A timely reminder

While the Embassy and the Consular network still say that it is best to have a TIE card, the green certificates (old residence permits issued when Britain was a member of the European Union) are not finished yet. I hope the Spanish authorities take note.

I was returning from New York two years ago via Madrid. I handed Spanish immigration officers my passport and green certificate. One of them looked at it and said that it was no longer valid because Britain had left the European Union. I countered by saying that I had been informed in Mallorca that it was still valid. I was rather jet-lagged and didn’t fancy getting into a long discussion with the immigration official who was adamant that my green certificate was not valid. At one stage I thought to myself that I wouldn’t be allowed entry. Finally, she backed down and I was allowed in.

The whole incident had lasted for about five minutes and I counted my lucky stars that I spoke Spanish because otherwise I could have found myself going back to New York as an illegal alien. To some extent the immigration official was right. This was because the green certificate had been replaced by the TIE card for Britons and even though it states clearly that Britain is a European Union member country, it is still valid.

This sort of confusion can be expected and I did think to myself that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It does seem rather remarkable that immigration officials don’t have clear guidelines as to what is valid and what is not.

There have been all sorts of paperwork problems in Spain since Britain left the European Union - from driving licences to residence permits. And I suspect that they will continue. The new TIE card has made life easier for British expats in Spain but for the time being you can hang on to your green certificate. This once hated document, which everyone wanted to be replaced, is now worth its weight in gold.