Balearic Government Rejects Mass Regularization of Immigrants
The Balearic Government has firmly rejected the mass regularization of immigrants promoted by the Spanish Government through a royal decree. The Balearic Executive considers it to be an “improvised measure, lacking planning and coordination” that will worsen migratory pressure, the collapse of public services, and the pull effect in the archipelago.
The Guardia Civil monitors Algerian migrants after intercepting a migrant boat. Photo: Teresa Ayuga.
The Balearic Government warns that the islands are experiencing the worst migration crisis in their history, with more than 20,000 arrivals of people in an irregular situation over the past five years, an unprecedented figure for an island territory with limited resources and already overstretched services.
Criticism of the Lack of Guarantees and Planning
One of the aspects that most concerns the Balearic Government is the lowering of requirements included in the State proposal, which would allow regularization even in the absence of criminal record certificates from the country of origin, replacing them with a simple sworn declaration by the applicant. According to the regional Executive, this formula removes basic safeguards, weakens legal certainty, and demonstrates an alarming lack of rigor in a measure with major social impact.
Immigration Services at Breaking Point
The Balearic Government has also highlighted the critical situation of Immigration Offices, which are already overwhelmed and facing significant delays in processing applications. This situation, they argue, particularly harms those attempting to regularize their status through legal channels, with an employment contract and a willingness to integrate.
The regional Executive believes this creates a profound injustice: “those who comply with the rules wait for months, while those who have arrived irregularly benefit from extraordinary decisions with no clear filters”.
Integration is Not Decreed, It is Built
The Director General for Immigration and Development Cooperation, Manuel Pavón, has been particularly critical of the State initiative. “While in the Balearic Islands we are managing the emergency on the ground, the Spanish Government should assume its responsibilities and provide real solutions, not improvised policies that only increase the sense of insecurity,” he stated.
Pavón stressed that “integration is not decreed; it is built through real opportunities. Without housing, employment, and sufficient resources, a mass regularization will only generate more precariousness and greater social tension. With this measure, it seems that arriving illegally in the Balearic Islands comes with a reward,” he added.
Key Points of the Government Decree on Mass Regularization
The Government’s royal decree will allow the administrative regularization of between 500,000 and 800,000 migrants in an irregular situation in Spain. The measure has been agreed with Podemos. The following may apply for regularization: migrants with no relevant criminal record, individuals who were in Spain on 31 December 2025, and those who can prove a minimum stay of five months in the country.
Residence in Spain may be demonstrated through certificate of registration on the municipal census, medical or social reports, rental contracts, transport tickets, proof of money transfers, and utility bills. The application period will run from April to 30 June 2026, and applications may be submitted at any public administration registration office.
Simply submitting the application suspends expulsion and administrative return procedures. Acceptance for processing grants a provisional residence and work permit, and allows access to basic rights such as healthcare.
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