OVIEDO, Spain

Spanish police said on Thursday that they busted two criminal rings dedicated to falsifying documents for British citizens who wanted to stay in Spain longer than the law would allow post-Brexit.

The police arrested 47 people in Marbella – 42 directly involved in falsifying the documents and five others who managed the offices offering the services in Marbella and Ceuta.

Police say two independent criminal organizations were offering the services. The average fee to forge documents that would permit British individuals to reside in Spain was €1,600 ($1,694) cash per person.

The investigation began in 2021 when police noticed a number of suspicious residency claims in the Malaga Foreign Office. When they analyzed the more than 200 residency requests from British citizens, they found that more than half contained false information or forged documents.

In total, 120 Brits who had already their residency requests denied or did not qualify to stay attempted the scheme. At least three were criminals trying to hide out.

The criminal modus operandi involved applying for residency through a special residency route available only for Brits who had resided in Spain before Brexit.

Pre-Brexit, British citizens could live and work in Spain without a visa or special residency permit.

Since UK citizens voted to leave the EU, however, they now need special permission to stay in Spain for more than 90 days in a 180-day period.