Bots hoard Spain's immigration appointments and resell them for profit

A post circulating on X denounces that certain businesses use bots to hoard appointments for Spain's immigration office (Extranjería) and other public services and resell them afterwards. According to the complaint, the mechanism not only harms migrants who need the procedure: it also displaces any citizen trying to book an appointment.

The complaint is spreading on X and points to a business built on other people's patience. According to that account, internet cafés and administrative agencies keep bots relentlessly scanning the Extranjería electronic office. When a free slot appears, they capture it in milliseconds. Then they offer it to their clients for a price. The procedure is free. The appointment is not.

## How appointment hoarding works

The key is automation. A program queries the official website hundreds of times per minute. A person cannot. When the system releases slots, the bot has already booked them. The citizen who logs in manually finds an empty calendar. It is not that there are no appointments: it is that someone bought them before they became visible.

The business feeds on urgency. Someone who needs to regularise their status cannot wait months. They pay whatever is asked. According to the complaint, these establishments mainly serve their fellow nationals, but the funnel affects everyone. The local resident calling to renew their card also competes against the same bot.

## A bottleneck that already existed

Extranjería has suffered structural saturation for years. Staff reinforcements arrive in a trickle and demand does not fall. In that breeding ground, any slot has market value. Reselling appointments is the logical consequence of rigid supply and desperate demand.

The post mentions other examples of the same pattern: health cards, fake municipal registration, the minimum living income. In every case, the scheme is identical. A public, free and limited procedure becomes merchandise. Whoever has the bot charges. Whoever does not, waits.

## What can be done against these practices

The administration has tried to close the door to bots with verification systems, but the race never ends. Each new filter is bypassed within weeks. The incivil route exists: reselling appointments can constitute fraud or impersonation of official functions, depending on the case. But prosecuting every agency is like bailing out the sea with a bucket.

The underlying solution is to expand the system's capacity. More staff, more offices, more opening hours. As long as supply remains scarce, someone will be willing to pay to skip the queue. And someone willing to charge them. It is basic economics, however painful.

If you need an official appointment, always apply through the administration's channels and distrust anyone who guarantees one in exchange for money. For any legal doubt, consult a lawyer.