British Embassy update
UK government seeks to reassure Britons in Spain over Brexit process
THE BRITISH Embassy in Spain has provided information to help Britons living in the country and to remind them of their rights and obligations before December 31, when the transition period comes to an end.
Their updates deal with topics such as the new TIE biometric residence card, driving licences, UK bank accounts, passports and healthcare.
The UK left the European Union on January 31 and is now in an 11month period known as the transition.
While ‘ in transition’, the UK remains in both the EU customs union and single market.
Residency information
There are many rumours that green residency certificates must be exchanged for the TIE by December 31.
Please be assured that this is not the case.
While the Spanish government has highlighted that there may be some advantages to having the TIE – it is more durable, contains biometric data and may speed up administrative processes and border crossing – they make it clear that the green certificate remains valid evidence of your residency status and rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, even after the end of the transition period.
You may be aware that some UK nationals have been issued with TIEs with incorrect wording stating that they are an EU family member.
We continue to work with the Spanish authorities on this issue.
The Spanish have emphasised that these cards remain valid documents, however, we appreciate the desire of UK nationals to obtain a card with the correct wording and are awaiting further information from the Spanish authorities on the process for doing this.
We know that it is still difficult to get residency appointments in many areas. Anyone who is struggling to obtain an appointment should make sure they have all the documentation necessary for their application and to prove that they are legally living in Spain by
the end of this year.
We have published a series of videos on residency on www. facebook. com/ britsinspain: an FAQ video, a video specifically for first time applicants and a third on exchanging the green certificate for a TIE. We have also updated our page on gov. uk on registering as a resident in Spain.
If people are struggling with the residency process, they should contact one of the three organisations that have received funding from the UK Nationals Support Fund to provide additional assistance.
The level of support may vary depending on where in Spain you live, but their helplines are open to people from across the country.
Babelia will cover Alicante, Valencia and Castellon.
Their email is info@ asociacionbabelia. org
Helpline: + 34 865 820 229 available from Monday to Friday – 09.00 to 14.00.
Driving licences
One of the key actions for UK nationals living in Spain is to exchange their UK driving licence for a Spanish one.
However, recently it has been extremely difficult to get an appointment.
The DGT is aware that UK and other licence holders are facing problems in obtaining an appointment.
They will soon introduce a new process to streamline the current exchange process until the end of the year.
UK licence holders will be asked to complete a form with the details the DGT needs in order to verify the driving licence with the UK authorities.
This form must be submitted to the DGT by December 25 at the very latest. Once a person has presented their form, they will need to obtain an appointment with DGT to finalise the exchange process.
However, as long as the form was submitted by the date above, and the licence verified by the DGT before the end of the year, the appointment to complete the process can be after January 1, 2021.
We will update gov. uk/ livinginspain with information on this process once it is in place.
In addition, the UK continues to negotiate the rules
on the recognition and exchange of UK driving licences from January 1, 2021 onwards with member states.
People can sign up to email alerts on gov. uk/ livinginspain, to be kept informed of the latest information.
UK bank accounts
Some UK nationals who hold UKbased bank accounts, but are resident in the EU, have received letters from their UK bank, informing them that these accounts are to be closed.
Most people living in Europe shouldn’t see any change to their banking at the end of the transition period ( December 31).
Whether UK banks can service EEAbased customers is a matter of local law and regulation. Also banks are set up differently and may have taken different actions to continue to serve their customers.
Your bank or finance provider should contact you if they need to make any changes to your product or the way they provide it.
If you have any concerns about whether you might be affected, contact your provider or seek independent financial advice.
Please be assured that your UK state pension can be paid into your Spanish bank account.
You can use an account in your name, a joint account, someone else’s account if you have their permission and keep to the terms and conditions of the account
You’ll need the international bank account number ( IBAN) and bank identification code ( BIC) numbers if you have an overseas account.
You’ll be paid in local currency – the amount you get may change due to exchange rates.
Passports
From January 1, passport validity rules are changing for travel to European countries.
You’ll need to have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe ( not including Ireland).
If you renewed your passport early last time, any extra months added to the normal 10year validity will not count towards meeting this requirement, so we encourage everyone to double check their passport validity online now at: gov. uk/ checkpassport
Healthcare
We recently held a Facebook Live Q& A session with colleagues from DHSC. If you have healthrelated questions you can view the video of the session at the Brits in Spain Facebook page.
If you need further clarification on the healthcare system in Spain, please visit our healthcare page on gov. uk.
Q& A sessions
We have a number of Q& A sessions coming up on our Facebook page.
The current schedule is: October 27 – Travel and swallows; November 10 – Education; December 1 – Residency; December 10 – General Q& A
Please be aware that the schedule is subject to change, so do keep an eye on the page for the latest dates.
For further detail on all of the topics above visit gov. uk/ livinginspain.