1.2 million ask for regularization; the Police denounce opacity and fraud.

The deadline to request the extraordinary regularization has closed, and my goodness, the numbers have skyrocketed. Between 1.2 and 1.3 million applications have been registered, more than double the 500,000 that the Government estimated when it launched it. The magnitude has been such that the National Police themselves saw it coming: they left it in writing in an internal report signed by the central chief commissioner of Immigration Operations, Alfredo García Miravete.

In that document, dated before the process began, the agents already said that it was not a real urgency, but a measure that had been on the table for months. And now, with the process closed, criticism has hardened. Police sources speak of "absolute lack of transparency". The big problem: no one has clarified who will verify the files. The Government outsourced the collection of applications to Correos and the public company Tragsa, but it has not been defined whether the Immigration brigades will review the documents or whether they will take everything as valid directly.

The confusion has been constant, I assure you. The agents say they have not received clear instructions on how to act. And they warn that this opacity can generate a 'pull effect', social tensions and saturation of public services such as health or education. The police report already spoke of possible 'significant negative effects' and 'social distrust' regarding border management.

That said, massive fraud attempts have been detected. The General Commissariat of Immigration and Borders issued an alert after noting a disproportionate increase in reports of lost passports, especially among Pakistani citizens (866% more), Algerians (356%), Moroccans (114%) and Colombians (35%). The maneuver aims to hide criminal records and sneak into regularization. The Police have confirmed that many of those reports concealed previous criminal records.

So if you have submitted your application, don't get distracted. They may ask you for more documentation or you may have to correct errors. Go to the electronic headquarters and check the status. And if you see something strange, report it. The process has been chaos, but you are still in time to prevent your procedure from falling through.

If you have difficulties with your appointment or procedure, write to us on Telegram: https://t.me/cita_extranjeria