Brits in Spain face appointment nightmare for residency card renewals

On July 6th 2020, the Spanish government started to issue a special Withdrawal Agreement (WA) residency document to Britons who were residing in Spain.

In fact, this TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero or Foreigner Identity Card) is pretty much the same as that given to other non-EU nationals, but it refers to the Withdrawal Agreement the UK reached with the EU.

Before July 6th 2020, UK nationals registering as residents received the Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión, more commonly known as the green residency document that EU nationals living in Spain get.

Therefore, the issuing of the Brexit TIE was symbolic for Brits in Spain in that it highlighted their new status as non-EU nationals.

The residency document also became more important than ever in terms of proving the residency rights of Brits legally residing in Spain before January 1st 2021, be it for travel in and out of the country, work matters etc.

July 2025 now marks five years since the Brexit TIE came to be, and with it many of those with a temporary TIE are up for renewal - more specially those who got their card in July 2020 or soon after.

To clarify, UK nationals who hadn't yet completed five years of residency in Spain when they applied for the TIE were issued the TIE temporal. The card is valid for five years, after which you can get a permanent residency card which has to be renewed every ten years instead.

According to data from Spain’s Immigration Observatory, 5,560 Brits carried out the process in July 2020, 3,871 of whom exchanged their green certificate for a TIE and 1,689 who didn’t have a Spanish residency document before.

This figure then rose to 9,217 in August 2020, 12,072 in September, 14,492 in October, 17,647 in November and peaked in December with 22,171 TIE applications, which means there will be thousands of Brits in Spain needing to renew their TIEs in the coming months.

The main problem they face is getting appointments for this, the dreaded cita previa.

That’s largely because the online appointment system of many of Spain’s extranjería foreign offices and police stations has been hijacked by criminal groups that use bots to book all or most available spaces seconds after they’re made available.

These gangs then sell the appointments to desperate foreigners for up to €90 when they should be completely free.

Gestoría agencies and law firms in Spain that handle foreigners’ residency applications are often complicit in this racket, as they always seem to be able to get appointments as well. Spanish police have arrested numerous groups who've specialised in carrying out this illicit practice in several regions of Spain, but it just keeps happening.

READ MORE: €90 for a 'cita previa' - Spain's residency appointment scams worsen

The cita previa scam doesn’t affect all Spanish provinces equally as the problem seems to be particularly bad in areas with a large foreign population (including Britons) such as Alicante, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca or Barcelona.

In these provinces, even if appointments aren't being booked out by bots, the high number of foreigners and few time slots available is also working against applicants.

"Has anyone managed to renew their TIE which was given under the Withdraw Agreement? I'm finding it IMPOSSIBLE to get a 'cita previa' in the whole Barcelona province and starting to worry about time running out on me," one Briton wrote on a Facebook forum.

Another user wrote: "Just managed to get two appointments in Alicante. We have been trying every couple of hours for a few days now with digital certificates. Keep trying and good luck!"

"I’ve been trying online for weeks in Valencia using a digital certificate but also without success. “No hay citas disponibles” Not sure where to turn next," said another UK national hoping to renew their TIE.

"Most of my family has already renewed under the Brexit Agreement, I will for the rest of us in the autumn. In Extremadura," one more person wrote, confirming that regions with low foreign populations such as Extremadura aren't facing the same appointment backlog.

The Local contacted the British Embassy in Spain for comment, who said: “We are aware that some UK Nationals in certain areas of the country have had difficulties making an appointment and we have asked the Spanish Government to make more appointments available”.

"We have seen this issue ease in certain places as a result. We’ve also been advising UK nationals to check for an appointment at various points of the day and consider looking at other offices in their province (ie. not necessarily their nearest one)."

READ ALSO: How to get a 'cita previa' (appointment) in Spain when it seems impossible

"The residence document that identifies you as a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement must be renewed 30 days before the document expires, or within 90 days of its expiry date," states the Spanish government’s FAQ about Brexit and the current situation of UK nationals and their families living in Spain.

Fortunately, Britons and their family members who need to get a new TIE card will not lose their residency rights if they are unable to get an appointment within three months of their card expiring.

But that’s not to say that having an expired residency card won’t cause issues for them in the long run, from travel to official matters.

READ ALSO: Do Brits in Spain with Irish citizenship need to swap their green certificates for TIEs?

Some Brits on forums have said that those who are attempting to renew prior to their card expiring are being told to wait until it's actually expired, but that this depends on the rules of each provincial extranjería office or police station.

In all, some 403,925 UK nationals were officially registered as residing in Spain in 2024.

“Estimates suggest that some 50,000 British citizens resident in Spain have not yet applied for their TIE,” Spain's Interior Ministry stated recently, but these are Brits who are still holding onto the EU green residency certificates, still valid but soon to be rendered useless for travel under the EU's new Entry Exit System.

READ ALSO: How many Brits live legally in Spain and how many are 'under the radar'?