Spain sees over 900,000 migrants apply for regularization before deadline

More than 900,000 irregular migrants in Spain have submitted applications for legal status under a regularisation programme whose deadline falls on Tuesday. The government had initially expected around half a million requests.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet approved a royal decree in April that gave applicants just over three months to apply. To date, about 360,000 of those who have applied have already received temporary work and residence permits.

The drive stems from a 2024 citizen initiative supported by over 700,000 Spaniards, humanitarian organisations, business groups and the Catholic Church, while opposition parties such as Vox and the centre‑right People's Party have challenged the measure. Spain’s Supreme Court recently rejected a request to suspend the decree.

The mass regularisation effort puts Madrid at odds with the European Union’s newly finalised migration reforms, which call for faster returns, stricter border controls and the creation of external return centres advocated by Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands.