On April 20, 2026, Spain officially launched an extraordinary migrant regularization process. On the very first day, thousands of foreigners across the country began filing documents to obtain legal status. In Galicia, it is estimated that about 10,000 people will take advantage of this opportunity. For many, this event was long-awaited and as significant as winning the lottery.
On Monday morning, a noticeable influx of applicants was observed at Correos branches in cities throughout the region. Among them was Evelin from Venezuela, who lives in Arcade and traveled to Pontevedra to submit her documents in person. Although it is possible to apply online, some migrants prefer the traditional way, fearing technical glitches or mistakes when filling out forms.
The large-scale regularization campaign has stirred activity not only in Galicia, but also in other regions of the country. A surge in applications is seen in major cities as well, where queues and overloaded services had already been reported. For example, previously in Madrid, hundreds of migrants faced difficulties obtaining certificates necessary for regularization—details can be found in the article about the queue situation in the capital.
According to RUSSPAIN, the new wave of legalization has become one of the largest in recent years. Authorities expect that digitizing the process will reduce the burden on offices and speed up the review of applications. However, in the first hours after the launch, many migrants still preferred to personally ensure their documents were in order, which led to queues in several cities.
