Councils on the Costa del Sol are urging foreign residents to register on the municipal electoral roll.

Many councils in Malaga fear tens of thousands of unregistered residents live in certain municipalities: in the case of Marbella, with an electoral roll of 140,000 people from 137 different nationalities, it is thought a further 100,000 people live without registering.
The failure to register means councils are losing money, as the Spanish state gives subsidies to each municipality based on the size of its electoral roll.
Marbella tourism councillor, José Luis Hernández, said: “The fact both Spanish and foreign residents fail to register on the electoral roll here helps to collapse our public services. It is because of this that we have half the police, hospitals, courts, schools and taxis that we really need for a town of this size.”