Spanish National Police have broken up an organised crime network that specialised in bringing Moroccan nationals into Spain on tourist visas and then converting their status to long-term residence through fraudulent domestic-partnership registrations (“parejas de hecho”). Forty-eight suspects—37 Spanish women and 11 Moroccan men—were arrested in coordinated raids in Jaén, Málaga, Barcelona, Tenerife and Melilla after a ten-month investigation dubbed “Operación Vínculo”.
According to the investigative file, ringleaders charged up to €12,000 per applicant to arrange forged rental contracts, fake municipal registration (empadronamiento) and notarial certificates needed to register a partnership in Catalonia. Once the paperwork was accepted, the foreign partner obtained a five-year EU-family residence card that conferred full work rights. Police estimate the gang generated more than €30 million in illicit revenue and facilitated at least 300 residence permits.
The scheme exploited Spain’s relatively fast-track family-reunification route, highlighting a structural vulnerability for corporate mobility managers who rely on legitimate “familiar comunitario” permits for non-EU spouses. Immigration lawyers say compliance audits are likely to tighten—particularly in Barcelona, where most fraudulent partnerships were notarised—resulting in longer adjudication times for genuine applications in the first half of 2026.
![Spanish Police Dismantle Fake-Partnership Visa Ring Operating Across Five Provinces]()
For organisations and travellers who need legitimate visas or residence cards, VisaHQ can help streamline the process. The company offers step-by-step guidance, document checks and application tracking for everything from short-stay Schengen visas to family-reunification permits, ensuring submissions align with current Spanish regulations. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/spain/.
For employers, the immediate risk is two-fold: employees already holding cards obtained through the dismantled network may lose their work authorisation, and new filings that resemble the red-flag profile (Spanish female/Moroccan male, Barcelona notary) could be subject to heightened scrutiny. Companies should proactively review internal mobility files, verify the authenticity of partnership documents and prepare for possible revocations that could affect payroll and social-security registrations.
The Interior Ministry has asked regional Foreigners’ Offices to annul all permits issued in connection with the case and to recover any social-welfare benefits paid. Further arrests are expected as digital forensics teams analyse seized computers and phones. Multinationals are advised to brief transferees on the crackdown and to allocate extra lead time for family-based residence cards through early 2026.
According to the investigative file, ringleaders charged up to €12,000 per applicant to arrange forged rental contracts, fake municipal registration (empadronamiento) and notarial certificates needed to register a partnership in Catalonia. Once the paperwork was accepted, the foreign partner obtained a five-year EU-family residence card that conferred full work rights. Police estimate the gang generated more than €30 million in illicit revenue and facilitated at least 300 residence permits.
The scheme exploited Spain’s relatively fast-track family-reunification route, highlighting a structural vulnerability for corporate mobility managers who rely on legitimate “familiar comunitario” permits for non-EU spouses. Immigration lawyers say compliance audits are likely to tighten—particularly in Barcelona, where most fraudulent partnerships were notarised—resulting in longer adjudication times for genuine applications in the first half of 2026.
For organisations and travellers who need legitimate visas or residence cards, VisaHQ can help streamline the process. The company offers step-by-step guidance, document checks and application tracking for everything from short-stay Schengen visas to family-reunification permits, ensuring submissions align with current Spanish regulations. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/spain/.
For employers, the immediate risk is two-fold: employees already holding cards obtained through the dismantled network may lose their work authorisation, and new filings that resemble the red-flag profile (Spanish female/Moroccan male, Barcelona notary) could be subject to heightened scrutiny. Companies should proactively review internal mobility files, verify the authenticity of partnership documents and prepare for possible revocations that could affect payroll and social-security registrations.
The Interior Ministry has asked regional Foreigners’ Offices to annul all permits issued in connection with the case and to recover any social-welfare benefits paid. Further arrests are expected as digital forensics teams analyse seized computers and phones. Multinationals are advised to brief transferees on the crackdown and to allocate extra lead time for family-based residence cards through early 2026.
