In Barcelona and other Catalan cities, the imminent extraordinary regularization of migrants has caused long queues at consulates and an increase in offers of legal advice on social networks, despite the fact that the royal decree still has to overcome several procedures and applications cannot be submitted until early April
Concern over administrative collapse and the emergence of fraud
The Government plans to process at least 500,000 files throughout the State, a figure that has generated concern among the main civil servant union of the Administration, which fears not being able to absorb the workload. Meanwhile, in neighborhoods like Raval or areas near Immigration offices in Barcelona, queues and constant inquiries about the process have been detectedIn this context, advertisements have proliferated on social networks offering legal advice to migrants interested in regularization. Some of these offers guarantee the success of the process for prices that can reach several hundred euros, despite the fact that there is still no confirmed date for the delivery of documentation. A user of the NGO T"acompanyem received a concrete proposal of **668 euros paid in two installments** and the promise of having everything ready by March 2026, with the processing beginning on April 1.
Warnings from social entities and call for calm
Social entities working with migrants have intensified their warning messages. From the Migra Studium Foundation, they insist on the importance of not falling for deceptions.
"In our consultations, unfortunately, we are receiving many cases and we are emphasizing that people remain calm and do not fall into these traps" - Spokesperson, Fundació Migra Studium
The organization recalls that offering a service with a guarantee of success without specific sector regulations is not illegal in itself, but it can be extremely risky and, in many cases, constitute a deception. Furthermore, they emphasize that **taking advantage of people's vulnerability for undue profit is not acceptable**.
Soazig Noirault, operational director of Inclusion at the Association Welfare and Development, points out that the saturation of public services leads many people to seek private alternatives, often without guarantees. Mònica Plana, also from ABD, considers it understandable that people try to speed up their procedures given the long waiting times at the Immigration Office, although she warns about the risks of trusting unclear promises.
Institutional response and pending challenges
Last Wednesday, the Secretariat of State for Migrations called for calm and asked those concerned to consult only official government sources for information on the process. Social entities maintain their work of accompaniment and containment in the face of the uncertainty and pressure experienced by many migrant people in Barcelona, Girona, and TarragonaFrom the RegularitzaciónYa movement, Lamine Sarr claims a more decisive intervention from the authorities to stop fraud and recognizes the difficulty of alert messages reaching the entire affected population
"It is the Government that can do something against these practices" - Lamine Sarr, spokesperson for RegularitzaciónYa
For now, the definitive approval of the royal decree and the opening of the application period remain pending. Social organizations insist on the need to remain calm and avoid payments or commitments until the procedure is officially underway