Posted on 10/07/2025 6:15:03 AM PDT by texas booster
Police in Vic, Catalonia, dismantled schemes involving falsified documents and marriages of convenience that helped illegal migrants obtain residency papers
The Spanish National Police has announced the arrest of 12 people in Vic for orchestrating fraudulent partnerships between Spaniards and illegal immigrants, part of a growing Europe-wide problem involving forged documents, sham marriages, and black markets for residency permits.
According to police, the network operating from the Catalonian town specialized in manufacturing fake family links to secure residence permits reserved for relatives of EU citizens.
As reported by 20 Minutos, the investigation began in November 2024, when authorities noticed a cluster of suspicious applications. In each case, the foreign applicant was living illegally in Spain and claimed to be in a stable partnership with a Spanish citizen. All applicants listed the same address on Rambla del Passeig, which investigators discovered was in fact a café.
The fraud unraveled when police found that the couples had not registered with the official Registry of Stable Partnerships and instead submitted forged documents to immigration officials. Among the arrested is the alleged mastermind who arranged the sham marriages, provided the fake paperwork, and advised clients on how to present their applications.
At least five foreigners managed to obtain legal residency before the scheme was uncovered, halting their deportations and granting them full EU benefits. In total, 14 applications were examined, with authorities seizing forged registration forms, partnership certificates, and payroll slips.
The case follows a separate investigation in northern Spain back in February, where police dismantled a ring arranging marriages of convenience between Spanish women and foreign men seeking legal residency. A lawyer from Miranda de Ebro, a male recruiter, and a female intermediary were arrested after police uncovered 13 planned sham marriages. Migrants allegedly paid up to €10,000 each to be paired with a Spanish partner, while women were offered between €3,000 and €4,000 to go through with the marriage.
Spanish authorities noted that such networks are lucrative for those involved. In 2020, another criminal group was disbanded for arranging over 50 sham marriages for Indian and Pakistani migrants, charging €20,000 each. That network had members operating across Barcelona, Valencia, and Sitges.
The Spanish operations are far from isolated. Earlier this year in France, prosecutors charged a civil servant from the foreigners’ admission service in Nancy with corruption and fraud for helping irregular migrants stay in the country. The official allegedly accepted bribes of €25,000 per case, altering documents to approve residence applications. Investigators traced at least 15 fraudulent files to her office, sparking a judicial probe into her network of accomplices and beneficiaries.
The Spanish National Police has announced the arrest of 12 people in Vic for orchestrating fraudulent partnerships between Spaniards and illegal immigrants, part of a growing Europe-wide problem involving forged documents, sham marriages, and black markets for residency permits.
According to police, the network operating from the Catalonian town specialized in manufacturing fake family links to secure residence permits reserved for relatives of EU citizens.
As reported by 20 Minutos, the investigation began in November 2024, when authorities noticed a cluster of suspicious applications. In each case, the foreign applicant was living illegally in Spain and claimed to be in a stable partnership with a Spanish citizen. All applicants listed the same address on Rambla del Passeig, which investigators discovered was in fact a café.
The fraud unraveled when police found that the couples had not registered with the official Registry of Stable Partnerships and instead submitted forged documents to immigration officials. Among the arrested is the alleged mastermind who arranged the sham marriages, provided the fake paperwork, and advised clients on how to present their applications.
At least five foreigners managed to obtain legal residency before the scheme was uncovered, halting their deportations and granting them full EU benefits. In total, 14 applications were examined, with authorities seizing forged registration forms, partnership certificates, and payroll slips.
The case follows a separate investigation in northern Spain back in February, where police dismantled a ring arranging marriages of convenience between Spanish women and foreign men seeking legal residency. A lawyer from Miranda de Ebro, a male recruiter, and a female intermediary were arrested after police uncovered 13 planned sham marriages. Migrants allegedly paid up to €10,000 each to be paired with a Spanish partner, while women were offered between €3,000 and €4,000 to go through with the marriage.
Spanish authorities noted that such networks are lucrative for those involved. In 2020, another criminal group was disbanded for arranging over 50 sham marriages for Indian and Pakistani migrants, charging €20,000 each. That network had members operating across Barcelona, Valencia, and Sitges.
The Spanish operations are far from isolated. Earlier this year in France, prosecutors charged a civil servant from the foreigners’ admission service in Nancy with corruption and fraud for helping irregular migrants stay in the country. The official allegedly accepted bribes of €25,000 per case, altering documents to approve residence applications. Investigators traced at least 15 fraudulent files to her office, sparking a judicial probe into her network of accomplices and beneficiaries.
Similarly, last month in Germany, an investigation by German broadcasters NTV and RTL, along with Stern magazine, revealed a booming black market on TikTok for forged integration and language certificates — a prerequisite for permanent residency or citizenship in Germany.
Under German law, foreign nationals must demonstrate language proficiency and integration by passing tests administered by accredited providers such as Telc or adult education centers. Yet on TikTok, vendors openly advertise fake certificates with messages like “A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, no school, no exam.” Videos in Arabic, Turkish, and Albanian promise fast-track paperwork, with prices ranging from €750 for basic certificates to €2,700 for higher-level documentation. Family “discounts” were even offered for multiple applicants.
Investigators also found forged driver’s licenses and industry qualification certificates circulating on the platform. Posts routinely attracted hundreds of thousands of views, with users openly commenting with requests for prices and availability.
Posted in full so we do not memory hole anything.
Typical of lawyers the ultimate middlemen. One party pays 10,000 and the other gets 4,000. The lawyer gets 6,000 and the ability to do it over and over. 4 or 5 of those and his wife wears fur and his kids get braces. 13 and he’s driving a Mercedes.
Congratulations on your marriage!
An official will be stopping by every four weeks on either Saturday morning or Sunday evening to collect your baby support tax. If you aren’t both home at the time, a 100 Euro fee will be charged.
Ladrona:
You probably benefited from a sham marriage. Your welfare and retirement benefits will each be held up for a like time.
Miss, how did you hook up?
He couldn’t legally be here, so you had to meet him outside the country.
Do you have proof of travel to the place where he was legally allowed to be?
Do you have proof of paying to stay at the place where he was legally allowed to be?
We don’t see a visa to Pakistan in your passport.
Madam,
Unless you have a residency visa from his country, his residency visa and work permit will be limited to six months.
Madam,
You two lack proof that he had a visa entitling him to be in the country where you hooked up. Therefore, you are both required to pay a sham marriage detection fee of 50 Euros a month for 24 months.
COULDN’T PAY ME $100 MILLION
Omar is the one who married her brother.
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