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Migration and life between countries: arrivals data, integration policies, consular services, and stories of people moving to and from Spain. The human side of the statistics.
Get migration news in your inbox every morning →The European Union's new migration pact, tightening asylum procedures and accelerating deportations, entered into force on Friday, but many member states including Spain have not passed the necessary legislation. The Spanish government has not announced how it will implement border controls, detention, and swift returns. The EU Commission acknowledges key elements remain unactivated.
→ Read the full digestIn May, 25,000 of over 60,000 new social security affiliates in Spain were immigrants from the extraordinary regularisation process, according to Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo. This shows the regularisation's direct effect on the labour market.
→ Read the full digestRyanair warns that from April 10, non-EU passport holders will face extended waits at Schengen borders due to the Entry/Exit System, which requires biometric checks including fingerprints and photos. Routes from the UK, Ireland, and other non-EU countries will be most affected.
→ Read the full digestPete Hegseth, US Secretary of War, sparked outrage by comparing the Allied landings at Normandy during WWII to a 'cultural invasion' of immigrants in Europe. He made the remarks on the D-Day anniversary at a US cemetery in France.
→ Read the full digestMinister Elma Saiz acknowledged some delays in the extraordinary regularization process for migrants, but assured that responses will be given 'in due time and form.' She praised public servants handling the procedure and condemned 'hate speech' about supposed benefits.
→ Read the full digestThe European Court of Justice ruled that a Moroccan mother of a disabled Dutch child must be granted a derivative residence permit in the Netherlands, despite having been granted residency in Spain. The court emphasized the need to respect family life and the risk of separation, as the child has built ties with both parents. The woman, identified as V, had lived and worked in Spain from 1999 to 2014 before moving to the Netherlands.
→ Read the full digestThe EU has taken a major step towards creating migrant return centers in third countries, inspired by Italian PM Giorgia Meloni's model. Spain is the only member state to oppose the measure, leaving it isolated in EU migration policy.
→ Read the full digestThe Popular Party (PP) has filed a motion in Congress demanding the suspension of the government's immigrant regularization process, arguing it has created a black market where appointments are sold for up to €600 and municipal registry (padrón) registrations for €350. The PP claims the process, affecting hundreds of thousands, has been mismanaged and led to 'mafias' exploiting the system.
→ Read the full digestSpain has the highest proportion of foreign-born residents in the EU (nearly 2 out of 10), yet also the lowest retention rate due to housing inaccessibility and an unstable labor market. The contrast highlights key challenges for expats and immigrants considering long-term settlement.
→ Read the full digestOut of 549,596 applications for Spain's extraordinary regularization process, only 91,905 have received approval to work provisionally, leaving over 50,000 people waiting beyond the promised 15-day timeline. Many migrants report waiting over 40 days without response, causing anxiety and uncertainty.
→ Read the full digestThe Supreme Court has dismissed the Madrid region's urgent request to suspend the extraordinary regularization of migrants, stating there is no evidence that public services will collapse. Two dissenting judges called it a 'covert administrative amnesty'.
→ Read the full digestA report from the Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada (Fedea) concludes that the government's extraordinary regularization of undocumented immigrants will have no significant impact on Spain's economic growth. The finding was published in the latest Labor Market Observatory on Wednesday.
→ Read the full digestMounir, a Moroccan temporero (seasonal worker), was detained by police while on his way to apply for Spain's extraordinary regularization process. After spending two weeks in a CIE (immigration detention center) facing imminent deportation, the government canceled his expulsion and granted him provisional residence and work permits. 'A week ago I was packing my bag to leave, now I have papers,' he says.
→ Read the full digestThe Bank of Spain's 2025 Financial Inclusion Report finds that the basic payment account (CPB) is failing to reach irregular immigrants, with only about 25,000 accounts opened annually compared to an estimated 614,000-838,000 undocumented migrants. Banks are reluctant to open CPBs due to anti-money laundering rules. The regulator calls for easier procedures.
→ Read the full digestPP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo promised to replace current migration policy with one that protects borders and expels lawbreakers. He also pledged a 24-hour eviction rule for squatters under a new anti-okupación law.
→ Read the full digestSpain's Democratic Memory Law has granted nationality to 11,670 Uruguayans descended from exiles, with almost 50,000 applications filed. The government calls it a "moral reparation" for those forced to flee the Civil War and Franco dictatorship.
→ Read the full digestSpain's Supreme Court has denied urgent requests from Vox and the Madrid regional government to suspend the extraordinary regularization of migrants approved in April. The court also threw out appeals from far-right groups for lack of standing, allowing the process to continue.
→ Read the full digestThe Supreme Court is considering five appeals to temporarily block the government's extraordinary regularization procedure, which aims to grant residency and work permits to around 500,000 undocumented migrants. The process opened 16 April and has received 200,000 applications; deadline is 30 June.
→ Read the full digestThe Madrid government asks the Supreme Court to suspend the extraordinary regularization of migrants, arguing it will 'collapse' healthcare and welfare. Critics counter that the migrants already have the right to healthcare and that Madrid's claims about immediate benefit access are false — the Renta Mínima de Inserción requires one year of legal residence.
→ Read the full digestThe Supreme Court ruled that the Community of Madrid can demand payment for medical care given to a Mexican citizen who was not a legal resident in 2021. The court applied the 2003 law, not the recent decree extending free public healthcare to irregular migrants, so the debt stands.
→ Read the full digestThe extraordinary regularization process for undocumented migrants has seen 120,000 petitions in the first week of the month-long process, due to end June 30. However, the Supreme Court will hear a request from the Madrid region on Friday to suspend the decree, citing strain on public services.
→ Read the full digestThe government will end the humanitarian residency mechanism linked to asylum applications for Venezuelans as of June 12. This policy had helped approximately 240,000 people obtain residency through an automatic conversion of denied asylum claims. From June, affected individuals must meet stricter requirements, including a minimum two-year stay in Spain and a work contract, to qualify for ordinary residency via 'arraigo' (social, labor, or family roots).
→ Read the full digestThe extraordinary regularization procedure for undocumented migrants has received over 130,000 applications in its first week. Applicants face documentary doubts, and the Supreme Court is now deliberating on the decree's legality.
→ Read the full digestSpain's Supreme Court delayed until May 22 the hearing on whether to temporarily suspend the government's decree for an extraordinary regularization of undocumented migrants. The appeal to halt the process was brought by right-wing groups and the Madrid regional government, while the state's legal defense argues a pause would harm the affected migrants and the public interest.
→ Read the full digestSpain's State Attorney has asked the Supreme Court to reject a precautionary suspension of the extraordinary migrant regularization approved by the government. They argue that the applicants do not immediately gain irreversible rights and that the measure promotes integration and social security contributions.
→ Read the full digestSpain's Supreme Court will hear arguments this Wednesday on requests from Vox, Hazte Oír and others to urgently suspend the government's extraordinary regularization decree for migrants. The government will defend the measure, while opponents claim it oversteps legal limits and structurally changes migration policy.
→ Read the full digestPP leader Feijóo calls the government's state‑secret claim on the mass regularization of one million irregular migrants 'a mockery'. He promises to release all documents within a week of taking office and demands Interior Minister Marlaska step down.
→ Read the full digestFormer Prime Minister José María Aznar has criticized calls for mass deportation of immigrants, arguing that Spain needs immigrant labor as the native population declines. He emphasized the value of legal immigration, particularly from Latin America, citing shared language and culture, and warned against promoting immigration from other regions, citing integration problems in Catalonia.
→ Read the full digestFollowing a surge of immigrants seeking padrón (municipal registry) certificates, attention has shifted to obtaining appointments at 12 government offices. The extraordinary regularization process has overwhelmed the system, with online procedures proving challenging.
→ Read the full digest