Mallorca migrants face different town hall rules

On Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, registering an address can mean different rules from one town hall to the next: the islands are home to more than 358,000 residents of foreign origin. The Mediterranean Migration Observatory at the University of the Balearic Islands raised the problem in Palma, Mallorca, on Friday, 2 October. Its director, Margalida Capellà, said support services needed to reflect the islands’ migration needs.

Different rules, more paperwork

Address registration, known as empadronamiento, is a basic right and a requirement for access to housing and other services, the observatory said. But there is no common set of requirements across the islands, leaving each municipality to apply its own criteria.

People also face demands for numerous documents. The observatory said migrants, public officials and the professionals helping them may lack knowledge of the relevant laws and rights. Capellà pointed to the loss of a legal advice service on children’s issues that once helped smaller councils and organisations with difficult cases.

Work barriers and the next meeting

Valentina Milano, an observatory member and international law professor, said many professionals and organisations did good work, but there was no defined model for welcoming migrants. She warned that discriminatory attitudes in some cases made it harder to help people. Bureaucratic barriers also stood between people who wanted to work and businesses that needed staff, she said.

At a meeting on the university campus in Palma on Friday, researchers and frontline workers shared the problems they encounter. The observatory will assess whether the authorities can offer specific solutions, particularly for smaller municipalities. The meeting followed one on Menorca on 15 May; the final session is planned for 23 October in Eivissa.

Topics: Migration · Social affairs · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com