A number of United Kingdom nationals (UKNs) with Spanish residency took to social media at the weekend to report that they had been stopped from boarding flights to Spain after airlines would not accept their green paper identity cards as proof that they are residents of the country.
After a new, more contagious strain of coronavirus was identified in the UK, Spain has restricted arrivals from the country to only Spanish citizens and those with official residency, which has just been extended until January 19th.
However, after January 1st, when the Brexit transition period came to an end and the UK officially left the EU, it appears that airlines such as British Airways and Iberia, both part of the IAG group, have begun to refuse to accept the green paper cards as proof of residency, despite both the Spanish and UK authorities clearly stating that these remain valid.
These airlines have only accepted the new Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE) biometric identity card for UKNs, despite the acquisition of these cards not currently being mandatory if you already have a green residencia card or A4 certificate.
According to reports, nine people were refused to check in for an Iberia flight to Madrid on Saturday night, and were told to contact the Spanish consulate, where emergency weekend staff had no solution. A similar issue was reported by members of various Facebook groups, including one traveller who, despite arriving at the airport with a valid passport, green residency card, the QR code needed for travellers arriving in Spain and the required negative PCR coronavirus test, was apparently refused check-in and was told that he "needed a letter from the Spanish government."
The official Twitter account of the British Embassy in Madrid, UK in Spain, posted: “This should not be happening, the Spanish authorities have reconfirmed again this evening that the green residency document will be valid for travel to return to Spain as stated in our travel advice."
Yesterday, the Spanish Embassy in the UK also released a statement in which it said that it was aware of the problems that UKNs had been having in returning to Spain, and confirmed that the “Certificate of Registration of Citizen of the European Union,” i.e. the green certificate, "and the new Foreigner Identity Card are both valid proof of residency for UK nationals who wish to return to their homes in Spain."
The statement confirmed that UK nationals who can prove that they have started their residency process, but who do not yet have their new TIE card, "should also be allowed to board flights to return to Spain." The statement said that the "Government of Spain will put in place this measure for a grace period of seven days from 4th January 2021." It added that the document "receipt of application or renewal of foreign card," i.e. the receipt given to TIE applicants, can be considered as acceptable evidence when flying.
They also confirmed yesterday that the Spanish embassy had restated the rules with airlines and ferry services, meaning that the problems some travellers had encountered at the weekend should not be repeated.
