Exchanging your green residency card for a TIE in Spain: These are the documents you ACTUALLY need – and the tax you need to pay 

BRITISH expats living in Spain have been warned they must exchange their green residency card for a TIE if they want to avoid problems at the border this year. 

The advice was issued by the British Embassy ahead of the introduction of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (ESS) – which is hoped to be in force by the end of 2024. 

The ESS will provide a digital database of passports and track when they enter and leave the Schengen Zone. 

Those found to have exceeded the 90 in 180 day limit will be immediately flagged and could face legal repercussions. 

For British expats to be exempt from the ESS, the British Embassy said they should exchange their green residency card for a TIE – short for Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero.

There are endless support pages online detailing the documents you need and how the process works. 

An Olive Press reporter last week went through the process themselves, below is how they did it. 

If you are exchanging your green card, you must make an appointment at a Policia Nacional office situated within your province. 

1. Follow this link to make an appointment:  https://sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es/pagina/index/directorio/icpplus
2. Click on ‘acceder al procedimiento’ at the bottom of the page
3. Then select the province that you live in, e.g Malaga 
4. In the ‘Selecciona oficina’ dropdown menu, select ‘cualquiera oficina’
5. In the ‘TRAMITES OFICINAS DE EXTRANJERIA’ drop down menu select ‘Tramite para la documentacion de nacionales del Reino Unido (Brexit)’
6. In the TRAMITES POLICIA NACIONAL drop down menu select ‘POLICIA- TOMA DE HUELLA (EXPEDICION DE TARJETA), RENOVACION DE TARJETA DE LARGA DURACION Y DUPLICADO
7. Fill in the details on the next page, including your name, NIE and passport number, then continue and you should be able to choose an appointment 

ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS

Once you have made your appointment, you will receive an email confirmation of the date and time. 

You must take the following documents with you: 

1. A printed out copy of the EX-23 form. Fill it in on your computer using capital letters before printing it out and signing it. Make sure you select the ‘tarjeta inicial’ option in box number 4.1  and ‘Residencia con Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión’ in section 4.2. Make an extra copy just in case. Get the form here.
2. Proof of payment of the tax named: Tasa modelo 790 codigo 012. On the tax form, make sure you select the option: ‘Certificado de registro de residente comunitario o Tarjeta de residencia de familiar de un ciudadano de la Unión’. Take it to a local bank who will take a €12 payment before stamping the slips for you, which you will take to the appointment. Make a copy of this also. Fill in the form here.
3. Your current green residency card, original and copy. 
4. 3-4 passport sized photos. 
5. While our Olive Press reporter was not asked to show their ‘padron’ certificate, it is advised you take a copy of the proof of address with you and that is dated within the last three months. If your current address is different to the one shown on your green card then you will definitely be asked to show it.
6. Your current passport, original and copy (photocopy every page just in case you encounter a jobsworth).