Queues Stretch Across Spain as Mass Regularisation Scheme Enters Second Week
Spain Tweaks New Biometric Border Checks to Ease Holiday-Season Bottlenecks
French Conservative Wants Spain ‘Ostracised’ over Migration Plan, Prompting EU Free-Movement Row
Latest News
Spain Launches Historic 2026 Migrant Legalisation Drive
Spain began accepting applications for its long-awaited 2026 migrant amnesty on 20 April. The scheme could grant renewable residence-and-work permits to half a million or more undocumented people already in the country, easing labour shortages but straining immigration offices. Employers stand to gain a new legal talent pool, yet only if processing bottlenecks are overcome before the 30 June deadline.
42,790 People Apply in First Three Days of Spain’s Amnesty Window
Spain’s Interior Ministry says 42,790 online applications were lodged within three days of the country’s new migrant regularisation window. High demand is concentrated in Madrid and Barcelona, with agriculture and hospitality workers most represented. The figures confirm severe workload pressure on immigration offices and signal that labour-shortage sectors could gain legal workers by summer.
Immigration-Office Staff Call 21 April Strike Over Amnesty Workload
Unions representing Spain’s immigration-office staff will begin an open-ended strike on 21 April, protesting insufficient resources to handle the new migrant legalisation scheme. Although minimum service levels are mandated, significant appointment cancellations and processing delays are expected, threatening work-permit renewals and new visa filings during peak travel season.
Indefinite Air-Traffic-Control Walk-Out Disrupts Nine Spanish Airports
Controllers at nine Saerco-run towers have launched an open-ended strike, cutting capacity at key Spanish airports and potentially affecting 2.6 million passengers in April. With overlapping ground-handling disputes, travellers and corporates should brace for cascading delays, check EU 261 rights and weigh rail alternatives on domestic routes.