Andalusia ranks as the fourth autonomous community with the highest number of applications in the extraordinary migration regularization process, which concluded on June 30. A total of 161,557 applications were registered, according to data from the Government Delegation. The process, conducted against the clock, was marked by requirements such as the vulnerability report, which caused perplexity among collaborating entities due to the bureaucratic barrier it posed for the migrant community. Lack of access to the labor market, housing, and social services, coupled with insufficient administrative response, fee payments, and limited cooperation from countries of origin, also hampered the results.
Nationally, 1,174,987 applications were received, double the number anticipated by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations. Of these, 609,737 files are currently in the processing phase. The Popular Legislative Initiative (ILP) gathered over half a million signatures with the support of various social organizations to jointly request action for the irregular status of many individuals residing and working in the country.
The communities with the most applications were Catalonia, Madrid, and the Valencian Community. In Andalusia, the province of Málaga led the requests with 39,899, followed by Seville (33,690) and Almería (32,638). Other Andalusian provinces registered fewer applications: Granada (16,629), Cádiz (11,641), Huelva (10,359), Córdoba (9,951), and Jaén (6,750). Of the total applicants in Andalusia, 58.2% were men and 41.8% were women.
At the national level, 79.6% of applications were due to exceptional circumstances related to extraordinary rootedness, and 20.4% were for asylum seekers. The majority, 83.2%, were submitted electronically.
Regarding origin, citizens from Colombia (23.8%) and Morocco (20.3%) were the most numerous. They were followed by Venezuela (8.6%), Senegal (7.7%), Peru (5.7%), Paraguay (5.8%), Nicaragua (4%), Honduras (3.6%), Argentina (3.4%), and Algeria (2.1%).
Most applicants nationwide are young, with 81% under 45 years old. The 25 to 34 age group accounts for the largest percentage (31.3%). The Spanish cities with the highest proportion of applications were Madrid (17.23%), Barcelona (16.36%), Valencia (6.38%), Alicante (6.23%), and Murcia (3.85%).
The process has enabled 159,097 people nationwide to register with the Social Security, of whom 77.3% obtained permanent contracts. The hospitality sector benefited the most (24.4%), followed by commerce (12.7%) and administrative activities (12.1%).
The Association Pro Human Rights of Andalusia (APDHA) criticized the lack of additional resources in many local Andalusian entities and the deficient work of the General State Administration, noting that 48.1% of applications have not yet been processed. The organization assisted over 1,000 people in Andalusia and mediated for the obtaining of vulnerability certificates.
The collective Regularización Ya! pointed to fee payments and fingerprint appointments for obtaining the Foreigner Identity Card (TIE) as obstacles. They urged the central government to halt deportations of individuals in the regularization process and expressed their rejection of the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum (PEMA) and the Foreigner Law.
The Sur Acoge Federation assisted over 20,000 people through 11 associations and two delegations, describing the process as "complex and with tight deadlines." They questioned the state's migration policies, asking what the migratory model says when over a million people needed an exceptional measure.
The State Coordinator Padrón por Derecho demanded that local corporations register all individuals, regardless of their status, for proper resource planning. They criticized the central government's acknowledgment of administrative paralysis by not requiring the residency certificate for the regularization process.
