Just hours after the government trumpeted progress in processing regularisation files, the National Police sounded a note of caution. An internal assessment leaked on 24 July estimates that as many as 400,000 of the 1.17 million applications may fail the basic requirement that the migrant lived in Spain for at least five uninterrupted months before 1 January 2026. The report, revealed by El Liberal and attributed to the Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras, links the surge to an “effect call” that allegedly encouraged would-be beneficiaries to rush into Spain—or to buy forged tenancy contracts and padrón certificates—to meet the cut-off date. Police unions complain that their role in the extraordinary process has been mostly reactive: agents intervene only when the central Unit for the Processing of Extranjería Files (UTEX) flags anomalies, limiting their ability to detect forged documents early. Investigators also claim that organised networks have offered packages of fake payslips and rent receipts for €600-€1,200. Migration NGOs reject the fraud narrative, arguing that applicants had to upload extensive documentary evidence through the Correos digital platform, and that most irregular migrants were already resident well before the cut-off. They accuse the police of stoking xenophobic sentiment and jeopardising a humanitarian measure that enjoys broad parliamentary backing. For employers, the controversy creates uncertainty: if large numbers of provisional permits are later annulled, companies may face sudden skill gaps and compliance risks. HR directors are therefore urged to keep copies of employees’ provisional cards and to monitor official notifications, while preparing contingency plans should any permits be revoked. The government has not commented on the leak but says it will prosecute anyone found to have submitted fraudulent data. It is also considering extra training for UTEX staff on document-forensics and data-cross-matching with municipal registers.
Source: El Liberal
