Cita previa: Spain to use AI to scrap dreaded appointment system

Spain's Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service Óscar López has announced a new plan transform the state administration using artificial intelligence.

The plan includes eliminating mandatory appointments or cita previas to access government offices like extranjería (foreigners' offices), streamlining bureaucracy, and developing one-stop offices that centralise services.

"AI should help the administration lead the way and simplify your life," López confirmed during a recent press conference.

READ ALSO: How to get a 'cita previa' (appointment) in Spain when it seems impossible

The State Administration Transformation Plan will have a budget of €43 million, which will come from coffers of the Ministry of Public Administration.

"Spain is going to establish its own profile in a global context of cuts and dismantling of the public sector by strengthening the public sector and the welfare state", the minister explained.

Among many other plans, one of the main points that will affect foreign residents will be the alleged elimination of the requirement to book prior appointments online. To achieve this, the necessary investments and changes will be implemented, followed by legislative changes.

The minister, however, declined to give a specific date for when this would happen, but it will first require the support of a majority in Congress, and full implementation is not expected until 2027.

There is evidence that using AI to carry out tasks can save time, as seen with the reduction in processing times for Spanish citizenship applications.

Booking online appointments for certain government offices or police stations like for renewing a TIE or applying for a NIE has become a big problem in Spain in recent years with fewer and fewer available.

For some locations, particularly big cities popular with foreigners, it has become almost impossible to find appointments available. This is because criminal gangs use computer bots to hijack all appointments and then resell them for a big profit.

READ ALSO: €90 for a cita previa - Spain's residency appointment scams worsen

Government departments offering services to migrants, such as extranjería are targeted more often, as gangs know migrants will be more desperate and willing to pay up.

Over the years police have broken up a few of these gangs and arrested many people in connection with the illegal practice, but it doesn’t seem to have put a stop to the problem.

Back at the beginning of 2024, then Minister Digital Transformation and Public Function José Luis Escrivá announced his intention to scrap the need of booking an appointment beforehand to be seen at the offices of the Social Security, the Hacienda tax agency or the DGT traffic authority in order to solve the issue, but a year and half later this still hasn’t happened.

Whether the new AI system will help the situation remains to be seen, but in the meantime many foreigners are still having to wait months to find available appointments or be forced to pay up and add to the problem.