More than 20% of residents from 15 municipalities in Lleida are registered abroad and reside outside Spain, according to data from the Register of Spaniards Residing Abroad updated to January 1. The statistic shows a particularly high incidence in the Pyrenees and in mid-mountain areas of Noguera and Solsonès, with a lesser weight in the Lleida plain.
Overall, the district totals 25,597 people registered outside of Spain, which is equivalent to 5.31% of the total. The figure is also 5,189 higher than that of 2019, the last year prior to the covid pandemic.
One in four municipalities exceeds 10%
Emigration reflected in the external register reaches relevant levels in 54 Lleida municipalities. They are 23% of the total demarcation. Of these, 15 exceed 20%, another 32 surpass 10%, and in seven more, migrants account for more than 10% of local residents.
The five municipalities with the highest percentage of residents living abroad are Bausen with 39.3%, Alós de Balaguer with 31.3%, Abella de la Conca with 26.7%, Almatret with 24.15% and Vilanova de Meià with 23.8%.
- Bausen, 27 of 89 residents
- Alós de Balaguer, 54 of 172
- Abella de la Conca, 57 of 213
- Almatret, 93 of 385
- Vilanova de Meià, 150 of 629
Almatret appears as a territorial exception. It is the only municipality of the plain among the top positions, with 93 residents registered abroad out of a total of 385. It is also the only municipality in Segrià considered a mountain area due to its altitude of 462 meters above sea level.
Only five municipalities do not have any resident registered abroad
Against that trend, only five municipalities in Lleida do not register any resident registered abroad. They are El Cogul, Els Omellons, Els Torms, Llobera and Sant Guim de la Plana.
Registration in the registry of Spaniards residing abroad is limited to people with Spanish nationality. To formalize it, it is required to present the DNI or the passport. This registration allows renewing documentation such as the passport, receiving consular assistance, and retaining the right to vote in electoral processes.
Doubts in Alós de Balaguer about the real volume of departures
In Alós de Balaguer, one of the municipalities with the highest percentage, mayor Luis Soldevila showed his surprise at the data. The municipality appears with 54 residents abroad out of a census of 172 inhabitants.
"I don't know where that data comes from. Certainly, it's not people from the town. There aren't that many people who have gone to live abroad" - Luis Soldevila, mayor of Alós de Balaguer
The mayor pointed to administrative movements linked to foreign population that passes through the municipality and then settles in other countries.
"There are quite a few rental apartments where foreigners usually settle who sometimes process family reunification and then go to live in other countries" - Luis Soldevila, mayor of Alós de Balaguer
"Sometimes they call us at the town hall because they have left but have not deregistered and their situation needs to be regularized" - Luis Soldevila, mayor of Alós de Balaguer
A judicial case for family reunification in Dakar
In parallel, a Senegalese citizen based in Lleida and with legal residence has managed to get justice to revoke the initial refusal to reunite his four children. The Spanish consulate in Dakar had denied the procedures by alleging the low reliability of the Civil Registry and also questioned the authenticity and reliability of the documentation presented.
The administrative resolution added that that situation cast doubt on the veracity of the filiation and the purpose of the reunification. However, a DNA test performed in September by an accredited laboratory concluded that the paternity regarding the four minors was proven.
The High Court of Justice of Madrid revoked the resolution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which had rejected family reunification and also imposed 500 euros in costs on the Administration. The decision corrects the criterion applied in the file and endorses the validity of the biological test to prove the family bond in this case.