Originally Posted by
LupineChemist
I'm going to be traveling with someone on a Cuban passport who is in administrative purgatory awaiting approval on residence extension and only has an expired Spanish residence card at the moment. I'm an EU citizen so it's not anything I'd even ever be worried about.
Back in the day, it used to be possible for people waiting on the resolution of their NIE extension to request a ‘Permiso de Regreso’ which allowed one to travel outside of Spain and be able to return with no issue. I remember using it, though for travel outside the EU, and with a return via AMS.
If this type of paperwork is still available it could be a good idea for your +1 to obtain it (it was quite straightforward as I recall).