dave7777

People I know have done it recently, and its down to 6-9 months now.

Lou71

That is out of date information, they are getting through the backlog far more quickly now. According to the FBR forum, applications from May to August last year are coming through now. I also know someone who applied early in 2022 and they received their FBR certificate a while ago.

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rbs_gb

Extract from the FCDO page on travel to Spain under entry requirements which shows that the onus is on passengers to get entry/exit stamps. Many Spanish airports now have authority to use e-gates for British bound flights and it is then the responsibility of the passenger to request a passport stamp by going to the border control. It is not automatic that your passport will be stamped. In the event that your passport has been stamped, the FCDO recommends that you carry supplementary proof such as boarding passes etc to prove that you have complied with Schengen rules. I've also added the current guidance from Gran Canaria airport but I imagine many other airports will be the same.

Here is the extract from the FCDO: (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements)

Passport stamping

Check your passport is stamped if you enter or exit the Schengen area through Spain as a visitor.

Border guards will use passport stamps to check you’re complying with the 90-day visa-free limit for short stays in the Schengen area. If relevant entry or exit stamps are not in your passport, border guards will presume that you have overstayed your visa-free limit.

You can show evidence of when and where you entered or exited the Schengen area, and ask the border guards to add this date and location in your passport. Examples of acceptable evidence include boarding passes and tickets.

E-gates

You should use the desks staffed by border officers. If you are aged 18 and over, and airport staff instruct you to do this, you may be able to use e-gates, if these are operating.

If you use an e-gate, make sure you get your passport stamped by a border officer.

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And here is an extract from Gran Canaria Airport: (https://gran-canaria-airport.com/passport-e-gate/)

"Following Brexit, people entering and leaving Spain using a British passport had to use the manual non-EU lanes. Selected Spanish airports, including LPA Gran Canaria have given permission for British tourists to operate eGates in an effort to shorten lines at the Spanish Border Control".

DLC

The UK needs to take back control and upgrade its border infrastructure to stop EU grannies visiting more than 90 days?

Barriej

Hmm but what is the actual Spanish line on this, the UK.gov website is full of inconsistencies (even now it still says you can get free healthcare here, even though I know this has been pointed out to them that its wrong),,
Well here is the EU guidance which states all incoming 3rd country nationals must have their travel documents stamped.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-cont...DC0489&from=EN

This from the above document.
The Commission stresses that only the systematic stamping makes it possible to establish, with certainty, the date and place of the crossing of the external border and is therefore necessary for the verification of the respect of the length of the authorised stay of a third-country national within the Schengen area (see also infra point 5).

So one rule for Brits (of which I am one) and one rule for all other non EU nationalities then???
A border control guard has one job and one job only. To check the validity of the paperwork of the persons who are trying to enter the country, its not a guideline it the law..
Nope it seems they are only glorified checkout assistants..

Dont see this happening anywhere else... Ive stood in a queue for two to three hours waiting to be called to get my passport checked in well over 30 countries.
Not once in all those years (and I was travelling for work up until 2020) have I ever been allowed to use Egates or had the paperwork rushed because there was a large queue....It was my (or my employers) decision to send me there and so what if I wait, if I dont like it then I dont have to do it again...
And all of my in and out stamps have been affixed to the same page, except for the Oman one where they decided to stamp over the Saudi work visa???

And to be honest, spending all this time arguing the toss over is it right or not dont really matter.
What matters is that EU border crossing guards are not doing the job they are paid for and its allowing possible criminals, murders etc free movement.
The lack of proper checks when the UK was still in the EU allowed some serious criminals in as the FOM act states the following.
However, the directive does say “previous criminal convictions shall not in themselves constitute grounds for taking such measures”, but adds that convicted criminals can be excluded on a case-by-case basis if they present “a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society”.

But if you are not checking passports how do you screen and exclude people whom you deem to be undesirable????
And saying that once ETIAS or whatever is up and running there will be no chance of overstaying etc, who cares these people should be doing their jobs NOW.

rbs_gb

Couldn't agree with you more Barriej. In fact it was your frustration about your friends not being checked that made me investigate my own pre-conceived ideas about what border control is actually doing, rather than repeating some of the urban myths we all keep hearing but for which there is no substantive evidence. I speak as someone who since 1/1/21 has made some genuine hard sacrifices to comply with the Schengen rules as I could not afford to get an EU ban which would impact our family life totally. It's so frustrating to realise that the system just isn't doing what it is supposed to. It's quite right if someone says "by complying your conscience is clear" but the sense of injustice that non-complying individuals are just laughing is also very real.

Lou71

Get a passport with a golden harp on the front cover!

Seriously though, I doubt many people are getting away with flouting the Schengen rules - it's a bit of a Brexit trope. Most of the stories are probably sour grapes from people who now realise how precious their EU freedom of movement was. Some might (and certainly should) have a pang of conscience after realising what they have inflicted on their fellow citizens so they are busy trying to downplay it and pretend it's not a problem.

Personally, I wouldn't risk getting caught and banned. Once EES/ETIAS are online it will be virtually impossible to overstay anyway.

DLC

Even with ETIAS, the border control agent would have final say. All e-Gates, EES and ETIAS do is automate part of the procedure.

rbs_gb

I refer the honorable member to his very own, EUs own, very official Eurostat! Just give me one bit of hard proof that Spain is enforcing the rules. I've honestly tried, and I've failed.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databr.../table?lang=en

Lou71

What is it that you are trying to do, overstay in Spain?

If you feel that strongly about it then go ahead, overstay and see what happens. You might get away with it now but the point I was as making is you won't get away with it once EES/ETIAS are implemented and your Schengen allowance is automatically calculated via EES.

I've got a redundant british passport knocking about somewhere and I'm tempted to present it to a border official to see what happens. My insurance policy would be whipping out my Irish passport when things get difficult.

It sounds like Brexit has really affected you badly.

Ronnyone

Once you get a permanent residence you can pretty much come and go as you wish. You can be absence continuous for 5 years if you wish.

Lou71

That's not much help for someone who just wants to come and go like they did pre Brexit. I'm also assuming they want to do it immediately, not in the future.

Not everyone is able to take residency in Spain for a number of reasons and the post Brexit residency options are not very attractive are they. Can you be absent from Spain for five years with a NLV for example?

rbs_gb

Ahem , So,
You haven't followed the thread
You haven't understood I am resident legally in Spain
You haven't understood that I've complied at all times with Schengen rules during 2021 and 2022
You haven't understood that has been achieved at significant personal and financial cost
You haven't been able to produce any evidence to support your claim when invited to do so
You haven't understood that some folks on this thread are simply indignant about the injustice of the EUs non compliance with its own rules

You can keep on claiming that the EU rules are being followed all you like, but it does not make it true.so far as Spain is concerned.
Cheers
Ray

Lou71

So Brexit is a real bummer for you then.

So you are resident in Spain at great personal expense - yes, it's easy to see how that could be a costly undertaking.

Your problem seems to be more about losing your rights to EU freedom of movement than the EU enforcing border controls. Presumably you feel as though you took residency in Spain at great expense for nothing - you know who to thank for that of course.

You may have established that Spain has not deported/expelled any UK nationals yet but how many have been refused entry at borders? A tourist being turned away at a border is not the same as deportation.

Regardless of what is happening right now, you will need to be resident in Spain sooner or later.

rbs_gb

Oh dear, none so blind as he who will not see.

The EUs own figures do indeed include voluntary returns by refusal at the point of entry. Spain still scores zero.

As for that last comment, you'll have to explain it to me because you are not making any sense at all. It contradicts what you said earlier?