Spain’s Migrant Amnesty Draws Over 1.2 Million Applicants, Sparks Legal Battle with EU

Spain’s extraordinary migrant regularization process closed on June 30 with nearly 1.2 million applications, more than double the government’s initial projection of 500,000 [187352][187055][188340]. The program, launched in April by the left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, allows undocumented migrants who can prove they have been living in Spain for at least five months to apply for temporary residency and work permits [185645][188340].

Of the total applications, 609,737 have been accepted for processing, granting those applicants provisional residence permits until a final decision is made [187055][188340]. So far, 11,000 people have received definitive positive responses [187055]. The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration confirmed that 67% of applicants come from Latin America, with Colombians making up the largest group at 27%, followed by Moroccans (13.4%), Venezuelans (11.7%), and Peruvians (8.8%) [187055][188340].

The regularization is already boosting Spain’s labor market. Of the accepted applicants, 159,097 are now registered with Social Security, working primarily in hospitality (38,776), commerce (20,195), administrative services (19,327), and construction (18,310) [187055][188340]. Spain’s total workforce reached a record 22.4 million workers in June, with foreign workers accounting for 67% of new job growth that month [187058].

However, the program faces a legal challenge from Spain’s Supreme Court. Three conservative judges on the court’s fifth administrative section have opened the door to referring the matter to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), questioning whether the plan conflicts with EU law [185746][188338]. The judges cited a 2024 EU Migration and Asylum Pact that is not yet fully in force, and argued the decree may violate the EU’s Return Directive by allowing residency for people under deportation orders [185746].

Spain’s State Legal Service has formally opposed the referral, arguing that granting residency permits is “an exclusively national measure of migration policy” [188338]. The government’s lawyers noted that the 2024 EU regulation did not take effect until June 12, after Spain adopted the decree, making it “not possible” for the decree to compromise EU rules [188338].

The European Commission has repeatedly stated that regularization is a “competence of the member states,” and declined to comment on the Supreme Court’s latest move [185748][188338]. Prime Minister Sánchez has defended the program, arguing migrants are vital to Spain’s economy, warning that without migration, “90,000 bars would close, 50,000 classrooms would be empty, and one in three farms would disappear” [188339].

Applications were highest in Catalonia (over 257,000), Madrid (202,000), Valencia, and Andalusia [187055][188340]. The government warns that not all applicants will be approved, but officials say every applicant will receive an answer [187055].