Overview
- Consulates, immigration offices and municipal padrón services report saturation, with long lines at the Algerian consulate in Alicante and delays in major cities.
- The draft exceptionally permits a sworn declaration of no criminal convictions when a requested certificate from the country of origin or last residence is not received within a month.
- Eligibility is limited to people with residence-related applications filed before December 31, 2025 who can prove at least five months in Spain, and only foreign crimes also penalized under Spanish law within the five years before arrival are considered.
- The government estimates about 500,000 initial beneficiaries, potentially rising toward two million with family reunification, and the migration minister has indicated procedures could begin in April.
- Unions and police warn of staff shortages, verification vulnerabilities and possible strikes without a contingency plan, as public consultation on the draft runs until February 6.