In this week’s Inside Spain, we delve further into the problem of Brits being turned away when trying to renew their residency cards before expiry, what the UK Embassy has to say about it and how Spain isn’t the only country struggling with this.
Our most read article this week looked at how an increasing number of UK nationals are being turned away when attempting to renew their Spanish residency cards, the TIEs.
It’s happening to those with temporary cards issued under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) when they attempt to renew in the 30 days prior to the card’s expiry, as the law allows for according to the Spanish Immigration Ministry’s own ‘Brexit manual’.
However, Spanish police are telling most of these WA TIE holders to wait until their temporary cards expire before applying for a permanent card.
Not ideal in a country where citas previas (migration appointments) are as elusive as the Iberian lynx.
Many fear falling into a sort of ‘illegal’ status if they can’t secure an appointment on the trouble-ridden cita system in the three months after expiry.
READ ALSO: How Brits in Spain can renew their temporary residency TIE card
We got in touch with the UK Embassy, who told us that “This is the responsibility of the Spanish authorities” but that “The British Embassy in Madrid is raising this issue with the Spanish government to support British nationals to renew their residency cards.”
Will it change anything? Let’s hope so.
If it’s any consolation, our colleagues at The Local Italy have told us that Britons in Italy are also being turned away when trying to renew their Italian residency cards before their expiration date.
In France, the website foreigners use to process their residency applications is reportedly very buggy, so much so that a French court has given the government “six months” to fix it.
And it’s not just this Mediterranean bureaucratic brotherhood giving foreigners headaches; non-EU nationals in other countries such as Germany, Sweden and Norway also report long delays and processing issues when applying and renewing residency documents.
READ MORE: Lives of foreigners across Europe hit by residency card delays
So it’s clear to see that Brits and other foreigners in Spain are not alone in Europe when it comes to dealing with arduous and stressful paperwork that’s essential for their daily lives.
Yes, it’s frustrating when every other civil servant, police station or migration office seems to have a different interpretation of the rules, or to have to try 500 times to book an appointment and be faced by the same no hay citas disponibles message.
But in a continent where many governments are now tightening citizenship and residency rules for foreigners, Spain is proving itself to be the most welcoming country for immigrants in the bloc.
READ ALSO: ‘It took three appointments to get my TIE card renewed in Spain’
It’s worth stressing too that Brits that fall under the Withdrawal Agreement have rights similar to those they enjoyed before Brexit and that Spanish authorities will not be rescinding anyone’s residency because they’ve been unable to renew their cards.
Perhaps the biggest challenge could come if travelling back to Spain with an expired TIE.
You may be asked to produce an autorización de regreso (return permit) although it could well suffice to explain that “he intentado renovar mi TIE pero nunca hay citas disponibles” (I’ve tried to renew my TIE but there are never any appointments available), and showing your expired WA TIE.
READ ALSO: How to travel back to Spain on an expired or soon-to-be-expired residency card
Last year, the UK Embassy in Madrid told The Local that they advise Brits residing in Spain against travelling with an expired TIE from October 12th when the new EES passport checks began.
If travel is necessary, UK residents without valid documentation (due to expiry/loss) “are encouraged to travel directly to the host State in which they enjoy a right to reside”, they said back then.
Non-EU residents in Spain don’t have to register with EES but with an expired residency document some airport officials may have doubts, especially those not in Spain.
Now we’re in May 2026 and the full implementation of the Entry/Exit system supposedly took place in April (it’s still having problems, as you may know).
READ ALSO: ‘Not all EES machines work’ – Your views on the Entry/Exit System in Spain
It’s all a bit of un lío (a mess), isn’t it? Best of luck to those looking to secure an appointment for their TIE renewal, ‘keep calm, and carry on cita previa-ing’.
