ARCHIVED - Strikes across Spain in ExtranjerÃas could cause delays for residency and TIE card applicants
The CCOO trade union has announced that administrative workers at ‘Extranjería’ or foreigners’ departments will be striking on Fridays between 5 March and the end of April unless an agreement can be reached with the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.
Foreign nationals trying to obtain their Spanish residency or TIE cards are likely to be in for longer waits in the coming weeks as the CCOO trade union has announced strikes by non-police personnel at stations and departments that deal with renovations and issuing of ID cards, passports and TIE cards.
The administrative staff, said the general secretary for CCOO at the Ministry of the Interior, Fernando García, will begin striking on Fridays (the busiest day of the week at the 1,500 paperwork renewal offices in Spain) in March and April, as they feel their rights are not being respected. Further strikes, García said, would be called on 30 April if an agreement has still not been reached by then.
While the strikes are likely to cause delays and extra hassle for anyone who needs to obtain or renew their paperwork, they will be particularly irritating for foreign nationals trying to get their residency applicants sorted out, some of whom have already been on waiting lists for appointments for months and now face possible cancellations.
This is particularly frustrating for those who have been trapped back in the UK due to the refusal of the Spanish authorities to allow anyone other than residents back into the country due to the coronavirus situation; it has been announced this week that those who are in the process of obtaining their residency and can provide documentation to prove this, will now be permitted to return to Spain and continue their application process.