The Spanish Immigration Observatory has published new data which sheds light on British residency trends in Spain this year, from a slight population drop to the ongoing reluctance to swap the old green certificates for post-Brexit TIE residence cards.
207,234 UK nationals have a Withdrawal Agreement TIE residency card in 2025
Around half of UK nationals in Spain now have TIE residency cards. According to government data, a year ago there were slightly more Brits with Withdrawal Agreement (WA) TIEs – 210,538 – reflecting how some Britons have left Spain or have since passed away.
The WA TIE is biometric card which started to be issued to Brits in July 2020. It’s similar to the Spanish residency card of other non-EU nationals but it’s specific to Brits and their non-EU family members. It proves that they were residents in Spain before Brexit came into force, clearly stating their Withdrawal Agreement rights, which are roughly the same ones they had as EU nationals.
Advertisement
130,546 Brits have permanent Withdrawal Agreement TIEs
Spanish migration stats show that around 63 percent of Brits have permanent Withdrawal Agreement TIE cards, while 36 percent have temporary ones (75,572). As it’s been five years since Spanish authorities started issuing temporary WA TIEs, and temporary card holders can renew and move onto a permanent WA TIE after five years, we can expect the number of temporary WA TIEs to keep getting lower.
READ MORE: How Brits in Spain can renew their temporary residency TIE card
187,813 UK nationals still have their green EU certificates
Despite numerous calls over the past years by British and Spanish authorities for Brits to exchange their old green certificates (the Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión) for TIEs, a huge number of UK nationals have opted to keep the Spanish residency document from when they were EU citizens. Even the fact that the EU’s new EES entry system will reportedly make travel difficult for these people has not managed to convince them.
A year ago there were 193,352 UK citizens with green certificates, so the number has dropped by 5,539, but still remains very high .
The latest figure from Spain’s Permanent Immigration Observatory – 187,813 – clashes with the Spanish Interior Ministry’s estimate last July that there were “some 50,000” Brits who hadn’t done the swap.
The exchange remains non-compulsory but strongly advised.
READ MORE: UK Embassy insists Brits in Spain get TIEs or risk being ‘treated as overstayers’
Advertisement
24,037 UK nationals have other post-Brexit residency authorisations
Brits who weren’t living in Spain before Brexit have to apply for a residency visa if they want to live in Spain, just like any other non-EU citizen. Spanish government data shows that as of September 2025, just over 24,000 Britons hold Spanish residency through visas such as the non-lucrative visa or the digital nomad visa. In September 2024, the figure stood at 17,104, reflecting how Brits are still finding ways to move to Spain, albeit far less easily.
READ MORE: Demand for Spanish residency still strong post-Brexit
A total of 419,084 Brits are now Spanish residents
Based on the latest stats by Spain’s Permanent Immigration Observatory, there are slightly over 419,000 Britons who have Spanish residency documents in 2025 (September). That makes them the biggest European non-EU residents’ group living in the country ahead of Russians and Ukrainians. A year earlier in September 2024, that figure stood at 420,357, so Spain’s British population has dropped by just over 1,000 in a year.
172,895 Brits residing in Spain are over 65
Over-65s make up a large chunk of Spain’s British population, about 41 percent of the total. Unfortunately, Spain’s Permanent Immigration Observatory doesn’t break down the 16 to 65 year old age group into smaller categories, but over-65s clearly make up a considerable amount of green certificate and WA TIE holders, much less so for the standard non-EU residency authorisations. The figures showcase just how popular continues to be among British retirees, and more pensioners are arriving compared to last year, when over-65s totalled 169,001.
Alicante and Málaga the favourite places for Brits in Spain
It’s no surprise but the latest immigration data highlights how Alicante continues to be the favourite Spanish province for Brits to live in Spain, as 98,714 UK nationals reside there as of September 2025.
Málaga follows in second place with 73,677 British residents.
Barcelona, Madrid, the Balearics, the Canaries and other parts of coastal Andalusia and Murcia have considerable British populations, but nowhere near as big as the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol.
READ ALSO: UK Embassy singles out Brits in Alicante and Málaga for not getting TIEs
