TBH if you are not getting approved at the local Office de extranjería I wouldn 't hold out much hope. You have been absent 10 years and since then Brexit has also happened
Having a property means nothing immigration wise
​​​​The other issue is healthcare. If you are not on the padrón then you won't qualify for the convenio so you would need to present a private healthcare but if they just exchange you old green paper NIE for a TIE you wouldn't need to show healthcare etc- so I imagine they are just going to reject you. I lived in Spain back in 1999 for around 5 years but left and return in 2016 but I know that my NIE and SS numbers remained I was no longer on the system as a resident so had to go through the process all over again.
You seem to think the 5 year absence rule will apply because you reset each time you visit but remember that is simply the outcome of a very specific legal case and was specific to the Netherlands . In other words you would probably need to actually go to court in Spain to do the same thing as I don't think it is actually written in the Spanish regulations. Plus I imagine in the Dutch case there was more to it than is reported ( the person obviously thought they were a Dutch resident for some reason or another) That is my opinion based on what I know of the existing rule. If you could point to something specific in the legislation then obviously that would help your case as that is what they will need to see.

Please don't call it that - there is no such thing as a "green paper NIE". The NIE comes on a white sheet of paper or with the CUE (horrible name for it) when you register as resident.

Well you know what I mean - some people got plastic green EU members registration cards others bits of paper with their NIE numbers. I don't think they had specific names like TIE ( tarjeta de identificación extranjero)

I can only go by how myself and my wife went about getting our TIE cards. I was resident before my wife and prior to Brexit so I had the green EU card. My wife joined me as soon as COVID situation allowed and by that time the green card had just been replaced by the TIE. So we went through the process of obtaining her TIE ourselves. We completed required forms and first attended immigration department in Málaga . There we submitted paperwork and answered questions re her income, address in Spain she would be living and proved to them that she had healthcare as my dependant with a dependants S1. They were happy with all that and gave us a form to take to National Police station for second part. We got an appointment for that went to National Police station with paperwork and authorisation form from Immigration . They then submitted forms fingerprinted her and 6 weeks later we returned and collected her TIE. Some months later with the carry on of some having problems using the green card I decided I would exchange mine for TIE. I completed paperwork for exchange from green card to TIE attended National Police station submitted paperwork got fingerprinted handed my green card in and that was it, 6 weeks later returned and collected TIE. I never had to go to immigration or prove healthcare income etc as I had already proved that to get the green card. . it strikes me that the first official you saw at National Police station realised your green card had run out given you had not been resident in Spain for 10 years so sent you to other office to make application as new persin for residency to prove income health care etc.When you hsve gone to that department as you had a green card they have assumed you are resident and should just do exchange of green card for TIE. I think that is the problem as you have been a non resident for way over the time allowed to retain residency. Really once you are no longer resident you should return the green card / TIE to the National Police and get yourself totally removed from the system. I was Resident and rescinded it some time back and that's what I did. When I returned to live as resident in Spain a few years later I applied again as a new resident.
​
​​​​

Yes, I think you´re right about the interview at the police station. The penny only dropped yesterday. Under the 2004 EU Freedom of movement rules my permanent residence would have expired in 2014, 2 years after I left. So when the official checked the status of my EU Registration Certificate it might have been cancelled as much as 10 years ago so he just assumed that my application was at best time wasting or at worst a fraudulent. That explains why he refused to hear my application and just sent me off to the Extranjeria in Valencia to start from scratch.

I understand some members on the forum are sceptical about my continued right of of permanent residency. I was too so about 2 years ago I wrote to the EU Commission asking for clarification. They sent me a 3 page legal analysis written by a senior lawyer on behalf of the Head of Citizens Rights. The following quotes summarize the argument. Hopefully, this might be of some use to anyone else going down this path.

The Withdrawal Agreement
Article 15(3) of the Withdrawal Agreement provides instead that the right of permanent residence shall be lost only through absence from the host State for a period exceeding 5 consecutive years.

Definition of Absence
“The Court of Justice of the EU, in its judgement in Case C- 432/202, Landeshauptmann von Wien, primarily dealing with Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents, dealt with the issue of whether a short (such as few days) return to the host State interrupts the absence of a permanent resident.”

Even though the case deals primarily with the long-term residents Directive, we understand from this judgement that a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary with a permanent residence right does indeed interrupt his/her absence with every return to the host State, even where the return to the host State is very short.

Conclusion
On the basis of the information you provided, we would understand that your right of permanent resident in Spain under the EU Free Movement Directive has been grandfathered by the Withdrawal Agreement, meaning that you have become a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary on 1 January 2021. However, it is for the Spanish authorities to make this assessment.

And for anyone interested in reading the full analysis ….

“What determines whether you have become a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary is whether you were legally resident in Spain on 31 December 2020 and continued to be legally resident there thereafter.

It is Article 11 of the Withdrawal Agreement that sets out when, for the purposes of the personal scope of the Withdrawal Agreement, someone who is temporarily absent from the territory of the host State at the end of the transition period is considered as legally resident and consequently protected by the Agreement. In relation to a permanent right of residence that was acquired under the Free Movement Directive before the end of the transition period, Article 11 of the Withdrawal Agreement provides that the right of permanent residence shall be considered lost only after an absence of more than 5 years from the host State for the purposes of Article 10 of the Withdrawal Agreement. In other words, someone who has previously acquired a right of permanent residence in the host State continues to be considered legally resident there for the purposes of Article 10 of the Withdrawal Agreement during an absence of up to 5 years.

Article 16(4) of the EU Free Movement Directive provides that, once acquired, the right of permanent residence shall be lost only by absences of more than two consecutive years from the host Member State. Article 15(3) of the Withdrawal Agreement provides instead that “the right of permanent residence shall be lost only through absence from the host State for a period exceeding 5 consecutive years”. The Withdrawal Agreement is more generous in this respect because once the status of Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary is lost – for example because of a too long absence – it cannot be recovered.

The Court of Justice of the EU, in its judgement in Case C-432/202, Landeshauptmann von Wien, primarily dealing with Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents, dealt with the issue of whether a short (such as few days) return to the host State interrupts the absence of a permanent resident. In this judgement, the Court held that the “provisions of [Directive 2003/109/EC and Directive 2004/38/EC] may lend themselves to a comparative analysis and, where appropriate, be interpreted in a similar way, which is justified, in particular in the case of Article 9(1)(c) of Directive 2003/109 and Article 16(4) of Directive 2004/38, which are based on the same logic”. In relation to the long-term residents Directive, the Court then held the following (paragraphs 44 to 46):“It follows that, without prejudice to the option provided for in Article 9(2) of Directive 2003/109, paragraph 1(c) of that article refers, ultimately, to the loss of the right to long-term resident status in situations in which the link which the holder of that right previously maintained with the territory of the European Union is loosened. That is the case, in accordance with that provision, only after an absence from that territory for a period of 12 consecutive months.

Consequently, the specific purpose of Article 9(1)(c) of Directive 2003/109 supports the interpretation of that provision to the effect that, in order to prevent the loss of the right to long-term resident status, it is sufficient for the long-term national concerned to be present, during the period of 12 consecutive months following the start of his or her absence, in the territory of the European Union, even if such presence does not exceed a few days. That being so, the situation of a long-term resident who has spent a few days per year in the territory of the European Union and who therefore has not been absent for a period of 12 consecutive months must be distinguished from the situation where there is evidence that such a resident has committed a misuse of rights. In the present case, the file before the Court does not refer to any evidence from which it might be concluded that there has been such a misuse of rights.”

Even though the case deals primarily with the long-term residents Directive, we understand from this judgement that a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary with a permanent residence right does indeed interrupt his/her absence with every return to the host State, even where the return to the host State is very short.

Even though the case deals primarily with the long-term residents Directive, we understand from this judgement that a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary with a permanent residence right does indeed interrupt his/her absence with every return to the host State, even where the return to the host State is very short. On the basis of the information you provided, we would understand that your right of permanent resident in Spain under the EU Free Movement Directive has been grandfathered by the Withdrawal Agreement, meaning that you have become a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary on 1 January 2021. However, it is for the Spanish authorities to make this assessment.

On the practical side of things, it is not mandatory for beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement to apply for a new residence document in Spain. However, we strongly advise you to apply for a new Withdrawal Agreement residence document in Spain so that you can evidence your status.

It´s actually a European Supreme Court Ruling ( Case C-432/202, Landeshauptmann von Wien) so should apply to Spain as well. The Dutch case was started before the Landeshauptmann von Wien judgement was made. I was in touch with the lawyer handling the case, after the judgement was released the Dutch Government withdrew from the case, handed the plaintiff her Identify Card and paid her expenses. I posted the link just to show that impact of this ruling in the real world. But are you are right - it´s Spain and the judgement is fairly recent so maybe not yet reflected in the "tramites".

You said earlier on that you had left Spain over 10 years ago. Were you absent for more than two years before Brexit?

Yes, and because of that I had assumed that my permanent residency had expired after 2 years but that of course changed with the Withdrawal Agreement which the increased the number of years to 5..

Is that 5 years not applicable to those with the TIE issued specifically under the withdrawal agreement?. The TIEs issued under the withdrawal agreement are marked to show that. The green card is issued to EU citizens resident in Spain such as we were pre Brexit. So yes they said it wasn't obligatory to change the green card to TIE as green card still valid. Problem is which rules now apply if you didn't change ?

But you weren't legally resident at the time of the withdrawal agreement.

It looks like you lost it during a period where you still had free movement.

You mentioned earlier that when you moved back to the UK you paid non residents tax for your Spanish property . I would guess that in any legal argument they would take that as evidence you were not resident in Spain? When those of us that applied for the TIE in exchange for the green card we ticked the box on the form as applying for it under the rights of the withdrawal agreement. That is stamped on the back of my TIE surely it is that, that extends the agreement of being allowed out of Spain for 5 rather than 3 years for a permanent resident. One final point is your green card marked permanent? As I know that because the green card had no expiry date many never changed it to get a permanent one which is shown on the card. I don't blame you for trying to get around the Brexit issue. However unless you can convince an official that you being away from Spain for 10 years and paying non residents tax rather than annual renta doesn't count as being non resident . You could end up in a lengthy and costly legal dispute.

Yes, again that´s what I thought too. Here´s how that´s changed,

I moved back to the UK in 2012, so under 2004 freedom movement laws I would have lost the right to permanent residence in 2014

The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement increased the 2 years to 5 years but I would still have lost the right in 2017
Article 15.3 - Permanent Residency can only be lost after an absence of 5 consecutive years

Up to point I think everybody understood absence to mean have "not to be living the country."

In 2022 that definition was challenged in the EU Supreme Court (albeit in relation to a different piece of legislation) in Case C- 432/202, Landeshauptmann von Wien.

The the Court said that absence simply meant that you hadn´t visited the country, it specifically ruled out the idea that you had to be living there.

Since I´d been visiting Spain every year since leaving that meant I still have right of permanent residency (I hope).

This is gist of legal analysis I posted above.

I'm guessing from this that you believe you are a permanent resident of Spain - and nothing anyone says is going to change your mind.

You just need a good lawyer to persuade the Spanish authorities that you are right. Not sure of the cost but good luck.