Madrid said goodbye to 2024 with a record historical. According to the INE census published a year ago, the community exceeded one million residents born in Latin America. Only the Spanish-speaking foreigners arriving from another side of the Atlantic Ocean added 1,038,671 people. If the rest of the nationalities are added to that figure, the number of foreigners increases until it amounts to something more than 16% of the region’s population, a large part of which is also concentrated in the capital.
Behind these figures (and the difficulties that many foreigners encounter when they want to register) there are those who have seen a real bargain: registering immigrants in their homes even if they do not reside there. They do it (of course) in exchange for hundreds either thousands of euroswithout taking into account that it is not legal.
Where do I register? Such a question is the one that thousands of immigrants recently arrived in Spain ask each year. The answer is not always simple. At first it is not unusual for them to stay temporarily with families or friends and when they want to look for their own home they find themselves with a handicap (apart from skyrocketing prices): not all landlords are willing to allow them to register.
One arrives quick search on advertising networks or platforms to find apartments for rent that make clear that guideline: “Registration is not possible.” Others allow it, but as long as The stay lasts a minimum of months.
Why is it important? Because although it may seem like a bureaucratic formality, registration is a key procedure for immigrants. For a start the law requires itwhich makes it clear that any resident in Spain has to register in the municipality in which they live. If that were not enough in itself, the census is the first step that any migrant who wants to build a future in the country must take: without a registry there is no Foreigner Identity Card (TIE) and procedures such as managing the health card or sending children to school become complicated.
“The register is the way that people in an irregular administrative situation have to demonstrate the time they have been in the country. To obtain social roots, the residence permit, one of the requirements is to prove that they have been in Spain for three years,” clarifies to ABC Daniela Montes, from the Information, Guidance and Support Office for the Social Integration of the Migrant Population of the Madrid City Council. “Without a registry they can’t do it.”
What is the solution? The networks. Or at least that’s where many immigrants end up. Faced with the situation of looking for a house in which to register, many opt for the simplest thing: go to social networks or online advertising platforms and ask openly. Again comes a quick search to confirm it.
If you type “registration Madrid” in Milanuncios, one of the first results is that of a person looking for a “room with registration” in exchange for 350 euros. There are not only ads like this on the Internet. There are also people who do exactly the opposite: offer registrations.
What exactly do they offer? a few days ago The Country public an extensive report in which it showed screenshots from Milanuncios and Facebook in which municipal census services are offered (openly, without half measures).
“We do registration. For people who have just arrived or need a registration to process papers, we do it for them,” read a Milanuncios post, now deleted. Other posts posted on networks are still active after several months. “Registration in central Madrid, there are places for those who need to register, without advances and in person,” reads one of them.
Is it really a business? It seems so. In 2023 a reporter from ABC responded to one of his advertisements, located by Wallapop, and ended up contacting a man who offered to register immigrants who had recently landed in Spain at his home. His gesture had little altruism. In exchange he asked for 150 euros.
Not an isolated case. There are those who claim 50 or even 300 euros. Another advertiser you spoke to ABC He demanded 3,000 euros in exchange for a 12-month registration. “I will go with you to the city hall and register you at my home, giving permission. Here you will receive fines, summonses, and that is not free.” Its role is key because for registration it is necessary to have a contract signed by the owner of the home, proof of rent payment, invoices or deeds.
Is it that common? There is no official data that allows us to answer this question, but the issue has been on the table for some time, as evidenced by social networks and newspaper archives. The Country has touched on the topic recentlybut last year RTVE did it, two ago ABC…Proof that the practice is not something anecdotal is the testimony of Mateo, a 28-year-old Colombian who, upon arriving in Madrid with his partner and pet, encountered the problem of where to register.
His landlord refused to give him the documents he needed to process his census legally, so he went to Facebook, where he contacted people who offered registration. The first attempt went wrong. The reason? When he arrived at the municipal window where he had to present the form, he found that the apartment in which he was going to register included more than 70 census people.
Why is it a problem? Beyond the obvious ethical and moral problem (those who sell censuses ultimately take advantage of vulnerable people), the law casts many shadows on this practice. Registration is a procedure mandatory and free and the regulations make it clear that people must register at the address where they reside, not another where they only appear at an administrative level.
As if that were not enough, the Immigration Law clarifies in its article 53 that “consenting to the registration in the registry by the owner of a home when it does not constitute the real domicile of the foreigner” represents a serious infraction. One that carries large fines ranging from 501 to 10,000 euros. The problem is not exclusive to Madrid. It also occurs in other communities of the country.
Images | Alex Moliski (Unsplash)
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