The political backlash against Spain’s new extraordinary regularisation reached municipal level on 22 February when the People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party each registered motions in the Lorca city council demanding that the national government scrap the scheme.
Speaking to local broadcaster COPE Lorca, PP spokesperson Rosa Medina claimed the decree "rewards mafias" and will create an "unprecedented pull-factor" toward cities like Lorca that already struggle to provide housing and public-health capacity. Vox vice-spokesman José Martínez went further, calling for audits of recent citizenship grants, automatic deportation of irregular migrants who re-offend, and the withdrawal of subsidies from NGOs “that facilitate illegal immigration.”
Although the motions are non-binding, they illustrate how Spain’s regularisation – framed by Madrid as an economic necessity – is becoming a flash-point in regional politics.
![PP and Vox Table Motions in Lorca to Overturn Spain’s Mass Regularisation of Migrants]()
At this juncture, organisations that move talent into Spain may find it helpful to lean on specialist visa services. VisaHQ, for instance, offers an up-to-date overview of Spanish entry and residence requirements and can assist with work-permit filings, short-stay visas, and appointment scheduling, easing the administrative burden on HR teams. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/spain/
Mobility practitioners moving staff into Murcia should expect tighter local scrutiny of foreign workers’ documentation and possible delays in municipal empadronamiento (population-register) appointments if town councils escalate resistance.
Employers should note the divergent approaches: while regional PP branches attack the policy rhetorically, Vox seeks concrete administrative barriers. A split vote in Lorca could foreshadow similar manoeuvres in other PP-Vox coalitions governing dozens of Spanish municipalities.
From a compliance standpoint, companies should prepare to evidence employees’ legal status more frequently and update mobility policies to reflect potential swings in access to local welfare benefits that expat families sometimes rely on.
Speaking to local broadcaster COPE Lorca, PP spokesperson Rosa Medina claimed the decree "rewards mafias" and will create an "unprecedented pull-factor" toward cities like Lorca that already struggle to provide housing and public-health capacity. Vox vice-spokesman José Martínez went further, calling for audits of recent citizenship grants, automatic deportation of irregular migrants who re-offend, and the withdrawal of subsidies from NGOs “that facilitate illegal immigration.”
Although the motions are non-binding, they illustrate how Spain’s regularisation – framed by Madrid as an economic necessity – is becoming a flash-point in regional politics.
At this juncture, organisations that move talent into Spain may find it helpful to lean on specialist visa services. VisaHQ, for instance, offers an up-to-date overview of Spanish entry and residence requirements and can assist with work-permit filings, short-stay visas, and appointment scheduling, easing the administrative burden on HR teams. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/spain/
Mobility practitioners moving staff into Murcia should expect tighter local scrutiny of foreign workers’ documentation and possible delays in municipal empadronamiento (population-register) appointments if town councils escalate resistance.
Employers should note the divergent approaches: while regional PP branches attack the policy rhetorically, Vox seeks concrete administrative barriers. A split vote in Lorca could foreshadow similar manoeuvres in other PP-Vox coalitions governing dozens of Spanish municipalities.
From a compliance standpoint, companies should prepare to evidence employees’ legal status more frequently and update mobility policies to reflect potential swings in access to local welfare benefits that expat families sometimes rely on.
