Thousands of undocumented migrants are becoming victims of appointment scams, ahead of Spain's mass regularisation process, with fraudsters and so-called 'immigration experts' benefiting from their desperation to get residency permits.
Criminal gangs block-booking and selling cita previa appointments is nothing new in Spain, but they have seen an uptick following the government's announcement of a blanket regularisation of undocumented migrants living in the country.
The measure will give at least 500,000 migrants, without legal papers, the right to work and live in Spain. According to the Funcas think-tank, however, around 840,000 undocumented migrants lived in Spain at the beginning of January 2025.
This comes as the Spanish government formally approved the measure on Tuesday, paving the way for a short application window for these migrants to be able to get a short-term residency card.
READ ALSO: The myths surrounding Spain's mass regularisation of migrants
As information about the application process is being released (read The Local's explainer here), reports in the Spanish press suggest that scammers are charging sums of up to €400 with the promise of speeding up administrative procedures that are still in the process of being set up.
These intermediaries and so-called 'immigration experts' are publishing misleading adverts, saying they'll handle all the paperwork in return for advance payments, taking advantage of the uncertainty felt by those hoping to obtain their residency, but knowing there's limited time to do so.
“Guaranteed processing; you don’t pay until you’ve secured an appointment. Don’t waste your time in front of a screen trying to get it; contact us, we’ll advise you and sort it out for you”, reads one advert circulating online on sites such as Milanuncios, which are not linked to any legal firms or immigration services.
Spanish trade unions have also warned of offers of services from private individuals and even travel agencies charging “from €50 for a simple enquiry to €450 for processing paperwork”.
In reality, getting an appointment to submit paperwork should be completely free.
This is of particular concern to migrant groups that make up the Regularización Ya movement, who have been campaigning for years to drive the initiative forward and who warn that the scams only serve to “increase the anxiety” of irregular migrants.
They also warn that some law firms are profiting from the situation.
“They are trying to make money off people..., something that should be penalised," said activist Victoria Columba, one of the spokespersons for Regularización Ya.
READ ALSO: Spain eyes new way for foreigners to avoid 'cita previa' appointment scam
Immigration and appointment scams are nothing new in Spain, of course.
Various criminal groups have been arrested in recent years for hacking the cita previa system and booking up all available appointments, which are then sold onto desperate foreigners who've often been trying for weeks or months to get an appointment.
Spain's national police carried out an operation in Valencia in which they arrested two people who were engaged in fraud by selling appointments for which they charged between €50 and €90. The detainees blocked the system using a computer bot and monopolised almost all the appointments to then sell them on the black market.
Back in May 2023, Spanish national police arrested 69 people in different provinces throughout Spain and dismantled a network which blocked foreigners from obtaining these appointments, and many believed this would help put a stop to it.
Elena Muñoz, head of the legal department at the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR), has been observing this situation for years. “We are primarily involved in the international protection process and have noticed this irregular market for buying and selling appointments, a procedure that is entirely free of charge and should not incur any cost,” she says.
Muñoz adds that, following the pandemic, “in practically every province, it has become increasingly difficult or time-consuming to secure these appointments”, and that this shortage has caused a spike in scams “on various platforms, such as Wallapop or the Yellow Pages, offering these appointments for sale at prices ranging from €50 to €200, or even more”.
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