Criminal syndicates earn 200,000 euros a month from immigration appointments

The National Police have dismantled an organization that was pocketing up to 9,000 euros a month per member by selling immigration appointments. In total, 21 people were arrested: one in Murcia, 17 in Alicante, and three in Valencia. But don’t think this is an isolated case—police sources confirm that these schemes are common.

The criminals use computer bots to snap up all the available appointments on the government’s website. These programs bypass security measures—such as CAPTCHAs—and snap up all the appointments in seconds. They then resell them at prices ranging from 15 to 30 euros per appointment—amounts that many people with limited resources can afford. The leader of the organization recorded video tutorials to teach her family and friends how to use the bots and hide their IP addresses with a VPN. This is how they monopolized appointments in various provinces. Given the volume of clients, the math is simple: if each of the 21 members brought in 9,000 euros a month, the organization raked in nearly 200,000 euros a month. Black money, according to the police. It’s that clear-cut.

Keep in mind, this isn’t the only network. In the Valencian Community and Murcia, other criminal groups operate, charging between 350 and 400 euros per person when the need is urgent—for example, to renew a residence permit. In those cases, profits can skyrocket even further. The problem isn’t that there aren’t any appointments—it’s that they’re snapped up by bots from the very first minute. The police warn that the money from these sales is “deeply illicit.”

The mandatory appointment system was implemented at the Murcia Immigration Office in 2018. Since then—and this is key—showing up without a reservation is pointless. And since obtaining one through legal channels is becoming increasingly difficult, many migrants turn to these mafias out of desperation. Organizations such as Convivir Sin Racismo and Murcia Acoge have already denounced the situation as a form of silent institutional violence.

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