Regulations concerning Residencia as of July 6

Deekerh53 wrote on Sun Jul 5, 2020 10:56am:

Many thanks for posting this and again for all your previous articles on this subject, much appreciated.

Deekerh53 wrote on Sun Jul 5, 2020 10:56am:

Many thanks for posting this and again for all your previous articles on this subject, much appreciated.

DarioMartin wrote on Sun Jul 5, 2020 1:41am:

Copied and pasted from a news article.  
Please note the provisions regarding residence of one country only in paragraph 15 and automatic tax residence (and subsequent automatic cessation of UK tax residence) in paragraph 17.  It is a little inaccurate, as it talks about a non reside...

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...nt being only able to stay 90 days in 180 “after the end of the transition period” but this already applies to whole of Schengen zone and still seems to be a popular misconception that as a non resident, you can stay 6 months.  You can’t.

BRITISH nationals living in Spain can apply for a non-EU 'residence card' from Monday, July 6, the General Directorate of Migration and Police has confirmed – but this is not compulsory for those who already hold the so-called 'green certificate'.

Provided for in Article 18.4 of Title II in the Brexit withdrawal agreement, Brits living in Spain do not have to apply for what is known as a Tarjeta de Identidad del Extranjero ('Foreigners' ID card', or TIE), but have a right to do so if they wish, since this photo-card document is a simple way of proving residence and showing who you are.

Article 18.4 establishes that each EU member State can opt to allow UK nationals and their families who reside permanently there before the end of the transition period on New Year's Eve to not have to request a 'new' residence document if they do not want to do so, meaning they will not have to go through the process involved.

If they do decide to a acquire a TIE, it will expressly state their condition as a beneficiary of the withdrawal agreement.

Temporary residence documents are valid for five years and permanent ones for 10, but this is in keeping with the requirement of Spanish nationals to renew their national ID cards (DNI) every few years, in the same way as most countries do with a passport.

Renewing a TIE is likely to be a simple process involving a form, photograph and a small fee.

Applications for a TIE after the end of the transition period on December 31 will be considered individually on their merits, and if the foreigners' office believes the reasons for missing the deadline are justified, it may decide to offer an extension.

The withdrawal agreement does not require Brits' physical presence in Spain before the transition period ends, in accordance with Article 11, and temporary absences from the country that do not affect residence rights, including extended absences, will not prevent Brits from obtaining a TIE.

Residence cards will have a minimum validity period of five years, and applications for permanent resident cards will be accepted provided they fulfil the requirements of Article 15 of the withdrawal agreement.

This includes having been legally resident in Spain for at least five years, even if any current residence document has not yet expired.

The five-year period will be deemed to have started when the initial, temporary certificate was issued – if indeed this has been issued.

Many British expats have been rushing to get their 'green certificates' – which do not carry a photograph or fingerprint and cannot be used to prove identity, and which are now in credit-card size rather than the original A4 version launched in 2008 – before the end of the transition period.

It is not clear whether this is essential in light of Brexit, but doing so should make the process of acquiring a TIE much simpler. 

Anyone planning to live in Spain for the majority of the year should ensure they have a document proving their residence – either a 'green certificate' issued before now or a TIE – before the end of the transition period to avoid admin headaches and other problems. 

The maximum time a non-resident Brit can stay in the EU after the transition period will be 90 days in any 180-day period, and a person of any nationality can only have residence in one country, meaning acquiring this in Spain will automatically imply renouncing one's residence in the UK.

There are no exceptions to the rule, meaning British nationals living mainly in the UK cannot stay in Spain – or the EU as a whole – for four or five months continuously, but will have to return to Britain until the next 180-day period; unless, of course, they acquire a working or student visa where these are appropriate.

This is a separate issue from tax residence which, in Spain, means living in the country for 183 days or more in a calendar year, not necessarily continuously, and is automatic in these circumstances, making the person non-tax resident in the UK.

Moving to Spain after the end of the transition period will still be possible for British nationals, but will be subject to third-country requirements and will not be an automatic right as it is whilst the UK is still – in all but name, at least – an EU member.

truenudist wrote on Sun Jul 5, 2020 11:29am:

Just to follow on from Dario's hard work. 

The following is a translated extract from a BOE bulletin issued on 4thJuly 2020.

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 If the national of the United Kingdom is the holder of a temporary registration certificate and has not reached five years of legal residence in Spain, he may personally request the issuance of the residence document before the established police units.

- At the time of their request, the interested citizen must provide the following documentation:

• Application form -EX 23 Card application (art. 18.4 Withdrawal Agreement).

• Valid and valid passport of the applicant. In the event that the passport is expired, a copy of it and the renewal application must be provided.

• Proof of payment of the corresponding fee (form 790, code 012).

• A photograph, in accordance with the requirements established in the national identity document regulations.

- At the time of delivery of the residence document, the citizen must prove that he is the recipient of the document by presenting his valid and valid passport.

- This residence document will be valid for five years and the term «Temporary» will be entered in the field corresponding to the Type of Permit. After its validity, it must be automatically renewed in accordance with the provisions of instruction 6.a

The whole bulletin is a bit long winded and of course is in Spanish but for those that would like to read it it can be found here.

https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2020/07/04/pdfs/BOE-A-2020-7276.pdf. I can also let you have a full copy of the translation.

The bottom line is if you want to change your existing green card for a new TIE you can ( guess it will take time ! ) and you need an EX23 form of which I have a PDF. I'm happy to send anyone that wants a copy if you PM me.

DarioMartin wrote on Sun Jul 5, 2020 12:02pm:

Thanks for that - I reach 5 years just after end of transition period or thereabouts, so I won’t bother exchanging until I reach 5 years ... although looking at the wording of the BOE, it seems to suggest that exchanging temporary for permanent will be easier if you already have TIE 🤔 

I’ll have a chat to my Asesora, she has friends in Extranjeria ... see if I can get some guidance...

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DarioMartin wrote on Tue Jul 7, 2020 7:04pm:

Further info on the process, originally posted by Anne Hernández, Brexpats in Spain:

THE TIE (RESIDENT CARD) FOR NON-EU CITIZENS (BRITISH CITIZENS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT)

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I cannot stress this enough but if you already have a green residency (A4 paper or credit-card size) you do NOT have to do anything to exchange it for the TIE. Until further notice and, for as long as you remain a resident here, that green residency will remain valid. You can apply to exchange it on a voluntary basis at any time but it is NOT an obligation to do so. In fact, it is preferred you wait until after the transition period to avoid clogging up the system because many newly arriving Brits are going to be rushing to get theirs!

You are legally obliged to keep it updated though - change of address etc and this can be done at your nearest National Police station or, in its absence, from the Foreign Office of your province (both by prior appointment). To prove your change of address it is advised to take a current padrón (issued within the last 3 months) from your local town hall that proves you are an inhabitant of the municipio. If you change from renting to buying a property then for a few euros you can also get a new Nota Simple (summary of Deeds) from the Property Registry that proves you to be the owner.

If you have had your green residency for 5 years and want to change from temporary to permanent, as before, by prior appointment, you can also do this at the nearest National Police station.

For any changes to your existing green residency, apart from the TIE application form, the only extra thing you will need to take that you didn’t need to present before is a colour passport photo (Spanish-sized not UK-sized) because you will be issued with a TIE and might also be needing fingerprints but that is yet to be clarified.

The UK had until 30 June to request an extension to the transition period, it did not so after 31 December, that period will end and things will change for new arrivals to Spain after that date because we shall become third-country nationals. As EU citizens it was our right to reside in an EU country, as third-country nationals we have follow a different system of the country to allow us to reside. Spain has opted for the declaratory system so the grace period of 6 months thereafter (until end June 2021) does not apply.

What does this mean?

Any British nationals who do not already have a green residency should apply for their TIE before 31 December if they wish to take advantage of the Withdrawal Agreement that protects our rights as EU citizens until then. For those who apply after 31 December 2020 but have been living in Spain prior to this date will have to prove the fact of their residency in Spain and we do not have confirmation of what evidence they would accept to demonstrate this.

This involves a new system. Until 31 December the same documentation is required plus a photo and possibly fingerprints, the TIE application form must be completed and presented with the documentation. The initial application must be made at the province’s Foreign Office by prior appointment or online using your digital signature, if you have one. Within 3 months you will receive their decision and, if positive, an appointment must be made within one month at your nearest National Police station to then collect your TIE. If a negative decision is given, you are entitled to lodge your appeal.

This same new 2-step system will apply for all Brits arriving after 31 December who wish to apply for residency but they will have to meet the more strict requirements as third-country nationals.