Immigrants can now make appointments

The Foreigners Office has introduced a new system under which appointments can be made by telephone, it was confirmed yesterday by Rafael Salaberni, the secretary at the Government representative's office. This will put an end to the long queues of immigrants, some of whom camp out all night to be sure of being attended to. “It will be much more comfortable to know the date and the time they will be received,” Salaberni said yesterday. A total of 103 people were attended to on the first day of the new system, which took many people by surprise. The telephone numbers for appointments are 971-218162 for private individuals or 971-218165 for professionals (lawyers, unions, etc). This system has already been introduced in other regions and in the Balearics “it functions with a computer system adapted to our reality,” the secretaary said. Last year, the Government representative's office handled 3'744 residency permits for non-workers, 18'751 residency permits, including new applications and renewals, and 8'136 permits for European Union members. In addition, the office handled 25'733 requests for NIEs (identity number for foreigners).