CEDMA requests appointments limits for the NIE to tackle the problem of “appointment hoarders”
The meeting found that up to 17% of NIE appointments are not met due to applicants not turning up and this problem has been attributed to “hoarders” who claim multiple appointments.
Tuesday 18th January 2022 – CARLOS LÓPEZ with Mike Smith
Two representatives of the Marina Alta Business Circle (CEDMA) held a meeting a few days ago with the sub-delegate of the Government in Alicante, Araceli Poblador, to address the problem of NIE (Foreigner Identification Number) applications and other immigration documents due to the scant availability of appointments in the different police stations and immigration offices of the Policía Nacional.
Obtaining the NIE is of vital importance for the Marina Alta. Without this document, foreign investments in companies and businesses, the purchase of real estate and any other administrative and/or legal act become impossible, which includes – for example – the schooling of children who move to the region with their families.
To achieve this, it is essential to obtain a “prior appointment” using the electronic headquarters of the State Administration. And herein lies the problem. CEDMA explained to the sub-delegate that it is practically “impossible” to get an appointment for the Denia office. As an alternative, and on very few occasions, appointments have to made for Elche, Orihuela or Alcoy, which is not acceptable.
The sub-delegate explained that she was aware of the problem and had the complete dossier of correspondence and visits from the business federation in recent years. Moreover, in the past, a shock plan was designed that proposed an expansion of the workforce and opening hours, but in Dénia it was not implemented due to the pandemic. That said, CEDMA recognized the efforts made by the Head of the Dénia Police Station, Carlos Nieto Millán, which have been reflected in an increase in the number of NIEs processed.
Despite these circumstances, the Subdelegation explained the number of NIEs assigned in the province of Alicante during 2021 was 30,400, which represents an increase of 27.7% compared to 2020. This makes Alicante the third Spanish province in number of foreigners.
One of the problems is the issue of “hoarders” of the NIE appointments, who make them theirs as soon as the calendar is opened using the electronic office.
Poblador explained that the appointments are made available at different times to avoid precisely this circumstance, but despite identifying the IPs, these “hoarders” are always ahead of the game. This is not a minor problem, as this leads to a loss of between 13 and 17% of appointments due to applicants who neither show up nor cancel.
Thus, and given that once the appointment has been made, the service at the Dénia Office is good, it was clear that the “plug” is created on the digital platform, so the following proposals were made:
1.- Block the possibility of requesting appointments in several offices at the same time in the name of the same applicant.
2.- Allow only the modification of date and time of an appointment, but not of the applicant (name and surname).
3.- Record the applicant’s data until the appointment is achieved (currently all the affiliation data must always be filled in again in the attempt to obtain the appointment, which requires a lot of time for the person trying to manage the appointment).
In addition, it was also agreed to take into account the possibility of extending the opening hours to the public from 8.15am and taking advantage of canceled appointments so that they can be used on the same day.
The sub-delegate promised to carry out the pertinent steps before the Ministry to start up new improvements in the service, as well as to hold a new meeting with those responsible for CEDMA in about two months and in Dénia to follow up on the implementation of the new measures.
CEDMA said that the meeting was very constructive and that it was appreciated, both by the sub-delegation and by the police, who expressed a real interest in knowing first-hand the problem and in finding effective solutions to it.
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