Jason MoorePalma08/02/2020 10:10
TW
1

Earlier this week in this space I wrote about the demise for British citizens of the Green Certificate, the European Union Spanish residence document. I am now reliably informed that British citizens will be getting a new type of residence card from the Spanish authorities. It is similar to the ones which are already issued to non-European Union citizens but it will be slightly different and will only be issued to British citizens living legally in Spain.

With an estimated 400,000 British citizens legally residing in Spain the Spanish government faces a mammoth task issuing new residence permits to hundreds of thousands of people across the country. I do not know what the time frame is but I was told that the new permits could be issued by the start of next year when Britain has left the European Union and the so-called transition period comes to an end. I am told it will be just a question of booking an appointment and exchanging “green certificate” for “residence card.” The Spanish government have recruited more staff to deal with Brexit related problems.

I suspect that the situation will become clearer towards the middle of this year but the Spanish government have made it clear that any British citizen who is residing legally in Spain will have few problems post Brexit. The big mystery so far is what will be the paperwork requirements for British people who are planning to move to the island in the coming years. Watch this space.