Overview
- The Interior Ministry said it will add resources at National Police stations to manage a wave of ID-card appointments and background checks tied to the new regularization, though it has not specified staffing levels.
- Roughly 200,000 people applied in the first month since the April 16 launch, which officials say is about 40% of the cases they expect to approve.
- Many applicants already accepted for review hold a provisional one-year work and residence permit but cannot sign formal contracts yet because their Social Security numbers arrive later by separate notice.
- Police sources and legal advocates warn of bottlenecks for the TIE, the foreigner ID card that requires a fingerprint appointment, and for the police reports that must be drafted within short legal deadlines.
- NGOs report that people without a fixed address and some nationalities face extra hurdles, with homeless applicants missing key papers and Algerians stuck in a complex legalization chain that includes an appointment squeeze at Spain’s consulate in Oran.