34,000 migrants have requested extraordinary regularization in the Balearic Islands

PalmaThe extraordinary regularization process for migrants promoted by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, which began in April and ended on June 30, has closed in the Balearic Islands with a total of 34,166 applications registered and 6,639 appointments assigned. Now, the challenge is for the Administration to be able to resolve the files within a reasonable time. The lawyer and coordinator of the UIB's Legal Clinic, Sebastià Arbós, believes it is still too early to assess the outcome of the process. "It is too soon to see how it has gone. I think those who wanted to submit the application have been able to submit it, but now the Administration needs to resolve them," he points out.

Arbós also recalls that "we must not forget that administrative silence is a denial," a fact that generates uncertainty among those who have initiated the procedure. As he explains, the information they receive from the Legal Clinic indicates that "for now, according to the applicants, not many have been resolved." Therefore, he believes it will be necessary to wait to see "how it evolves and if the Administration is capable of responding." Regarding the profile of the applicants, the largest age group is people between 25 and 35 years old, representing 31.3% of the total. They are followed by those between 35 and 44 years old (22.5%) and those between 16 and 24 years old (16.5%). In total, nearly 68% of the people who have benefited from the process are under 34 years old.

By nationality, Colombia concentrates the largest number of applications, with 38.3% of the total. Morocco occupies second place with 10%, followed by Paraguay (9.3%), Argentina (6.8%), and Venezuela (5.6%). Regarding sex, 56% of the applications have been submitted by men and 44% by women. At the state level, the process has concluded with 1.17 million registered applications, of which 609,737 have already been processed. Almost eight out of ten files (79.6%) correspond to authorizations for exceptional circumstances due to extraordinary roots, while the remaining 20.4% refers to authorizations for applicants for international protection.

Beyond this extraordinary regularization process, Arbós argues that action must be taken on the causes that lead many people to end up in an irregular administrative situation. In this regard, he maintains that "people enter the country every day who will soon be in an irregular situation" and calls for greater involvement of embassies, consulates, and diplomatic services in visa processing, so that these people can join the labor market. "The objective should be to have this issue under control, and right now it is not being done efficiently," he states. According to Arbós, "it must be possible to enter and remain in a regular manner and there is a lot of work to be done by the State." Otherwise, he warns, "in a few years we will be in the same situation as now." "Politicians must learn from this, and I don't know if they will," he concludes.

10,8000 people had already started the ordinary process before starting the extraordinary one

Regarding the figures, the Spanish government delegation has pointed out that no forecast has been exceeded, as such a thing was not contemplated at any time. "The 10,800 people mentioned by the Spanish government delegate a few months ago referred to the number of people who, up to the moment the declaration was made, had processed the regularization process in the ordinary way, which establishes, among other issues, a minimum residence of two years," stated sources from the state administration. In this regard, they point out that Rodríguez mentioned these figures to answer questions from journalists who were asking for an approximate forecast of figures.

Drop in the arrival of makeshift boats in the first half of 2026

In parallel, data from the Ministry of the Interior show a reduction in irregular arrivals in the Balearic Islands during the first half of the year. Between January 1 and June 30, 2,631 migrants have arrived in the Islands by dinghy, 12.7% less than in the same period last year, when 3,015 were registered. The number of detected boats has also decreased, from 155 to 139. In the State as a whole, arrivals by sea have also fallen significantly. During the first six months of the year, 9,440 people have arrived by sea, 44.2% less than in the same period in 2025. In total, 371 dinghies and canoes have been intercepted, compared to 542 registered a year earlier.