500 British expats in Spain face being deported after they failed to apply for a residence permit or it was rejected. The British Foreign Office has mounted a major publicity campaign urging British citizens to get their paperwork in order before the March 31 deadline.
Under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, anyone unregistered who doesn't leave the country within days could be fined or banned from returning.
Spain has introduced the new TIE card for British citizens in Spain.
Shaun Cromber, who voted for Britain to leave the EU in 2016, told Global247News: “Yes I voted out, but I didn’t realise it would come to this, my Spanish residence application has been rejected and we are on our way home – the wife is in tears, she’s distraught if I’m honest and I’m not too happy at the prospect of returning back to the UK.
“I’ve loved living on the Costa del Sol and after 5 years can’t believe it has come to this, we applied but got rejected and so have no choice, although long term I think the Spanish will regret chucking us out of Spain”
In most European Union countries, Britons now only stay without a permit for 90 days out of every 180 days.