Spain throws open its doors to undocumented migrants: Huge queues continue to form after socialist government granted citizenship to 500,000 people

Huge queues are forming in Spanish cities after the government recently approved plans to grant legal status to 500,000 immigrants.

As of Monday, the legalization process for immigrants continues across the country; individuals wait hours to get an appointment at more than 400 locations after applying online.

Applications opened on Thursday after Spain’s socialist government approved the initiative at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday last week.

Thousands of people were photographed lining up outside registration offices and temporary regulation centers in regions such as Catalonia, Andalusia and Asturias.

Some immigrants wait in line for hours, desperate to complete their paperwork, or spend the night to have their documents officially stamped.

A Colombian immigrant waiting outside a shopping mall in Barcelona told local outlet El Periodico that he ‘arrived around 10am or 11pm last night so we shouldn’t have stayed out; ‘We’ve been here for about 15 hours.’

Another migrant from Honduras said he slept on the floor while waiting in line, adding: ‘A very large group of people almost trampled me… We risked our lives, but it will be worth it.’

Meanwhile, in Seville, a long queue of immigrants filled the public register of the City Hall, according to local media reports.

People line up to receive documents at Hospitalet de Llobregat near Barcelona, ​​Spain

Some migrants wait in line for hours or spend the night, desperate to complete paperwork

Thousands of people were photographed lining up in front of civil registry offices and temporary regulation centers

According to Diario de Sevilla, there are so many people queuing that the City Council is considering closing the Prado offices early.

Last week, thousands of migrants flocked to consulates across Spain to collect the documents needed to gain legal entry.

Applicants received the necessary consular documentation to prove they had a clean criminal record in their country of origin.

This is a vital step in meeting regulatory criteria, which include verification of at least five months of residence in Spain before the end of 2025.

This week, immigration agents across the country had threatened to go on strike this week to protest Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s mass amnesty program for undocumented immigrants.

The 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.

Immigration officers warned that the system was unprepared for the challenge and threatened a strike from April 21, halting all immigration applications in protest at the lack of resources allocated to the process.

“Once again, the government is imposing a new regulation without providing sufficient economic resources to the offices,” Cesar Perez, the union leader responsible for Spain’s immigration officers, told Reuters earlier this week.

The strike was finally called off following an agreement between the Ministry of Regional Policy and Democratic Memory, the Workers’ Commissions and the Government.

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.

In a letter to citizens published on X on Tuesday, Sanchez called the initiative not only an act of justice but also an economic necessity.

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

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

People line up to get documents as Spain’s process of regulating mass immigration begins on Monday

An official helps immigrants waiting for their documents to be processed at Valencia City Hall in Valencia, Spain

An official helps immigrants waiting for their documents to be processed at a civil service office in Barcelona, ​​Spain

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.

Critics of the new program argue that, without simultaneous housing policy reforms, legalizing large numbers of immigrants would increase competition for scarce housing, especially in urban centers such as Barcelona and Madrid.

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.