The Spanish government's effort to advance its extraordinary migrant regularization process stalled on 23 July, when regional governments led by the Partido Popular (PP) collectively refused to attend a meeting of the Conferencia Sectorial de Inmigración. Only six autonomous communities, Navarra, Euskadi, Cataluña, Canarias, Asturias and Castilla-La Mancha, sent representatives. Their absence prevented the conference from proceeding, interrupting intergovernmental discussions about implementation but not cancelling the underlying legal process.
Minister Elma Saiz, who convened the conference, sharply criticized the PP for what she described as a deliberate blockade. She argued that the party had abandoned its role as a state institution, accusing it of acting as an "antisystem" force. Saiz praised the six participating communities for their institutional loyalty and sense of responsibility.
The conference was set to review Spain's extraordinary regularization, established by Royal Decree 316/2026, adopted on 14 April. Applications were accepted from 16 April through 30 June 2026. The ministry reported 1,174,968 applications, while its initial post-deadline tally recorded 609,737 files admitted for processing by 2 July. Those figures describe different stages: an application received or admitted for processing is not a final approval. Verificat later reported that about 11,000 cases had been approved by July, underscoring the difference between procedural progress and people ultimately granted regular status.
Saiz said the process had already enabled nearly 70% of cases to move forward. In Madrid alone, she noted, more than 50,000 people were contributing to social security so of the initiative. Separately reported figures put the number of people affiliated with Social Security by 30 June at 159,097 nationwide; affiliation is not the same measure as a final residence decision. Saiz also said that, for the first time, regional ministers responsible for migration in communities jointly governed by the PP and Vox had been invited, raising questions about whether the boycott was coordinated at the national party headquarters or influenced by Vox's stance.
The decree provides routes for eligible foreign nationals already living in Spain, including an extraordinary rootedness procedure and provisions for certain people who had previously applied for international protection. Successful applicants receive a one-year residence and work permit, with authorization covering employment across economic sectors as well as self-employment. Reported eligibility conditions include presence in Spain before 1 January 2026 and at least five months of continuous presence, alongside documentation requirements and criminal-record and security checks.
Ana Dávila, Madrid's regional minister for Family, Youth and Social Affairs, responded on behalf of the PP-led regions. She accused the central government of operating opaquely and undermining the conference's purpose of inter-administrative cooperation. Dávila criticized the timing of the meeting, held fifteen months after the previous session, and claimed that the Ministry had ignored all requests for information. She cited the lack of access to meeting minutes and recordings, along with the absence of economic impact studies on the regularization process, as evidence of unprecedented institutional disloyalty.
Saiz countered that the Ministry had stepped up coordination, holding more preparatory meetings and information exchanges than ever before. She alleged that, even in the run-up to the conference, the PP had tried to impose an agenda that would have halted the regularization process, which she described as impressive to granting rights and dignity to thousands of people living on the margins.
After the sectoral conference was cancelled, the Ministry shifted to bilateral talks with the regions that attended. Discussions covered the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, the government's Integration and Citizenship Plan, and the status of the regularization files. The filing operation relied on online submissions and 448 facilities, including post offices, Social Security offices and migration services. About 83.2% of applications were submitted online; roughly 79.6% used the rootedness route, while 20.4% came from people with previous international-protection applications. The standoff highlights a deepening divide between Spain's central government and several autonomous communities over migration policy, amid other recent disputes between regional and national authorities. For example, tensions between the PP and other political forces have surfaced in various contexts, including when a PP event in Bilbao was disrupted by protesters, reflecting the broader climate of political confrontation.
Spain's extraordinary regularization process is one of the largest in Europe and reflects the country's effort to address the realities of migration and integration. The scale of applications has placed large demands on immigration administration, while the gap between applications, files admitted for processing and approvals remains basic to assessing the programme's progress and labor-market effects. The current impasse may delay intergovernmental coordination on the files and broader integration measures. Transparency and institutional cooperation, along with the role of regional governments, remain basic to the debate as Spain navigates complex demographic and social changes, with practical consequences for newcomers and long-term residents.
