in Spain get help with residency applications?

As the end of the transition periods nears, it is more important that ever to secure your rights and register legally as a Briton living in Spain. But if you're worried about the process, there is help at hand.

Published: 22 October 2020 09:30 CEST
BREXIT: Where can Brits in Spain get help with residency applications?
Photo: AFP

New residency card process

On July 6th, UK citizens registering as residents in Spain started to be issued with the highly anticipated TIE residence cards.

A TIE is a “Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero”, an identity card for foreigners which is issued to non-EU residents in Spain.

Although the document may be a reminder for Britons in Spain that they will soon cease to be EU citizens, the TIE also acts as a guarantee that they will hold on to the same rights relating to residency, free movement and social security in the country they've made their home.

These rights will be guaranteed for their family members, even those from non-EU countries, as long as they are already registered or do so before December 31st 2020.

READ MORE – Q&A: What Brits in Spain need to know about the new Brexit-friendly residency card

Difficulties reported

It has  become increasingly difficult to secure an appointment at the extranjeria or foreigners office to begin the process to formalise residency.

There is also a certain amount of confusion around whether or it is best to swap your green resident certificates for the new TIE.

But here's a reminder that for UK citizens who have registered as residents in Spain and are already in possession of a green A4 residency certificate or a small green residency card, the TIE card is optional.

READ ALSO: 

Photo: AFP

 

The Local

We have created a series of articles around the issue of residency in Spain and we are also happy to answer questions from our members on specific topics.

Q&A: What Brits in Spain need to know about the new Brexit-friendly residency card

If we don't already know the answer then we will do our best to find out.

You can also find a lot more detail on residency, healthcare, travel and pensions in our Preparing for Brexit section.

UK-funded organisations

The British government has provided funding to three organisations in Spain to offer help and support Brits with the process. If you don't have internet access or don't feel confident completing the form online they can even do it for you if you don't have friends or family who would be able to help.

If you or someone you know may have difficulty completing the paperwork, you can contact them using the details below to discuss how they may be able to help you.

These organisations are:

IOM – The International Organisation for Migration (Andalusia, Madrid and Murcia). You can visit the IOM Spain website here, email them at UKnationalsSP@iom.int or call one of their helplines:  Andalusia: +34 650 339 754, Madrid: +34 699 581 855, Murcia: +34 648 642 543, all available Mon to Thurs, 3.30pm to 5pm

If you are in Valencia you can seek help from Babelia by visiting their website here emailing info@asociacionbabelia.org or on the helpline: +34 865 820 229 available Mon to Fri, 9am to 2pm

Age in Spain are helping those in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Visit the Age in Spain website hereor email: residency@ageinspain.org, fill out the contact form hereor call the helpline: +34 932 20 97 41 available Mon to Fri, 11am to 1pm

Additionally if you’d rather see someone in person then Age in Catalonia is running three pop up events at A Taste of Home shops in Barcelona, Sitges and Cubelles at the end of October and into November. 

Are you a UK National that needs help getting residency in Spain sorted out? Age in Spain can help! We will be at A…

Posted by A Taste of Home – The English Supermarket on Monday, 19 October 2020

British Embassy

The British Embassy has also been running information and support campaigns for British people living in Spain. Due to the coronavirus situation the Embassy's roadshows have had to cease, but they are still doing live Q&A sessions via their Facebook page and remain available for help.

The Embassy can also take up cases if anyone has been turned down for residency and needs help in appealing. 

Gestors

If you really can't face the process and just want someone else to do it for you then many gestors offer residency card/visa services and are often able to secure appointments when it’s seemingly impossible for everyone else.

Be warned however, you will have to pay extra for their help and will still have to find all the relevant paperwork yourself so that the agent can make the application on your behalf. 

READ MORE:  What does a 'gestor' do in Spain and why you'll need one

More information:

  • Spain's government has a dedicated Brexit page for UK nationals HERE
  • Check out the UK Foreign Office latest advice on Living In Spain HERE 
  • Follow the British Embassy Facebook page for updates as well as Live Q&A sessions HERE
  • Check our Brexit section for all the latest news and updates: HERE

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BREXIT

REVEALED: Thousands of Britons still moving to EU countries despite Brexit

More than 42,000 British citizens moved to EU countries in 2023, with the largest groups recorded in Spain, France and Germany, according to data published recently by the EU statistical office Eurostat.

Published: 20 September 2024 16:44 CEST
REVEALED: Thousands of Britons still moving to EU countries despite Brexit

The data refers to the number of first-time residence permits being issued last year.

It’s defined as “any authorisation issued by the authorities of an EU country allowing a third-country national (non-EU citizen) to stay legally on its territory”.

Based on information provided by national authorities to the EU statistical office, 42,029 first-time residence permits were issued to UK citizens in 2023, a slight drop compared to the 45,794 in 2022.

The largest proportion of these permits were issued for employment reasons(13,423), followed by family reunions (11,074), “other reasons” (10,961), and then education (6,571). “Other reasons” include any option not covered by the other three, from retirement to international protection.

Spain and France the most popular

Spain is the country that issued the largest number of new residence permits to UK citizens (10,166), but only 1,266 were because of jobs. Most of the first-time permits (3,768) were issued for ‘other reasons’, followed by family (3,311) and education purposes (1,821).

The recent news that a British football coach was denied a dream move to Real Madrid due to work permit rules showed that Britons can’t move to Spain so easily after Brexit especially for employment reasons.

The coach found out the hard way that getting a work permit to live in Spain is now quite tricky, especially for young Brits, who will need to prove that they’re highly skilled while employers must demonstrate that there are no other suitable candidates.

To give some perspective, although the data is not exactly comparable, Eurostat’s immigration data show that some 23,900 British citizens moved to Spain alone in 2018, and over 33,900 in 2019 – so prior to Brexit.

READ ALSO: The reasons why Brits are moving to Spain post-Brexit

France followed, with 8,114 first residence permits granted to UK nationals (although France’s Interior Ministry released figures earlier this year that revealed a slightly higher number of Brits – 9,261 – had been given residency permits in 2023).

The largest proportion of permits received by Brits in France was for employment reasons (3,649), coming before education (1,798), other reasons (1,666) and family reunions (1,001).

READ ALSO: Thousands of Brits move to France despite post-Brexit hurdles

Germany reported 4,584 first residence permits to UK citizens in 2023, of which 1,765 for work, 1,468 for other reasons, 882 for family reunions and 469 for education.

READ ALSO: The reasons Brits are moving to Germany post-Brexit

The other two most popular countries for British nationals in 2023 were the Netherlands (3,750 first residence permits of which 1,713 for employment) and Portugal (2,565 of which 1,144 for other reasons).

Italy reported 2,177 first residence permits for UK citizens, of which 1,124 for other reasons 621 to join family, 278 for employment and 154 for education.

For Denmark, the total was 1,852, but the majority (1,264) were for work purposes, 280 to join family, 243 for education and 65 other reasons.

Sweden issued 1,632 first residence permits to British nationals, mostly for family reasons (710), followed by employment (474), education (247), and other reasons (201).

Austria reported 529 first residence permits to UK citizens, of which 201 for employment, 191 for family reasons, 70 for education, and 67 for other purposes.

Outside of the EU, but part of the free movement area, Norway registered 1,736 new residence permits to UK nationals, of which 1,033 for employment, 366 to join family, 146 for education, and 201 for other reasons.

In Norway, Britons were the third nationality for first residence permits and in Bulgaria the fourth, although the number of UK citizens moving to Central and Eastern Europe is much lower than in Western Europe.

The Eurostat database does not yet include 2023 data for Switzerland.

Data on first-time residence permits gives a general indication on the number of people who moved to EU countries in a given year, although Eurostat told The Local that “the date of issuance of a permit does not necessarily mean the physical movement of the person on that date, as non-EU citizens might have already temporarily resided on the basis of e.g. short stay visa” or due to irregular stays.

More than 3.7 million first residence permits

In total, in 2023 EU countries reported the granting of more than 3.7 million first residence permits, a 4.7 percent increase compared to 2022, and the highest number ever recorded.

Employment remained the main reason (1.3 million or 33.8%), followed by family (986,000 or 26.4% of the total), other purposes (956,000 or 25.6%) and education (185,900 or 14.3%). The increase compared to 2022 was due to permits issued for education, family reunification and other reasons, while those for employment slightly declined.

The top 10 nationalities receiving these permits were Ukraine, Belarus, India, Morocco, Syria, Türkiye, Russia, China, Brazil and Afghanistan.

Poland issued the largest number of first residence permits in the EU (642,789), followed by Germany (586,144), Spain (548,697), Italy (389,542) and France (335,074).

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