European conservatives attack Spanish regularisation

Spain’s regularisation programme is being challenged both in the country and in Brussels. The programme, which closed on 30 June, saw over a million people applying to regularise their status. 

In Spain, some judges of the Supreme Court are considering asking the Court of Justice of the EU if this programme is compatible with EU law. This comes after the Supreme Court rejected an earlier attempt by the conservative-led Madrid region and right-wing parties to suspend the programme in May. 

In Brussels, EPP’s leader Manfred Weber attacked Spain’s programme and said “that’s not a normal procedure” and “it’s an issue for Europe”, fabricating fears about people being able to move to other EU countries.  

Some facts: 

• Regularisation measures are compatible with EU law:  
  • Migration is a shared competence. EU law does not regulate all types of migration and residence permits, and member states retain the right to issue residence permits on other grounds than those spelled out in EU law. Most notably article 6§4 of the 2008 Return Directive, recital 9 of the Return Border Procedures Regulation and recital 9 of the Asylum Procedures Regulation all refer to this right. 
  • While the forthcoming Return Regulation does not cover access to national residence permits, it does include a reference to member states’ right to provide other grounds than those listed in the Regulation for postponing removal of groups of people (emphasis added).  
• Yes, regularisation is a “normal procedure”. 24 of the 27 EU member states implemented regularisation measures between 1996 and 2008, and some several times. An estimated total of 5.5 to 6 million people were regularised in that time. Regularisation programmes have been implemented more recently too: for instance, by Italy (2020), Ireland (2022), Germany (2023) and Greece (2024) – many of which were led by parties that are part of the EPP. Governments across Europe have seen regularisation as a sensible policy to uphold human rights while meeting economic and social needs. 
• On people being able to move around the EU freely: Once regularised, people can travel throughout the Schengen area for tourism purposes, just like any other third country national who is a regular resident of the Schengen area. However, the residence permit is valid only for Spain and people cannot settle or work in any other member state based on this permit. In addition, research on past regularisations in the EU shows that people tend to stay in the country where they were regularised – which makes sense as they would be undocumented in other member states.    

Laetitia Van der Vennet, Senior Advocacy Officer at PICUM, said:  

• On attacks from the EPP’s leader: “These attacks against Spain’s regularisation programme are nothing more than a last-ditch effort to block a policy they don’t like. There is nothing in EU law that prohibits such measures, and virtually every EU member state has implemented some form of regularisation over the past 30 years, including by governments led by EPP parties. And it’s not surprising: regularisation is a common-sense policy that reduces inequality and strengthens public finances, welfare systems, and labour markets. Most importantly, it gives people greater safety, stability, and dignity. Regularisation works – and it’s the right thing to do.” 
• On the potential question to the EU Court of Justice; “Regularisation programmes, like the one in Spain, align with EU law, and we expect the CJEU to confirm this. The Return Directive and the Migration and Asylum Pact explicitly refer to member states’ right to issue residence permits at any time, including when a return decision has already been issued. This makes sense because EU law does not cover all migration grounds, and member states must be able to align their migration policies with their national realities – including ways for undocumented people to regularise their stay. We hope that a prejudicial question will not stall the processing of applications and keep people in insecurity for even longer.”    

NOTES TO THE EDITORS 

• More information on regularisation, national measures and compatibility with EU law can be found in this factsheet. In-depth information on the impact of regularisation on people, society and institutions can be found here.  
• Spain’s 2026 regularisation programme was announced in January 2026 and ran from mid-April to 30 June. It includes two streams, one for asylum seekers and one for undocumented migrants. The criteria for undocumented migrants include having lived in Spain for at least five months and before 31 December 2025, having no criminal record in both Spain and the country of origin, having valid ID documents, and proving either work or family ties or being in a situation of vulnerability. Once regularised, people receive a one-year residence and work permit from which they can access standard Spanish residence permits.