Britons living in Spain barred from Madrid flight
in post-Brexit travel row
British embassy says ‘this should not be happening’
after airline staff claim pre-Brexit ID documents are invalid
Britons who live in Spain said they had been told they
had the wrong documentation to return home post-Brexit.
Stephen
Burgen in Barcelona
Sun 3 Jan
2021 01.45 GMT
British
residents flying home to Spain were prevented from boarding a joint BA/Iberia
flight to Madrid on Saturday night after airline staff said their pre-Brexit
residency papers were no longer valid.
A total of
nine people weren’t allowed to board at Heathrow, among them journalist and
photographer Max Duncan, who was told his green residency paper was no longer
valid, even though both the Spanish and British governments have said both the
old Foreign National Identification (NIE) document and the new Foreign ID Card
(TIE) remain valid.
In a tweet
from the British embassy in Madrid, Duncan was assured that the green paper was
valid. “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,” officials said via the
embassy’s @UKinSpain account.
Duncan
tweeted in response: “Thank you @ukinspain for confirming the green card is
valid, that Spain has reconfirmed this too and that this should not be
happening.”
Duncan
interviewed one couple at the airport who said they were “absolutely gutted”
after being told they had the wrong residency document and needed the TIE card.
“We’re going home. Spain is home,” said the unidentified woman, adding that her
husband was running out of vital medication.
Another
couple said they were told at the check-in desk that the green NIE card was no
longer valid. When they contacted the British embassy, they said staff told
them they had received a lot of calls about the problem.
It was not
just the Madrid flight that was affected. A person with the handle @daisyqueen
tweeted: “My daughter and her partner affected. Been in Heathrow for 12 hours –
refused travel initial BA flight to Barcelona then told could travel tonight so
waited only to be refused as BA say passengers were returned from Barcelona.”
The Spanish
government announced last year that in the light of Brexit, British residents
in Spain would be given a photo ID card that would replace the former residency
paper carried by EU citizens.
Tens of
thousands of Britons have registered for the new card and the application
process appears to have gone smoothly. However, there are no available dates to
collect the card because the system is so overloaded.
The British
embassy said on its Facebook page on Saturday night it had received many
messages from UK residents in Spain who did not yet have the documentation they
needed. It said it had “requested greater flexibility” from Spain in the cases
of people who had not yet been able to collect their TIE card, students who are
due to resume studies , and for those who may be caring for elderly or
vulnerable family members.
There are
around 300,000 British residents in Spain, although the number may be much
higher as many live outside the Spanish system.
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