inib

Hello all,

I am a British citizen with permanent residence in Spain. Yesterday I sat an Instituto Cervantes examination and when asked to identify myself, I produced my British passport and my Spanish Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión on which my Número de Identidad de Extranjero figures.
The invigilator insisted that I should also have an identity document from my birth country. I was allowed to do the exam but he strongly recommended me to acquire this document as it is legally required. In 33 years of living in Spain I have never been asked for such a document.
I would be grateful if you could advise me as to whether this really is a legal requirement.

Many thanks.

mikelincs

The UK does NOT have an ID document, people use their passport, driving license, Bus pass etc withing the UK. ID cards have been mooted several times, but the civil liberties people have always raised such a stink that the idea has just been dropped. My personal opinion is that an ID card SHOULD be introduced in the UK.

inib

Thanks, mikelincs,
I tried to explain to the supervisor that official ID cards were optional in the UK but he was still adamant about it. He appeared to have a lot of experience in dealing with people from all nationalities and I began to wonder if I was missing something.

spainrico

I thought the only definitive ID document here in Spain (and the world?) for a Brit was his/her passport.

I have no idea what they are talking about but assuming you are going for Spanish citizenship (well done!) then maybe that process does generate some other 'paper/form' from the UK for this process.

The UK did some years ago (when Labour were running the show?) introduce a trial UK ID card but it was abandonned for cost cutting reasons.

inib

Thanks for your support. I'm just about to contact the Instituto Cervantes for some clarification on the issue. I'll let you all know.

tuhler

I completed the programme for spanish nationality in feb...am waiting for the final phase of swearing in etc...at no time have i been asked for anything other than passport NIE for identification...ignore him...no where on the ministry of justice site does ask for anything else...and they run the programme..not cervantes...Did you take the multi questions or the final part

VFR

Yes he sounds very experienced asking for a document that does not exist.

inib

Thank you too, tuhler and congratulations on your success. I took the CCSE exam on constitutional and socio-cultural knowledge (multiple choice).
I have just received confirmation from the firm that runs the exam on behalf of Instituto Cervantes that I took along the correct documentation and that the same will be required for my forthcoming DELE test.
I hope the invigilator will be duly informed because he made me nervous for a moment before the exam and has also had me worrying for a day that I might be in some sort of illegal situation.
Many thanks again to those who have answered.

Fred James

ID cards are not optional in the UK.

The supervisor clearly doesn't know what he is talking about (90% of government disfuncioanarios fall into this category when it come to foreigners).

As as been said, the ONLY official form of ID for a British citizen is a UK passport - he should know this.

bobd22

Yes those ID cards were scrapped in 2011 and can not legally be used for ID even if people still have them.

https://www.gov.uk/identitycards

inib

Thanks, Fred. I thought I'd read somewhere that nowadays there actually was an optional ID card. Maybe this was the trial one Spainrico referred to in post #5 or maybe it was just something 18-year-olds could use to get an alcoholic drink.
I don't think that man who got me worried was any type of government official or even a direct employee/member of the Instituto Cervantes. He was just from a "Learning Centre"/language academy that the IC subcontracts.
Even so, his insistence that I should acquire this imaginary document for my own good and that it was my problem if I didn't follow his advice made me want to double-check.
I'm well convinced now that he was wrong and I won't waste any more of your valuable time.
Many thanks.

inib

That makes sense. 2011 was just when in Spain I stopped having a neat little NIE card and started having to carry my passport around with me all the time .

ononno

And of course explains why the average man in the street in the UK doesn't realise the difference between 'freedom of movement' and 'right of establishment'. Doesn't realise that in other EU countries everybody needs to be able to show official ID and a fixed address after 90 days, or even if you are a citizen of that country. Doesn't sit well with our traditional civil liberties does it?

BritInParis

You may be thinking of a Citizencard which is usually used as a proof of age/ID by young people who don't have a driving licence or want to take their passport on a night out. It's not a government issued ID card however. As mentioned there is no mandatory or optional government ID card. Your British passport is your primary piece of ID.