Britons in Europe are being denied access bank accounts, jobs, healthcare and university places as due to post-Brexit red tape – even though access to those services is guaranteed under the withdrawal agreement.
Those living in Spain, Italy and France say they have been hit by new rules which are poorly understood by local officials who are now demanding they produce documents which are difficult or impossible for them to access.
One expat living in Spain who spoke to MailOnline said people applying for new TIE residency cards are having to wait seven months to get one – with those stuck in the queue forced to use application forms in place of the card itself.
But in one case, a bank refused to let a newly-arrived Briton open an account using the papers – meaning he was unable to get a phone contract or rent a property.
British expats living in Spain, Italy and France say they have been denied access to basic services including healthcare, bank accounts and jobs because of post-Brexit red tape (file)
The delay lasted for around a month before he was able to open an account with a different bank.
The source added that many Britons are also experiencing problems at the UK border while trying to depart for Spain because British guards do not recognise the new residency applications and are refusing to accept them as proof.
A similar situation is also playing out in Portugal, a source there told MailOnline, with those arriving in 2020 allowed to apply for residence permits under the terms of the withdrawal agreement – but authorities have not yet sent the documents out.
The source added that the government has so-far provided no information about which agency will issue the papers or even in what form they will be delivered.
While a logjam of application post-Brexit is partly to blame, he added that Covid-19 has also dragged the process out.
In Italy, retired British QC Jeremy Morgan explained how expats there are sometimes being asked to provide a document commonly issued to third-country migrants to access basic services – but cannot get hold of the document because, under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, they do not qualify.
As a result, they have been unable to renew their national health cards, turned down for car or house purchases, and in one case nearly missed out on a job.
Mr Morgan, who is a member of the group British in Italy, told The Times: ‘A British man in Puglia was told by an employer that his contract could not be renewed because the labour ministry’s computer would not accept his application without a document number.’
The issue has now been resolved, he said – adding that Italian authorities are generally willing to help fix problems but the process is often ‘slow going’.
Delays with European countries issuing residency permits have left many in legal limbo, while legitimate documents are also rejected because local officials don’t recognise them (file)
And in France, Briton have been denied access to healthcare, universities, and jobs because of bureaucratic issues, according to Brian Jones who is the administrator of citizens’ rights group Brexpats – Hear Our Voice.
Mr Jones said some Britons have been told that they will not get a Covid vaccination until they have been granted resident status, while others have been rejected for university places because they do not have permits to attend.
He warned Britons who are wary of applying for the residence permit that they will fall into a legal void come the autumn if their application has not been granted.
Britain officially left the EU on January 31, 2020, with a transition process lasting until December 31 – after which the terms of the withdrawal agreement kicked in.
Under the agreement, Britons who are not resident in an EU country or hold an EU passport had until March 31 to apply for residency – or else face being kicked out of the country where they are staying.
From April 1, those without residency are only allowed to remain in the country for 90 days out of every 180, and must return home in the interim.
A sudden rush for residency papers amid the Covid pandemic has left many countries unable to issue the documents fast enough, with those waiting for the papers stuck in a legal limbo.
Meanwhile sudden changes to the rules has wrong-footed many officials, who have ended up unfairly rejecting papers that should be valid because they simply do not recognise them.