Spain’s immigration-office staff cancelled a strike scheduled for 21 April after unions secured wage increases of 10-18 percent and government agreement to fill 700 vacant posts. The walk-out threat had raised fears of paralysis just as the mass regularisation programme moves from online intake to face-to-face appointments. Union leader César Pérez said the service currently employs fewer than 2,000 officers who already process some 1.7 million cases a year, creating backlogs of up to 12 months. Without extra staff, the expected flood of up to 500,000 amnesty applications could have doubled waiting times for NIE numbers, family-reunification files and EU Blue Cards. The Ministry of Inclusion agreed that only five of Spain’s 54 immigration offices will handle amnesty files directly, with the remainder distributed among social-security branches, Correos post offices and accredited NGOs. For corporate HR, this decentralisation means employees may lodge paperwork in smaller towns, reducing appointment scarcity in major hubs like Madrid and Barcelona. Companies should, however, temper expectations: newly hired officers must still complete background checks and training, so relief may not materialise until late May. Mobility teams with assignees awaiting residence-card renewals should budget for interim travel-stamp extensions and consider premium-processing channels, where available.
Source: The Economic Times / Reuters
