Moroccan migrant Abdelmoujoud Erra, 27, queues to buy a bus ticket to Valladolid, to obtain a vulnerability certificate to regularise migration status, in Almeria Spain, April 22, 2026. [Photo/Agencies]
Spain has been overwhelmed with applications from undocumented migrants wanting to take advantage of an amnesty that allows irregular arrivals to become legal residents with work visas.
The amnesty, which the Spanish government thought would attract interest from as many as 500,000 people, had drawn applications from 900,000 undocumented migrants by Monday, the country's migration ministry said.
The non-profit refugee aid organization CEAR said it expects the total to pass 1 million by the time the amnesty ends in two weeks.
Monica Lopez, CEAR's director, said on Monday that the government should be doing all it can to bring everyone into regular society who arrived in the country illegally and without papers, and that more work needs to be done.
