Renewing Your Brexit TIE in Valencia: From 5 to 10 Years

Many British residents of Valencia received their Withdrawal Agreement TIE in 2021 or 2022, often as a five-year card marked “Temporal”. Those cards are now reaching their expiry dates, and the questions start: do I renew or apply for something new, when can I do it, what happens to my rights if the card runs out, and where do I go in Valencia? This guide answers them from the joint instruction that governs these cards, published in the BOE, with the fee checked on 27 October 2026.

Which card do you have?

The rules come from the joint instruction of Spain’s Directorate-General for Migration and Directorate-General of the Police on the residence document of article 18.4 of the Withdrawal Agreement, published by a resolution of 2 July 2020 in the BOE. It created two versions of the card:

• “Temporal”: for UK nationals and family members who had not yet completed five years of legal residence in Spain when they applied. Valid for five years.
• “Permanente”: for those who had already completed five years of legal residence, the threshold set by article 15 of the Withdrawal Agreement. Valid for ten years.

Look at the “Tipo de permiso” field on your card: it shows one word or the other. That word, not the expiry date alone, decides what you are applying for. If you still hold the old green A4 or credit-card certificate from before 2021, you are in a different situation (exchanging it for the Withdrawal Agreement TIE), which our Brexit TIE service in Valencia explains.

Temporary card expiring: what you get next

The sixth section of the instruction deals with renewal. It says that when the holder of a temporary document renews it, the new document is issued for ten years, renewable automatically every ten years, and marked “Permanente”. In practice, by the time a five-year card expires most holders have built up five years of residence, which is exactly what the permanent card certifies.

You do not have to wait for the expiry date once five years of legal residence are behind you. The instruction expressly allows people who have reached five years to apply for a new, permanent document before the temporary one has run its course. Where you held a temporary EU registration certificate before 2021, the instruction presumes your legal residence started on the date that certificate was issued, which often brings the five-year mark forward.

Permanent card expiring

A permanent card is replaced by another ten-year card. The instruction adds an important reassurance: failing to apply for renewal within the deadlines will in no case mean losing your right of permanent residence. The right and the plastic card are different things. Still, an expired card is a poor document to carry at a border, at the bank or in front of a notary, so do not leave it.

When to apply

The instruction sets the window: the application is presented in the month leading up to the expiry date, and it can also be presented in the three months that follow, without prejudice to any administrative penalty that may apply. Put the date in your calendar about six weeks before expiry and start looking for an appointment then, because in Valencia the appointment, not the paperwork, is usually what takes time.

Spanish authorities have issued later instructions on how these renewals are processed at certain times, so check the current procedure on the official cita previa and Policía Nacional pages before you book, rather than relying on what a neighbour did last year.

Documents for the renewal

According to the instruction, the renewal application is made on the official form and comes with:

• your valid passport (or, if it has expired, a copy plus evidence that its renewal is under way);
• the paid fee form, 790 código 012, choosing the option for the Withdrawal Agreement card: 12,00 € on the Policía Nacional fee table checked on 27 October 2026;
• a photo that follows the photo rules for the Spanish DNI.

The form used for the Withdrawal Agreement card is the EX-23, not the EX-17 used for ordinary residence cards. Bring your current card as well, and a recent padrón certificate if your address has changed since the last card: the card shows your address, and the office will want it to match where you live in the province.

Booking the appointment in Valencia

Appointments are booked on the official cita previa website for foreigners’ procedures (icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus). Choose the province of Valencia, then the police procedure for the Withdrawal Agreement card, and go to the office that your confirmation shows. In Valencia city, TIE fingerprinting and collection take place at the Comisaría de Patraix (Calle Gremis, 6); elsewhere in the province, other police stations such as Alzira, Gandia, Sagunto or Paterna also issue cards, so British residents on the Safor coast or in the towns of l’Horta are not always sent to the city. As with any TIE, there is usually a first visit to give your fingerprints and a second one to collect the card.

Time abroad and your rights

The instruction reminds offices that, under article 11 of the Withdrawal Agreement, short absences that leave your residence right intact, and longer ones that leave a permanent residence right intact, have to be accepted, both when the document is issued and when it is renewed. If you have spent long periods in the UK or elsewhere since your last card, bring evidence of your residence in Valencia (padrón history, rental contract, utility bills, tax returns) and get advice before the appointment.

Working with your Brexit TIE

The instruction explains that UK nationals who exercised their right to reside or work under EU law by 31 December 2020, when the transition period ended, and who still do, keep exactly the same rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. For EU citizens, Spanish law recognises the right to take up any activity, as an employee or as a self-employed autónomo, on the same terms as Spaniards (article 3 of Royal Decree 240/2007). Renewing the card does not change that; it simply keeps the proof up to date.

Mistakes we see in Valencia

1. Using the ordinary TIE path. The Withdrawal Agreement card has its own form and fee. Filing as if it were a standard residence permit renewal leads to the wrong appointment and the wrong 790 option.
2. Waiting until the card has expired. The three months after expiry are a safety margin, not the plan.
3. An address that no longer matches. If you moved from the city to the coast, update your padrón first.
4. Travelling with an expired card and nothing else. Carry proof of your renewal application if you must travel while it is in progress.

We can handle it for you

Expat Valencia is a Gestoría Beltrán Cifre SL service that works entirely online. We check which card you hold and when you can apply, prepare the form and fee, and book the police appointment for your address in Valencia province. Because the work depends on your history, the price is a written quote before you pay. See our Withdrawal Agreement TIE service or call +34 673 374 567.

Sources

Checked on 27 October 2026.

• BOE: Resolution of 2 July 2020 publishing the joint instruction on the residence document of article 18.4 of the Withdrawal Agreement
• Policía Nacional: immigration fees (tasas de extranjería), including the Withdrawal Agreement TIE
• BOE: Royal Decree 240/2007 on EU citizens’ entry and residence (consolidated text), article 3
• Official cita previa for foreigners’ procedures (icpplus)

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