After Brexit, more than 208,000 Britons have obtained the document that accredits them as beneficiaries of most of the rights that EU citizens have in application of the Withdrawal Agreement: the TIE card.
The majority are aged over 65 and live in Alicante, Malaga and the Balearics.
These are figures from the latest monthly report issued by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, which also shows that around 211,000 British nationals and family members who were once registered as European citizens have not yet exchanged their documents.
They are not obliged to do so in order to maintain their rights, but both Spain and the United Kingdom recommend that they do so, since the document that accredits them as beneficiaries of the aforementioned Withdrawal Agreement is a standardised model in the EU that will make it easier for them to cross borders and other procedures.
According to data compiled by the Permanent Immigration Observatory, under the Ministry of Inclusion, from July 2020 to June 2023, 159,604 persons have exchanged their residence permits.
A procedure was also enabled for British nationals who were not on the register but who could prove that they were resident in Spain before 31 December 2020 to obtain their documentation, and a total of 49,184 people have obtained their card through this formula.
The report highlights that the British who have been documented after Brexit are an ageing group: 34% are aged 65 or over, 30% are aged between 50 and 64 and minors only represent 7%.
The difference by sex is minimal - 51% are men and 49% are women - and 51% reside in three provinces: Alicante (55,028 people; 25%), Malaga (39,522 people; 18%) and the Balearics (16,577 people; 8%).
The Withdrawal Agreement, the document recalls, guarantees that they will maintain their rights deriving from the application of EU law (except for the right to vote and stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and the exercise of the EU citizens’ legislative initiative and now drive on a UK licence with the DGT traffic departments still refusing to accept paper licences and the Bulletin has now learnt that the old green resident permits are not being accepted either.).