\n In this week\u2019s 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.\n <\/p>\n
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<\/a>, the TIEs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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\u2019s expiry, as the law allows for according to the Spanish Immigration Ministry\u2019s own \u2018Brexit manual\u2019.<\/p>\n However, Spanish police are telling most of these WA TIE holders to wait until their temporary cards expire before applying for a permanent card.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not ideal in a country where citas previas (migration appointments) are as elusive as the Iberian lynx.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many fear falling into a sort of \u2018illegal\u2019 status if they can\u2019t secure an appointment on the trouble-ridden cita system in the three months after expiry.<\/p>\n READ ALSO:\u00a0How Brits in Spain can renew their temporary residency TIE card<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n We got in touch with the UK Embassy, who told us that \u201cThis is the responsibility of the Spanish authorities\u201d but that \u201cThe British Embassy in Madrid is raising this issue with the Spanish government to support British nationals to renew their residency cards.\u201d<\/p>\n Will it change anything? Let\u2019s hope so.\u00a0<\/p>\n If it\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 \u201csix months\u201d to fix it<\/a>.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/b>Lives of foreigners across Europe hit by residency card delays<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n So it\u2019s 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\u2019s essential for their daily lives.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n READ ALSO:\u00a0‘It took three appointments to get my TIE card renewed in Spain’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s 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\u2019s residency because they\u2019ve been unable to renew their cards.<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest challenge could come if travelling back to Spain with an expired TIE.\u00a0<\/p>\n You may be asked to produce an autorizaci\u00f3n de regreso (return permit) although it could well suffice to explain that \u201che intentado renovar mi TIE pero nunca hay citas disponibles\u201d (I\u2019ve tried to renew my TIE but there are never any appointments available), and showing your expired WA TIE.<\/p>\n READ ALSO: <\/b>How to travel back to Spain on an expired or soon-to-be-expired residency card<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n