Spain receives 1.27 million applications for mass migrant regularization as deadline approaches

Several non-governmental organisations in Spain are urging undocumented migrants to register for a special mass regularisation process that ends on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Al-Monitor reported that the process has attracted around a million people in just a few weeks. Between April and June the government received almost double the 500,000 registrations it had expected.

On Friday the number of applications submitted reached 1.27 million, according to union leader Cesar Perez. Rights groups CEAR and Cepaim advised migrants to submit applications even if documents from home countries such as Mali, Iran or Venezuela remain pending.

Elena Muñoz, coordinator of CEAR's legal team, said the organisations were conducting a final check of cases that may lack some documentation.

"If a case is not yet complete ... we will submit it before June 30 so that they do not miss the opportunity to benefit from the regularisation process," Muñoz said. Migrants from conflict-affected countries have faced obstacles legalising documents at Spanish consulates, and Spain's policy changes forced some asylum seekers to switch procedures early in June.

The Migration Ministry has said it does not plan to extend the deadline. NGOs fear that at least 20% of the roughly one million applications could be rejected due to missing documents and limited administrative flexibility. Jose Luis Quiroga, a Colombian migrant, submitted his application on the advice of the NGO Aculco after arriving hours after the eligibility cutoff.

In Spain around 840,000 people work off the books and obtaining legal status can take more than a year.