Spain’s Balearic Islands have recorded 19 small-boat landings carrying about 360 people over the past 48 hours, highlighting a sharp pivot in Mediterranean migration patterns. Frontex data show arrivals via the Western Mediterranean route are up 27 percent this year, even as total EU entries decline.
Officials say smugglers now depart mainly from Algeria—responsible for 75 percent of crossings—after Moroccan patrols tightened controls. Faster ‘go-fast’ boats enable runs to Mallorca and Cabrera in under 10 hours, evading radar until the final miles.
![Migrant Arrivals Spike in Balearics as Smugglers Shift From Morocco to Algeria]()
The surge is straining reception facilities on Mallorca, where regional president Marga Prohens has urged Madrid to bolster maritime surveillance and fund shelter capacity. For corporate duty-of-care teams with expatriates in the islands, the uptick means heightened random ID checks and possible ferry-port congestion as Guardia Civil reallocates staff to coastal rescue.
Diplomatically, the trend tests fragile Spain-Algeria relations. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune last month to revive deportation cooperation, but observers say progress is slow while the Western Sahara dispute festers.
Immigration lawyers note that asylum offices in Palma are already booking appointments three months out; companies relocating non-EU staff to the Balearics should file residence applications in mainland offices where capacity exists.
Officials say smugglers now depart mainly from Algeria—responsible for 75 percent of crossings—after Moroccan patrols tightened controls. Faster ‘go-fast’ boats enable runs to Mallorca and Cabrera in under 10 hours, evading radar until the final miles.
The surge is straining reception facilities on Mallorca, where regional president Marga Prohens has urged Madrid to bolster maritime surveillance and fund shelter capacity. For corporate duty-of-care teams with expatriates in the islands, the uptick means heightened random ID checks and possible ferry-port congestion as Guardia Civil reallocates staff to coastal rescue.
Diplomatically, the trend tests fragile Spain-Algeria relations. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune last month to revive deportation cooperation, but observers say progress is slow while the Western Sahara dispute festers.
Immigration lawyers note that asylum offices in Palma are already booking appointments three months out; companies relocating non-EU staff to the Balearics should file residence applications in mainland offices where capacity exists.
