Overview
- More than 900,000 people have submitted applications to the extraordinary regularization process and the ministry reported 360,000 had been admitted for processing by mid-June.
- Catalonia is expected to surpass 150,000 applicants and local governments have issued 60,346 vulnerability reports that many people used as proof to access the scheme.
- The formal deadline to deliver required paperwork has ended with no general extension, leaving those without criminal records from third countries or proof of five months’ presence at risk of exclusion.
- Social organisations and immigration lawyers report serious bureaucratic bottlenecks, especially in obtaining third-country criminal certificates and in scheduling TIE identity appointments, and say admissions and final resolutions have slowed or stalled.
- Admitted applicants can work and live in Spain for one year while files are processed, but continued delays in definitive resolutions are creating legal and labour uncertainty for workers, employers and service providers and have prompted renewed calls for capacity boosts and timeline guarantees.