HIBAPRESS – Barcelona: Omar Razzini
The immigration service in Spain has begun implementing a new experiment aimed at combating the phenomenon of trafficking in administrative service appointments, which has become a real obstacle for immigrants in the process of regularizing their legal status.
Under this experimental measure, the immigration service will provide appointments for fingerprinting, in addition to appointments for receiving residence and work permits directly, immediately upon acceptance of the application for obtaining a residence and work permit, without the need to individually search for appointments through electronic platforms. This step aims to enhance transparency and equal opportunities among immigrants, and to reduce their exploitation by brokerage networks that trade in appointments for money. This new mechanism is also expected to speed up administrative procedures and reduce pressure on the digital system for booking appointments. The competent authorities confirmed that this experiment will be evaluated in the coming period, in preparation for its generalization if it proves successful, within the framework of the authorities' efforts to improve immigration services and ensure fair and organized access to legal procedures.
