By Emma Randle
Mojacar council is appealing to foreigners to register as residents with the Spanish government after the National Institute of Statistics (INE) revealed the official population of the town to be just over 6,000 as opposed to the 8,486 people listed on the town register, or padrón.
Every month the INE sends councils a list of foreigners that need to confirm their residency, as the official population of each town should be the same as the data held by the ministry for the interior.
In March, 2,321 foreigners listed on Mojacar’s padrón needed to confirm their residence, according to the council. After “months of work” the council managed to track down 332 people who are now registered as residents – the remainder are thought to have returned to their countries of origin, moved away or died.
