Barcelona’s essential support service for foreign nationals is set to resume new consultations from the beginning of March, following a near two-month stoppage that created a significant backlog and drew sharp criticism from opposition parties.

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The Service for Immigrants, Emigrants, and Refugees (SAIER) suspended new appointments on 1 January after its long-standing contract for legal advice on immigration law expired. During the hiatus, the service only handled urgent cases and follow-up appointments, leaving an estimated 1,000 new requests unattended.

The disruption comes at a critical time, as the Spanish central government prepares for a major migrant regularisation process between April and June. This is expected to trigger a surge in demand for legal advice, a trend already being observed by smaller immigration support organisations in the city. More on this can be found in our recent coverage on Spain ruling out a Catalan test for migrant regularisation.

A Troubled Transition

The halt in service stems from a fundamental shift in how the Barcelona City Council manages its external partners. The administration under Mayor Jaume Collboni has moved from direct partnership agreements (convenios) to competitive public tenders (contratos) for many of SAIER’s functions.

City officials maintain the council’s financial oversight body prompted this change, arguing that public tenders offer greater transparency and control over municipal funds. However, the transition has proved far from smooth.

Three historical entities, each with over two decades of experience within SAIER, have departed. The exit of the Centre for Information for Foreign Workers (CITE) caused the most immediate disruption, an organisation linked to the CCOO trade union. CITE, which handled legal advice, lost its bid to continue after submitting a financial offer that exceeded the tender’s maximum budget, according to a report by El Periódico.

Similarly, the tender for the ‘front office’ or initial reception service, previously managed by the Asociación Bienestar y Desarrollo (ABD), was left vacant after ABD declined to bid, citing financially unviable conditions. No other organisation submitted a proposal.

Emergency Measures and Political Backlash

Faced with a service collapse, the city council has implemented emergency measures. The city council has brought in the foundation Ficat on a temporary agreement to handle legal consultations from 1 March until the end of summer. During this period, a new public tender will be prepared. For more details on the interim solution, read our report: Barcelona Immigration Service: Emergency Replacement Finalised for SAIER.

Meanwhile, another organisation, Progess, will take over the front office from ABD on 24 April. The third departing entity, AMIC, linked to the UGT union, lost its contract for labour advice to the cooperative Insercoop.

The situation has led to a political firestorm at City Hall. In a recent Social Rights commission meeting, all opposition parties except PSC and Vox supported a motion calling for immediate reinforcements to clear the backlog and a complete review of the new contracting model. They urged the council to recognise SAIER as a core municipal service and called on the regional Generalitat de Catalunya to contribute to its funding.

A Bigger Budget Amid Uncertainty

Defending the administration’s actions, Social Action Commissioner Sonia Fuertes highlighted a significant budget increase for SAIER, from six million euros in 2025 to a planned eight million in 2026. Officials argue this demonstrates a firm commitment to the service, not a desire to cut costs.

The council has also substantially increased the budgets for the specific contracts under tender. For instance, the legal advice service previously run by CITE had a budget of €244,054 for 2025; the new tender for 2026 is set at €503,738.

Despite these increases, the departing organisations claim the tender conditions were economically unmanageable. They also defended the previous partnership model as a system built on decades of trust and proven expertise.

While the city assures that the service interruption put no one at risk of deportation, the two-month gap has undoubtedly caused stress and uncertainty for many of Barcelona’s newest residents. As Ficat steps in to manage the backlog, all eyes will be on the city council to see if it can establish a stable, long-term solution for this vital service.