Dear EuroCitizen Member
In wishing you all a very happy Christmas and new year (and safe and healthy travels), I would like to give a review of issues as we approach year end.
There was a virtual meeting of citizens' group with the British Embassy (consular services) on 16 December. Nick Green and I represented EuroCitizens. This call covered a range of issues as follows
1. Notices to leave
You may have seen press reports that residence applications of a very small number of UK citizens have been rejected and that 15 day notices to leave have been issued. The Embassy believes that some may. have been issued incorrectly to Withdrawal Agreement (WA) beneficiaries who should have a full hearing, a month's notice if they do not meet the requirements and the right of appeal. The issue has been taken up with the European Commission (who will investigate) and there is some evidence of provincial discrepancies in applying the rules. The Embassy believe that the matter will be raised in the Joint Committee (JC - set up to monitor the WA and jointly chaired (now) by the Foreign Secretary and a European Commission VP). The next meeting is scheduled for 24 January. However, there is no knowledge of anyone actually being expelled who is covered by the WA.
The Embassy have asked the Spanish authorities to update guidance documents, especially what documentation is required/acceptable in applying for WA based residency, to ensure that the rules are employed uniformly and that there are opportunities to provide evidence before getting negative responses. The Spanish government will provide greater granularity in their statistics on the matter from January 2022.
2. The UK National Support Fund in Spain will wind down from the end of 2021 which will be the deadline for taking new cases. Activity will cease at 31 March 2022.
3. Driving licences
At the moment there is no extension of acceptability of UK licences beyond 31.12.21 where the holder has residency of more than three months. Negotiations ongoing for a bi-lateral agreement. The Embassy advise contacting the ombudsman in provinces where it is impossible to get an appointment with DGT - especially Valencia.
4. Passport stamping
Although the European Commission accept that passport stamping should not generally happen in the case of WA protected individuals, they also say that this matter is subject to national law. Inconsistencies in Spain have been referred to the authorities and the Embassy reiterated that all Schengen entry/leave stamps are null and void for those covered by the WA. One of our members recently officially challenged the fact of stamping and received a formal notification that the practice should not happen (details will be posted on Face Book) and annulling the stamping that prompted the complaint. A couple of days ago, this form was produced at Barajas and prevented stamping albeit with mutterings from the immigration police!
Nevertheless, we understand that the European Commission will provide further guidance on this matter (for citizens) as well as further clarifications to officials in all Schengen countries. The guidance could be used should there be attempts to stamp WA protected passports.
Ins Spain the key problem seems to be one of training of officials.
7. Double taxation
The Embassy reminded participants that UK paid public sector pensions etc subject to the UK/Spain bi-lateral tax agreement should be declared. Although they will not be taxed in Spain they are taken into account in calculating tax bands.
8. Permanent/non permanent residence status
The Embassy have reminded the Spanish authorities of the need to take into account years in Spain when issuing TIEs.
9. Visits to private residences by friends and relatives
The "requirement" to demonstrate that Third Country Nationals have somewhere to stay etc was raised. No instances of demand by the immigration officials have been reported. The Embassy repeated an earlier suggestion that the standard form could be used to prove an invitation but limited discussion also suggested that an e-mail would suffice. The general view was, nevertheless, that this is a non issue.
10. There are still isolated case where the green document is not accepted both by officials and for some transactions. Whilst this is simply wrong, and the result of misunderstandings or lack of training in the vast majority of cases, we would reiterate our advice to change the green document for a TIE. We strongly suggest that you retain a copy of your green document before handing in the original.
British in Europe (BiE) related
As previously announced BiE will "cease to be" shortly. The closing should have been 31 December but will now be following the JC in January (see 1 above) as this was postponed from earlier this month. Consequently a final announcement from BiE is delayed to end January. There are a number of residual issues (eg right of return, student fees) that will be addressed in that announcement. However I would for now like to mention two issues
In wishing you all a very happy Christmas and new year (and safe and healthy travels), I would like to give a review of issues as we approach year end.
There was a virtual meeting of citizens' group with the British Embassy (consular services) on 16 December. Nick Green and I represented EuroCitizens. This call covered a range of issues as follows
1. Notices to leave
You may have seen press reports that residence applications of a very small number of UK citizens have been rejected and that 15 day notices to leave have been issued. The Embassy believes that some may. have been issued incorrectly to Withdrawal Agreement (WA) beneficiaries who should have a full hearing, a month's notice if they do not meet the requirements and the right of appeal. The issue has been taken up with the European Commission (who will investigate) and there is some evidence of provincial discrepancies in applying the rules. The Embassy believe that the matter will be raised in the Joint Committee (JC - set up to monitor the WA and jointly chaired (now) by the Foreign Secretary and a European Commission VP). The next meeting is scheduled for 24 January. However, there is no knowledge of anyone actually being expelled who is covered by the WA.
The Embassy have asked the Spanish authorities to update guidance documents, especially what documentation is required/acceptable in applying for WA based residency, to ensure that the rules are employed uniformly and that there are opportunities to provide evidence before getting negative responses. The Spanish government will provide greater granularity in their statistics on the matter from January 2022.
2. The UK National Support Fund in Spain will wind down from the end of 2021 which will be the deadline for taking new cases. Activity will cease at 31 March 2022.
3. Driving licences
At the moment there is no extension of acceptability of UK licences beyond 31.12.21 where the holder has residency of more than three months. Negotiations ongoing for a bi-lateral agreement. The Embassy advise contacting the ombudsman in provinces where it is impossible to get an appointment with DGT - especially Valencia.
4. Passport stamping
Although the European Commission accept that passport stamping should not generally happen in the case of WA protected individuals, they also say that this matter is subject to national law. Inconsistencies in Spain have been referred to the authorities and the Embassy reiterated that all Schengen entry/leave stamps are null and void for those covered by the WA. One of our members recently officially challenged the fact of stamping and received a formal notification that the practice should not happen (details will be posted on Face Book) and annulling the stamping that prompted the complaint. A couple of days ago, this form was produced at Barajas and prevented stamping albeit with mutterings from the immigration police!
Nevertheless, we understand that the European Commission will provide further guidance on this matter (for citizens) as well as further clarifications to officials in all Schengen countries. The guidance could be used should there be attempts to stamp WA protected passports.
Ins Spain the key problem seems to be one of training of officials.
7. Double taxation
The Embassy reminded participants that UK paid public sector pensions etc subject to the UK/Spain bi-lateral tax agreement should be declared. Although they will not be taxed in Spain they are taken into account in calculating tax bands.
8. Permanent/non permanent residence status
The Embassy have reminded the Spanish authorities of the need to take into account years in Spain when issuing TIEs.
9. Visits to private residences by friends and relatives
The "requirement" to demonstrate that Third Country Nationals have somewhere to stay etc was raised. No instances of demand by the immigration officials have been reported. The Embassy repeated an earlier suggestion that the standard form could be used to prove an invitation but limited discussion also suggested that an e-mail would suffice. The general view was, nevertheless, that this is a non issue.
10. There are still isolated case where the green document is not accepted both by officials and for some transactions. Whilst this is simply wrong, and the result of misunderstandings or lack of training in the vast majority of cases, we would reiterate our advice to change the green document for a TIE. We strongly suggest that you retain a copy of your green document before handing in the original.
British in Europe (BiE) related
As previously announced BiE will "cease to be" shortly. The closing should have been 31 December but will now be following the JC in January (see 1 above) as this was postponed from earlier this month. Consequently a final announcement from BiE is delayed to end January. There are a number of residual issues (eg right of return, student fees) that will be addressed in that announcement. However I would for now like to mention two issues
- Personal Independence Payments (PIP) - a large number of UK citizens abroad are in receipt of the exportable element of this social security benefit (globally around 2m people) - typically about GBP 60 per week. There is an ongoing review of benefit payments by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and there are suggestions that PIP will be consolidated with Universal Credit (which is not payable abroad). If consolidation takes place then large numbers of recipients could face severe financial hardship unless some protection is introduced. We have made representations to both the Government and opposition MPs including the Chair of the DWP Standing Committee and I will be following up with the Chair in the new year.
- Elections Bill - this passed its second reading in the House of Commons. The Bill will effectively confer general election votes for life for UK citizens who have previously voted in the UK - the limit is currently 15 years. However, there are contentious elements to the Bill including provisions for election financing and the need to produce ID when voting. This latter provision has now been challenged by the House of Commons elect committee on constitutional matters, who have asked the Government to halt its progression. We await the Government's response.
To be clear, at our AGM we agreed to continue EuroCitizens,
not least given the 400,000 UK citizens resident in Spain and protected
by the WA. As we discussed then our finances are depleting and then
stood at just over €200 in the bank! To continue as a valid organisation
we do need financing. May I remind you please of our bank account- ES35 2100 1658 2602 0028 9449 Caixa Bank
A very big thank you to those who have donated!
Spanish nationality
There is some evidence that the Spanish Justice Ministry are finally making some progress with the backlog of nationality applications. And, whilst prejura appointments are hard to come by online, persistence and trying out of peak hours can pay off. We would also like to remind you that Notaries are empowered to handle both prejura and jura (normally at the same time if both are needed) although a fee (possibly up to €200) will be charged.
All the very best
A very big thank you to those who have donated!
Spanish nationality
There is some evidence that the Spanish Justice Ministry are finally making some progress with the backlog of nationality applications. And, whilst prejura appointments are hard to come by online, persistence and trying out of peak hours can pay off. We would also like to remind you that Notaries are empowered to handle both prejura and jura (normally at the same time if both are needed) although a fee (possibly up to €200) will be charged.
All the very best
Nigel Aston and the EuroCitizens' Committee
