<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has completed the deployment of DICIREG, the electronic platform adapted to the new Civil Registry model, in all Spanish representations abroad.</strong></h4> According to the Ministry in a press release, the system has already been implemented in all consular offices. "In compliance with the planned schedule, the new electronic Civil Registry is now serving the more than three million Spanish citizens residing abroad," it added. The deployment abroad began in July 2024 in the consular offices in Helsinki, Manchester, and Amman, and by the end of 2024, it had already been implemented in 35 consular offices in Western Europe and Morocco. In the first half of 2025, the process progressed progressively according to the planned schedule, until its deployment was completed throughout the entire Spanish consular network on June 30. Embassies and Consulates are announcing their implementation through their social media and websites. This rollout, which coincides with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Consular Digitalization Plan (which is being implemented throughout 2025), has been carried out in coordination and collaboration with the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice, and Parliamentary Relations. DICIREG, the digital platform adapted to the new Civil Registry model provided for in the 2011 Civil Registry Law, allows for the transition from traditional physical paper books to a single, fully digitalized Civil Registry for all of Spain and for consular offices. It is a comprehensive application in which both the processing of files and the subsequent registration of events are carried out electronically. It is also based on an individual registry, through which each person is identified by their personal code, which attests to the facts and acts of their civil status, arranged chronologically and systematically. The advantages of implementing DICIREG in consular offices "are numerous for Spanish citizens abroad," according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. First, Civil Registry certificates issued with DICIREG can be sent electronically to citizens, avoiding travel to consular offices, which are sometimes far from their place of residence. This promotes immediacy and legal security, as the certificates are transmitted immediately and, by being issued digitally with a Secure Verification Code (CSV), their authenticity is guaranteed. Furthermore, processing and registration are more agile and simple, as the procedures and phases of the registration process are simplified. Likewise, relations and communication between Civil Registry offices are improved and facilitated, which contributes to reducing waiting times and streamlining the processing of procedures. Administrative burdens are also reduced for both citizens and Civil Registry offices, as procedures are managed electronically and registry information can be accessed remotely in some cases. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, "the consular digitalization project is one of the major advances for Spanish citizens abroad" and is transforming all activities at Consulates. "It will represent a true revolution in the way Spanish citizens living abroad are served," he added. <h5><strong>Consular Balance and the ADE</strong></h5> The deployment of DICIREG was highlighted by Albares himself as one of the main new features of the 2024 Consular Balance report, presented on June 10 to the Council of Ministers. The minister also highlighted the approval of the regulation that will provide residents abroad with a Central Consular Identification Number through which they can obtain their electronic certificate, and the development of the Consular Digitalization Plan, which will allow the implementation of a new electronic office, Consular Folder, and Unified Processing and Management Desk before the end of the year. The minister estimated the investment in consular digitalization at €115 million. A week after that presentation, the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) acknowledged, in response to the Consular Balance, that both DICIREG and the Consular Digitalization Plan ("the precise content of which remains unknown") will, in the future, be "useful tools to improve service to citizens." However, it warned that "these new systems—which require extensive training and additional tasks to move from paper to digital (digitalization, cancellation of registry entries, etc.)—are being implemented in the worst possible scenario, marked by work overload and a lack of staff." "Therefore, the implementation of a consular digitalization process does not eliminate the urgent need for a substantial increase in consular staff (...), in addition to the necessary improvement in the working conditions and, in certain cases, salaries of locally contracted local staff (PLEX), and the considerable investment required in real estate, much of which is in a lamentable state," it added.
