Bureaucracy is arguably the worst thing about life in Spain: the convoluted language, the painstaking processes, the lack of accountability of civil servants and of course the dreaded cita previa.
Last January, the government promised to get rid of this gatekeeping system used by funcionarios (civil servants) to prevent people from going to public administration buildings to carry out official processes or to ask questions without first having a mandatory ‘prior appointment’.
The cita previa system has been around for ages and applied haphazardly depending on the preferences of the specific branch, but it was during the Covid-19 pandemic that it became compulsory across all public administrations and it’s been kept in place ever since without any justification.
It’s now seven months since Spanish Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Function José Luis Escrivá said he’d scrap the compulsory cita previa system, but much to the frustration of many foreigners and Spaniards, it’s still around.
Numerous law firms have called out the fact that compulsory appointments are “illegal” and authorities have admitted that they should be offering a simpler, more inclusive and friendlier public service.
On April 26th, the government presented the proposal to axe the cita previa at Congress and since then nothing new is known, with the bill most likely lost in the usual administrative limbo.
Vamos a tomar una batería de medidas para hacer una administración más abierta y cercana:
— José Luis Escrivá (@joseluisescriva) March 21, 2024
🔹 Fin de la cita previa obligatoria
🔹 Lenguaje administrativo más accesible
🔹 Refuerzo del portal https://t.co/LMx8n4xTjn y del 📞060
🔹 Mejora de la atención multilingüe pic.twitter.com/QIdmV9YS2q
Yes, the irony is not lost on us that legislation meant to simplify bureaucracy is being held up by bureaucracy itself.
Government sources have defended the delay by arguing that they have until 2025 for the law to be processed before its deadline, “so there’s time”.
Now it’s August, the holiday month in Spain, so don’t expect anything important to get done “as soon as possible” as Escrivá said initially.
Even if legislation banning mandatory appointments does eventually get passed, there is a high chance that what’s promised in theory is very different to what happens in practice, showcased by the recent failures of the spam calls law and the housing law.
Spain’s General Law Council Association denounced in April the impossibility of obtaining appointments at Spain’s Immigration Office for residency and asylum procedures, a system that’s been taken over by bots run by criminal groups that then sell the appointments to desperate foreigners.
Extranjería is also notoriously short-staffed, so being overrun by people without an appointment every day may not be part of their plans.
In other news, data published by Spain’s INE stats body has revealed where different nationalities like to spend their summer holidays in Spain.
Last August, French tourists represented the biggest group of foreign holidaymakers with almost 2.3 million visitors, followed by 2.1 million Brits, 1.25 million Germans and about 700,000 Dutch and 650,000 Italians.
If you’re a UK national looking to not hear English on your Spanish holidays, then it’s best to avoid Barcelona, Calvià on Mallorca and the south of Tenerife, as that’s where most British holidaymakers in Spain are at this time of year.
In fact, Brits, Germans and Dutch have a big presence anywhere coastal in Spain in August, so if you want a truer Spanish experience it’s best to head inland.
The city where you’re most likely to find German tourists in August is Palma de Mallorca, but they love the island as a whole. The map in the tweet below shows the flow of Mallorca-bound flights from Germany and the UK on a summer's morning.
6 de julio de 2024. 10:40h. Corredores británicos y alemanes a pleno rendimiento. Vuelos desde/hacia Palma. pic.twitter.com/6k6Hz9Eb3S
— jordibatlle (@jordibatlle) July 6, 2024
As for the Dutch, there’s an even spread across Palma, Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia in August.
The French also love Barcelona, and their country’s proximity to the Costa Brava and the Basque Country means many of them end up holidaying there. However, French people are the foreign holidaymakers that are most likely to be found off the beaten track in Spain.
Italians are avid fans of the Canaries, the Balearics and coastal areas, but surprisingly you’re also likely to find a lot of Italian tourists in inland locations such as Extremadura near Portugal, Seville, Madrid and Zaragoza. However, their number one destination is Barcelona.
There’s nothing wrong with encountering your fellow nationals while on holiday (some people might prefer it) but the truth is that if you want a quieter holiday experience overall, August is a month that’s best avoided, as Spain is packed to the brim.
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