The airline’s staff said British nationals flying home from Spain on Saturday night were barred from boarding a joint BA / Iberia flight to Madrid because their pre-Brexit residency papers were no longer valid.
Although both the Spanish and British governments said they both had old foreign national identities, a total of nine people were not allowed to board the Heathrow, including journalist and photographer Max Duncan, whose green residency paper is no longer valid. (NIE) document and new Foreign ID Card (TIE) will be valid.
A tweet from the British embassy in Madrid reassured Duncan that the green paper was valid. “That shouldn’t happen“Spanish authorities have reaffirmed this evening that the Green Residency document will be valid for repatriation to Spain as stated in our travel advice,” officials said through the embassy’s @ Yukinspain account.
Dunkin tweeted in reply: “Thanks to @Yukins Spain for confirming that the greencard is valid, Spain has also confirmed this and this should not happen.”
Duncan interviewed a couple at the airport who said they were “absolutely gutted” when told they had the wrong residency document and needed a TIE card. “We are going home. Spain is at home, ”said the unidentified woman, adding that her husband was taking vital drugs.
The other couple said they were told at the check-in desk that the Green NIE card was no longer valid.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 too many calls about the problem.
It didn’t just affect the Madrid flight. વ્યક્તિ The man with the DaisyQuen handle tweeted: “My daughter and her partner were affected. Stayed in Heathrow for 12 hours – Barcelona’s initial BA flight was denied, then said travel could take place tonight so the B.A. Says the passengers had returned from Barcelona.
The Spanish government announced last year that in light of Brexit, British residents in Spain would be given a photo ID card, replacing the former residency paper carried by EU citizens.
Thousands of Britons have registered for the new card and the application process seems to be running smoothly. However, there are no available dates for collecting cards because the system is too high.
The British embassy said on its Facebook page on Saturday night that it had received many messages from UK residents in Spain who did not yet have the required documents. It said it had “requested more relief” from Spain for those who could not collect their TIE cards, that students were about to resume studies, and for those who could care for elderly or vulnerable family members.
Although Spain has about 300,000 British inhabitants, this number could be much higher as many people live outside the Spanish system.
