Clambering to get into Europe after Spain opened its doors: Migrants climb over embassy wall to skip huge queues and grab paperwork after socialist PM offered 500,000 legal status to stay

Chaos broke out in Spain yesterday when mobs of migrants stormed the Gambian embassy in Madrid and the country recently granted legal status to half a million people.

As of last Monday, Spain’s immigration regulatory process was ongoing, with individuals waiting hours to get an appointment at more than 400 locations across the country after applying online.

Thousands of people are seen queuing outside registration offices in regions such as Catalonia, Andalusia and Asturias.

In a mad rush to complete paperwork, some immigrants wait in line for hours or spend the night to have their documents officially stamped.

Huge crowds filled registration offices, pushing social services to the brink of collapse and fueling unrest among those desperate for documentation.

Dozens of desperate migrants scaled the walls of the Gambian embassy in Madrid on Tuesday after failing to obtain the vulnerability certificates needed for their applications.

Many had spent all night queuing in front of the building to obtain the necessary documents.

However, early that morning they were informed that all appointments had been made.

Many of the immigrants had spent all night queuing in front of the building just to get the necessary documents.

The situation then got out of control when immigrants started jumping over the embassy fences to collect their certificates.

Panic ensued and the police had to intervene. According to local media reports, no arrests were made.

Given the high demand for these certificates, authorities are currently keeping the area under surveillance for possible further access attempts.

It comes after authorities in Spain warned of a collapse in social services as thousands of immigrants try to gain legal status.

Municipal unions in Seville last week warned that ‘extraordinary pressure’ and overcrowding were reducing the quality of services and creating high tensions among staff and residents in the Andalusian city.

Unions are demanding more staff, improved safety and compensation for workers forced to confront the chaos.

Seville City Council meanwhile insisted that the service was operating ‘normally’ and urged people to remain calm, The Spanish Eye reported.

Services in Spain’s capital, Madrid, are also under increasing pressure.

‘We increased from 1,500 applications per day to 5,500 in social service centres. “I think it was a hasty decision, perhaps even aimed at creating collapse,” said Jose Fernandez, the municipality’s Social Policies delegate.

Fernandez explained to news outlet 20minutos that the process was initiated ‘without consulting the relevant authorities’.

‘I believe the best course of action would be to withdraw this decree and implement it through compromise,’ he added.

Meanwhile, in Barcelona, ​​immigrants were seen camping in front of registration offices throughout the night.

The Spanish government’s initiative faced intense backlash from Spanish right-wing parties and even went global, with billionaire Elon Musk harshly criticizing the move.

Commenting under a video about X by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Musk wrote: ‘Dirty Sánchez is guilty of treason.’

Musk had previously described Sanchez as a ‘traitor’ and ‘bully’ due to his immigration policies.

Responding to critics, Sanchez sent a message to what he called the ‘far right’ last weekend.

‘Spain is the daughter of immigration and will not be the mother of xenophobia,’ he told the progressive summit in Barcelona.

The government’s amnesty is a central point of Sanchez’s progressive agenda to harness the economic benefits of immigration for its aging population as other European governments seek to tighten their borders.

Authorities in Spain have warned that social services will collapse as thousands of immigrants try to gain legal status.

The government’s amnesty is a central point of Sanchez’s progressive agenda to harness the economic benefits of immigration for its aging population

There are approximately 840,000 undocumented immigrants in Spain, mostly from Latin America.

Spain’s population of 50 million has grown in recent years to include around 10 million people living in Spain who were born abroad.

According to data from the Funcas think tank, there are approximately 840,000 undocumented immigrants in Spain, mostly from Latin America.

The country’s opposition People’s Party called the move reckless, despite past conservative governments introducing similar measures.

Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of the Madrid community and a leading figure in the party, threatened to appeal the case in court.

Santiago Abascal, leader of the populist far-right party Vox, accused the Socialist-led coalition of accelerating what he called the ‘occupation’.

Vox spokesperson Pepa Millán said the plan ‘attacks our identity’ and promised that the party would appeal to the Supreme Court to block it.

Sanchez, meanwhile, argues that immigrants are key to Spain’s economy, which grew by 2.8 percent last year (more than double the entire eurozone average).

‘Spain is aging… Unless more people work and contribute to the economy, our prosperity slows and our public services suffer,’ he wrote in an open letter to citizens.

The country has been performing better than other EU countries in recent years; Unemployment, a long-standing problem in the Spanish economy, has fallen below 10 percent for the first time since 2008.

But per capita income rose only slightly in Spain, where nearly 90 percent of new jobs went to immigrants.

Moreover, 140,000 new households are seen each year, but only about 80,000 new homes are built.

The lack of affordable housing has become a key complaint among voters and has contributed to social tension.