This from latest UK Embassy Madrid press release -Latest figures from the Spanish Government reveal 36% of UK Nationals in Spain have the Withdrawal Agreement TIE

Just over a year since the Withdrawal Agreement TIE (Tarjeta Identidad de Extranjero) was launched, the latest figures published by the Spanish Government reveal that over a third of UK Nationals in Spain now have the biometric card that explicitly recognises their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.

Commenting on the figures, HMA Hugh Elliott said: “It’s great to hear that so many UK Nationals now have the TIE and I’m sure that the next set of figures will show an even higher number. Whilst it’s still not obligatory to have one, it has become clear over the last 12 months that the TIE makes people’s lives easier. It’s more durable, more easily recognisable than the green residency certificate and it explicitly recognises your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. What’s more, it really is a straightforward exchange process and we have a step-by-step guide to what you need to do on gov.uk. My advice would be to do it as soon as you can – we’ve seen instances where the green certificates are not recognised and, whilst we continue to raise such instances with the Spanish authorities, a TIE has proven to be a more reliable option.”

Drawing on comments from its Facebook community (www.facebook.com/britsinspain) and results from a survey carried out with 6,500 UK Nationals living in Spain, the British Embassy has identified the following Top Ten Reasons to get your TIE.

· It explicitly recognises your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement

· It’s more durable

· It’s easily recognisable – eg. at border crossings – as it follows the model established at European level

· The process of exchanging your green certificate is straightforward and cheap (12€) (https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en...EXIT%20eng.pdf)

· It is clear evidence of your immigration status

· It will make some day-to-day administrative processes easier (eg. with your bank)

· It should help to ensure you don’t get your passport stamped incorrectly

· It contains biometric information, so is less easy to fake

· There are currently more resources available within the Policía Nacional to facilitate the exchange

· It can fit easily into your wallet – especially for those who have the older A4 green certificate



If you are experiencing difficulties using your green certificate whilst waiting to exchange it for the TIE, do refer to the document provided by the Spanish Government to clarify its continued validity https://www.inclusion.gob.es/fichero...ertificate.pdf.



Until the end of the year, the UK Government is funding three organisations to provide support for UK Nationals who may be having difficulties with the residency process, so do get in touch with them if you need any help. Who to contact depends on where in Spain you live. You can find their details and how to contact them at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-natio...ountries#spain

"36% of UK Nationals in Spain have the Withdrawal Agreement TIE"

64% of people just want to walk into completely avoidable problems.

Not quite right...

The 64% will include those who have a second passport.

So like myself I registed as British when I came to Spain first, but then swapped it last year to my other EU nationality.

Some of those in the 64% possibly cannot put themselves at risk of Covid by travelling to the designated office who deal with the TIE.

Rosemary

I am actually surprised it is only 36% as everybody I know has swopped to TIE and some waited for an appointment indicating the demand was high.

I have found it very useful to carry and have used it on several occassions.

Getting a WA TIE secures social security rights (section 9). If you just switch to your other nationality maybe you need another way of proving the WA applies to you.

I'm not sure that I need to the WA to apply to me. What for?

I am permenant resident in Spain and have the little green card.

It says on it in absurdly small print, "Resiidente comunitano permanente en Espana desde...."

I would assume that the other 64% of UK nationals are still using their old residencia cards/certificates. It would be more interesting to know the number of UK nationals living in Spain without either.

Check the link.

One exemple is if you partly worked in the UK and partly in Spain, when the time comes to draw your pension in Spain then the UK part of the pension is uprated every year as it would be in the UK. That is a right protected by the WA.

I suspect that many in the 64% can't be bothered to do it yet as it isn't required - many I know are in that position.

From the following link below it states, "Your State Pension will only increase each year if you live in:

• the European Economic Area (EEA)
• Gibraltar
• Switzerland
• countries that have a social security agreement with the UK (but you cannot get increases in Canada or New Zealand)

You will not get yearly increases if you live outside these countries."
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-...-state-pension

This indicates that my UK pension will increase, so protection under the WA not required.

So the question remains the same, what protection does the WA offer me that I do not have already?

Well, here's a listing of social security rights preserved under the WA and here it's saying how to prove you're covered by the WA.

As it happens there are new non-WA state pension rules coming in from 2022.

Thanks for the info DLC. I will look into it and try to understand if I am impacted.

Rather unholy mess we have been left with, post brexit!

I don't think those who voted for Brexit had one clue what they were voting for and the far reaching implciations!

One or two of that 64% has been unable to get an appointment at their local Police Station. Velez Malaga has been/maybe still is difficult.

So the vast majority of Brits still completely undocumented lol. The world has literally gone barmy. Lol