Spain’s plan to fast track legal status for over half a million undocumented migrants is already overwhelming immigration offices and fuelling anxiety among hopeful applicants weeks before the process is due to begin.
The Socialist government has said the legalization drive will run from early April through June, but it has offered few concrete details about how migrants can apply or what documentation will be required.
Officials confirmed in January that no additional budget or staffing has been allocated for the expected surge in applications.
That uncertainty has left both migrants and frontline workers on edge.
“Our offices are completely jammed,” said César Pérez, a union leader representing immigration officers. He noted that many staff are still processing applications submitted as far back as June 2025. Without more personnel, funding or technological upgrades, he warned, the system could buckle under pressure.
A preliminary government document published last month outlined plans for a “specific, preferential and differentiated procedure” for the amnesty window.
But a draft decree dated February 18 and seen by Reuters provided no operational details. Ministries overseeing migration declined to answer detailed questions, saying the final decree is still being developed.
Spain has long pursued a relatively inclusive migration policy, even as other European nations tighten their borders. Economists credit migrant labour for much of the country’s strong economic growth in recent years.
Official estimates suggest Spain will need around 2.4 million additional contributors to social security over the next decade to sustain its welfare system.
Mass regularizations are not new. In 2005, Spain granted legal status to 570,000 migrants and reinforced the system by hiring 1,700 employees and opening hundreds of information points. This time, no such reinforcement has been announced.
To fill the gap, the government is reportedly considering involving non governmental organisations and trade unions in processing applications, as well as extending immigration office hours. But neither measure has been formally adopted, raising doubts about whether the scheme can launch smoothly.
“The government is optimistic, but coordinating everyone will not be easy. We can expect chaos at launch,” said a source involved in ministry discussions.
Meanwhile, migrants are scrambling for clarity. Many are queuing at immigration offices seeking information that staff cannot yet provide.
Authorities have said applicants must have a clean criminal record and prove at least five continuous months of residence in Spain, or show they applied for asylum before the end of 2025. However, officials have not specified what documents will qualify as proof.
For people like Iris Rocha, a 37 year old Peruvian mother of two living in Barcelona, the uncertainty is agonising. Rocha said she fled Peru in 2023 after suffering life threatening abuse but lost her temporary work permit when her asylum claim was denied.
“It’s still not clear what requirements we’ll have to meet,” she said. “I’m afraid they will ask for something I can’t provide.”
Spain’s immigration minister, Elma Saiz, has said applicants will be allowed to work legally within 15 days of filing their paperwork. Yet experts caution that chronic delays in the system could undermine that promise.
A recent estimate by think tank Funcas suggests migrants currently spend two to three years navigating the legalisation process, with roughly 840,000 working without papers while they wait.
“People become undocumented not because they don’t want to register, but because they can’t,” said Gabriela Domingo, a migration lawyer.
Anxiety has also fuelled an underground market for appointment slots. Lawyers report that some intermediaries are illegally selling April booking times at immigration offices, even though the official start date has not been confirmed.
“People are selling appointments even though the start date is only a rumour,” said Pilar Rodriguez, a migrants’ rights advocate. “That shows the fear this process has instilled.”
As April approaches, Spain’s ambitious regularisation drive stands at a crossroads hailed as an economic necessity by supporters, but threatened by administrative bottlenecks that could turn hope into frustration for hundreds of thousands seeking a fresh start.
Goodness Anunobi
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