<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Ministers of the Interior of Spain, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and of the United Kingdom, Yvette Cooper, addressed this Wednesday in Madrid the situation of British citizens residing in Spain when the new Schengen entry and exit system comes into force.</strong></h4> The European Commission has set the launch date for the automated Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES) for October 2025. Activation was scheduled for November 10, 2024, at all EU external borders, but the delays of several countries (France, Germany, and the Netherlands) in installing the new technology forced it to be postponed by almost a year. The EES will record the border crossings of citizens who identify themselves with the current EU Citizen Registration Certificate (known as the "green card"), which will limit their stay in the Schengen area to a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. To exceed this period, these citizens must go to a National Police station to prove their residency status and request rectification of their EES registration. Otherwise, they could face difficulties at the border when leaving and returning to the Schengen area, as they would be identified by the SES system as "overstayers." In these circumstances, the Foreigner Identification Card (TIE), the biometric card that includes fingerprints and a facial image, will be the only document that allows British citizens residing in Spain to be exempt from registration in this system and avoid the 90-day limit. This card "is the identification document for non-EU citizens residing in Spain, granting them access to all the rights recognized by current legislation," Grande-Marlaska recalled. During the meeting, the Spanish minister and his British counterpart agreed on the importance of British citizens benefiting from the EU Withdrawal Agreement who have not yet applied for one ensuring they obtain a TIE to facilitate their international travel once the new Schengen area border control system comes into operation, since the current "green card," which many still use, will not serve as a valid document to exempt them from registration. According to the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, between 2020 and June 2025, Spanish authorities issued 138,106 permanent residence cards for beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement and 1,890 for their family members, as well as 101,094 temporary residence cards and 3,665 for their family members. Estimates indicate that some 50,000 British citizens residing in Spain have yet to apply for their TIE. To expedite the process of issuing these cards, whether temporary or permanent, the National Police has increased its staffing levels nationwide, particularly in areas with a strong British presence, such as the Valencian Community, Andalusia, and the Balearic Islands. Even so, due to the time required to process applications and issue cards, Ministers Grande-Marlaska and Cooper encouraged British citizens residing in Spain to begin the TIE application process as soon as possible to avoid difficulties and setbacks when the EES system comes into force. During the meeting, according to the Ministry of the Interior, Grande-Marlaska and Cooper also discussed bilateral police cooperation in the fight against international organized crime and in specific areas such as cybercrime, money laundering, asset recovery, and child sexual abuse.
