Spain's looming migrant amnesty strains services, sends applicants scrambling


People queue outside Pakistan’s consulate in Barcelona to apply for criminal record certificates, a document required for the migrant regularisation programme recently announced by the Spanish government, in Barcelona, Spain. January 30, 2026. Spain plans to grant legal status to about half a million undocumented migrants. REUTERS/Albert Gea

MADRID, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Spain's newest drive to fast-track legal ⁠status for at least half a million undocumented migrants has already burdened immigration offices and sparked anxiety among prospective applicants weeks before the process even begins, a dozen union officials, lawyers, and migrants said.

A ⁠lack of information and state funding for the process could derail the planned mass amnesty announced by the Spanish government last month, said two people involved in the drive, which is the latest ‌installment of the relatively inclusive migration policy credited with driving Spain’s economic boom in recent years.

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