British residents flying back to Spain were prevented from boarding a joint BA / Iberia flight to Madrid on Saturday night after airline officials said their pre-Brexit residency documents were no longer valid.
A total of nine people were not allowed to board Heathrow, including journalist and photographer Max Duncan, who was informed that his green residence paper was no longer valid, although the Spanish and British governments have declared the old identity document (NIE) and the new alien identity card (TIE) remain valid.
In a tweet from the British embassy in Madrid, Duncan was assured that the Green Paper was valid. “This shouldn’t be happening, the Spanish authorities reconfirmed again tonight that the green residence document will be valid for the return trip to Spain, as stated on our travel council, ”said officials through the embassy’s @UKinSpain account.
Duncan tweeted in response: “Thanks @ukinspain for confirming that the green card is valid, that Spain has also reconfirmed that and that it shouldn’t be happening.”
Duncan interviewed a couple at the airport who said they were “absolutely destroyed” after being told they had the wrong residence document and needed the TIE card. “We are going home. Spain is at home, ”said the unidentified woman, adding that her husband was running out of vital drugs.
Another couple said they were told at the check-in desk that the NIE green card was no longer valid. When they contacted the British embassy, they said the team said they had received many calls about the problem.
It was not just the flight from Madrid that was affected. A person with the nickname @daisyqueen tweeted: “My daughter and her partner are affected. I was at Heathrow for 12 hours – the initial BA flight to Barcelona was refused and then said I could travel tonight, so I just waited to be refused, as BA said the passengers had returned from Barcelona. “
The Spanish government announced last year that, in the light of Brexit, British residents in Spain would receive a photo ID that would replace the old residence paper carried by EU citizens.
Tens of thousands of Britons have signed up for the new card and the application process appears to have gone smoothly. However, there are no dates available to remove the card because the system is overloaded.
The British embassy said on its Facebook page on Saturday night that it received many messages from UK residents in Spain who did not yet have the necessary documentation. He said that he “asked for greater flexibility” from Spain in the case of people who have not yet been able to remove the TIE card, students who are about to resume their studies and those who care for the elderly or vulnerable family members.
There are about 300,000 British residents in Spain, although the number may be much higher, as many live outside the Spanish system.