British Woman Classed 'Overstayer' by Spanish Border Agents in Post-Brexit Fluke

A British tourist was denied entry to Spain in a post-Brexit immigration rules blunder, leaving here feeling “frustrated”.

A British woman named Linda has suggested to the media that her passport was missing an “exit day stamp”, which is why she couldn’t enter Spain travelling from Gibraltar.

Customs explained to her that during her previous trip to the country she didn’t get “stamped” as she left Spain. A lack of an exit stamp meant that Linda has stayed in Spain since June, which exceeds the maximum amount of time permitted in the region after Brexit.

“The guards initially stamped my passport to enter, then they noticed I had no exit stamp from that one-week visit in June, thereby classing me as an overstayer and subsequently marked the entry stamp with the letter F and two lines,” Linda said.

Britons, who are not EU residents, can only spend up to 90 days out of every 180 within the Schengen Area - a zone of free movement among 26 European countries.

The change of rules for British citizens following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union could lead to a number of new struggles while travelling to Europe.

I would say that this shows that all non-residents leaving the country need a stamp to show they're leaving as they're legally required to do or else they might be refused re-entry. This is anywhere crossing the Spanish border.

— Haven Tenerife (@JanetAnscombe) November 1, 2021

One of the essential requirements now is to ensure one’s passport gets stamped in both directions, to avoid being turned away at the border.

“I have contacted my MP but was just directed back to the consulate thereby going round in circles,” Linda told the media.

Since Brexit took effect, British nationals are no longer able to freely live, work, study, or open businesses in the EU.