# Can I renew my Spanish/Canarian Residency ?? I only hold UK passport



## Jackdo (Jan 12, 2021)

I lived in the canaries in 2016 and worked for a Spanish company.
My small green credit card sized residencia card was issued in Tenerife in January 2016.
However I am now in Gran Canaria with hopes to live here and renew my residencia especially now that brexit is in effect.
I left the canaries at the very end of 2016 and havn't worked or lived here since.
I still have my green card and some other old documents as proof and as my card technically expires on 26th Jan 2021.. I'm hoping I can now renew it. (As far as I am aware this card was/is valid for five years).

However I'm now self employed, work online and not for a Spanish company!

I have booked an appointment at the appropriate place to renew my card in Las Palmas .. but I am only going to ask all the questions Ineed answers to. What documents do I need to renew my residency and can I even renew my residency now Brexit has come into play and that I don't have a Spanish job....

*What should I take to the appointment ?
or am wasting my time?*

Hope you can help
Thankyou
J.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Technically, due to the time spent out of Spain, your registration on the list of EU citizens has lapsed and your green certificate is no longer valid (and has not been for some time). You should have de-registered when you left really, but very few people actually do that.

I speak from personal experience that Spain does not monitor or control this very much, if at all, or at least they didn't in the past. 

This is just my own view, others will have differing opinions, but I would go to the appointment with all the documents you might need to show them to evidence compliance with the EU registration requirements (proof of income / savings, health insurance etc.), but as you are not registering, just renewing your certificate don't offer any of that if they don't ask, just say that you want to update your address on the new card and take proof of the new address (this proof apparently differs from place to place so be prepared to show rental contracts, house deeds, empadronamiento, etc.). They have every right to ask you to demonstrate that you still have health insurance and still can support yourself economically of course, so have all that to hand just in case.

It is likely that they will not know that you have been away from Spain and will just treat it as a "normal" certificate renewal with a change of address, but of course, due to Brexit, they might be paying more attention and might cross check with other authorities and see that you have no SS contributions and no tax returns. If that's the case and they challenge you, you will have to back down and start a new residency application with the corresponding visa.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I agree you may be able to just get a TIE by pretending to have had continuous residency. It really depends on what information they check
All we know is that you submit the appropriate documents and then they will tell you if your application is successful. To be honest I dont think anything automatic would come up ( ie lack of tax declarations etc as I doubt their systems are linked in that way). It would only be the case if the officer decided to do a special check. It really depends on the officer and the office. Bear in mind that if you didnt change you licence you will need to do a Spanish driving test and that is expensive and requires Spanish.


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## Jenny Jitterbug (Aug 26, 2020)

Residencia cards do not normally expire for EU citizens, which you were when it was issued. Say nought other than change of address.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Residency cards don't have expiry dates but once you are no longer resident ( ie move to another country) your residency is stopped ( obviously)


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## Jenny Jitterbug (Aug 26, 2020)

kaipa said:


> Residency cards don't have expiry dates but once you are no longer resident ( ie move to another country) your residency is stopped ( obviously)


*How* do Spanish authorities (obviously) know a resident has moved to another country? Has leg tagging been introduced without residents knowing?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Jenny Jitterbug said:


> *How* do Spanish authorities (obviously) know a resident has moved to another country? Has leg tagging been introduced without residents knowing?


It's difficult, and usually they don't check, but they could pose some difficult questions, like why there were no social security contributions, no tax returns, kids not at school, that kind of thing. 
In any case, it woud be up to the OP to prove he WAS here during that time, not for extranjería to prove he wasn't, they can just decide he hasn't give enough evidence and refuse to renew it if they have suspicions.


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## Jenny Jitterbug (Aug 26, 2020)

Overandout said:


> It's difficult, and usually they don't check, but they could pose some difficult questions, like why there were no social security contributions, no tax returns, kids not at school, that kind of thing.
> In any case, it woud be up to the OP to prove he WAS here during that time, not for extranjería to prove he wasn't, they can just decide he hasn't give enough evidence and refuse to renew it if they have suspicions.


Yes, some people are always looking for problems and complications instead of just dealing with them if they ever materialise.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

Always remembering that it's for you to prove what you claim not for the authorities to disprove it!


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## Jenny Jitterbug (Aug 26, 2020)

MataMata said:


> Always remembering that it's for you to prove what you claim not for the authorities to disprove it!


Quite right why go with just your passport and residence card when you can take a wheelbarrow full of unwanted documents.


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## proud.to.be.EUROPEAN (Feb 14, 2020)

Jenny Jitterbug said:


> *How* do Spanish authorities (obviously) know a resident has moved to another country? Has leg tagging been introduced without residents knowing?


Seriously!!??
You think ES border control doesn't know who comes in and goes out of country(Schengen)?
You think ES is banana republic?
Ignorance is bliss.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Overandout said:


> It's difficult, and usually they don't check, but they could pose some difficult questions, like why there were no social security contributions, no tax returns, kids not at school, that kind of thing.
> In any case, it woud be up to the OP to prove he WAS here during that time, not for extranjería to prove he wasn't, they can just decide he hasn't give enough evidence and refuse to renew it if they have suspicions.


There is a good chance that if you turn up with a new padron they will just update things and give you a new card but I think what people are saying here is very true that it would be "cheating the system" and could have consequences. They have every right to ask you to prove your status. From my point of view, and everyone I have heard of, exchanging/updating resiency has been smooth but who knows what information shows up on the screen of the person processing it, or even behind the scenes between 1st and 2nd visit! Do they just issue them? Or do they verify anything first? Who knows! To be honest, it is supposed to be the "declaraty" system in Spain - so to update your residency you declare you meet the criteria... but then...assuming you claim that you have been resident all along..... Mr Tax man sees you become active in the system and then decides to check out why you have not declared anything in recent years.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

xicoalc said:


> There is a good chance that if you turn up with a new padron they will just update things and give you a new card but I think what people are saying here is very true that it would be "cheating the system" and could have consequences. They have every right to ask you to prove your status. From my point of view, and everyone I have heard of, exchanging/updating resiency has been smooth but who knows what information shows up on the screen of the person processing it, or even behind the scenes between 1st and 2nd visit! Do they just issue them? Or do they verify anything first? Who knows! To be honest, it is supposed to be the "declaraty" system in Spain - so to update your residency you declare you meet the criteria... but then...assuming you claim that you have been resident all along..... Mr Tax man sees you become active in the system and then decides to check out why you have not declared anything in recent years.


As I said above, I have first hand experience of this because I left Spain for three years. I did not "cheat" anyone however because I went to extranjería and told them I was leaving before I went.
Instead of deregistering me and taking my green cert however, the nice lady decided that I would be better off having a nice new "permanent residency" card (as I had been living in Spain for nerlay 10 years already at that point) which she produced for me on the spot, she assured me that this would then be valid whenever I returned to Spain as it was "permanent". In my ignorance of the facts which I am now aware of, I believed her and did exactly that.

When I returned and bought a new apartment, I went along to extranjería and changed the address on the old certificate to the new address (with Empadronamiento as proof), no questions asked, literally. 
My kids had not been to school in three years, I had not submitted a residents tax return either, but I had submitted modelo 720s as a non-resident, so I was hiding nothing.
Thereofre I suspect that either nothing is on the screens or they just didn't care to look.

That said I did all this before December 31st, so things could well be different now.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Overandout said:


> As I said above, I have first hand experience of this because I left Spain for three years. I did not "cheat" anyone however because I went to extranjería and told them I was leaving before I went.
> Instead of deregistering me and taking my green cert however, the nice lady decided that I would be better off having a nice new "permanent residency" card (as I had been living in Spain for nerlay 10 years already at that point) which she produced for me on the spot, she assured me that this would then be valid whenever I returned to Spain as it was "permanent". In my ignorance of the facts which I am now aware of, I believed her and did exactly that.
> 
> When I returned and bought a new apartment, I went along to extranjería and changed the address on the old certificate to the new address (with Empadronamiento as proof), no questions asked, literally.
> ...


But this was all pre-Brexit so you could come and go quite easily I suppose. Also as you say once you were permanent you were allowed to reside elsewhere without losing your rights in Spain. Now of course things are slightly different and only those with 5years continuous residency can be absent for up to 5 years.


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## Jenny Jitterbug (Aug 26, 2020)

Yes, maybe Brits will be singled out and toughly interrogated now.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

The Brits will be treated in exactly the same way as all non-EU citizens such, Americans, Australians, Chinese, Russians. Just as the UK treats all non-UK nationals entering UK. If asking to see a passport and reason for visit is rough interrogation that maybe because you never appreciated the concept of free-movement that Brexiteers so hated.


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