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Green residency certificates still valid for UK citizens in Spain
It is not yet a requirement for British citizens in Spain to make the switch to a TIE
Although many companies are pushing their services for helping British citizens obtain a TIE and several public offices in Spain are actually requesting this document, the fact of the matter is that the green residency document is still entirely valid under article 18.4 of the Withdrawal Agreement.
According to the agreement, post Brexit, UK citizens and their family members are not required to apply for a new resident status to have legal residence in Spain, and can continue to use their green registration certificate as normal.
The official resolution states that, “persons residing in Spain in accordance with the conditions established in the Agreement will not have the obligation to request a new status of resident nor therefore submit to a new documentation process”. Instead, they will have the right to receive a residence document that expressly includes their status as beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement.
This situation is likely to change in the future, however, as Spanish authorities do intend to phase out the green certificates in favour of digital cards. The reasons for this are varied, but authorities claim that a digitised system will be far more secure and reduce the risk of document falsification. Data released by the European Document Fraud Risk Analysis Network shows that incidents of fraudulent identity cards have increased exponentially in recent years.
Once the government in Spain does decide to make the switch to machine-readable cards, it is likely that UK citizens will not be allowed to update their certificates but will instead have to apply for a TIE.
NOW READ: Visas and Residency in Spain post-Brexit
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