Spain’s long-planned 2026 extraordinary regularisation—an amnesty that could ultimately grant residence and work rights to more than a million undocumented foreigners—has hit an unexpected legal hurdle only three weeks after it closed to applications. On 3 July 2026 the Supreme Court announced that it will send preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) over whether Spain’s decree is compatible with the European Pact on Migration and Asylum (PEMA), which became partially applicable on 12 June. Under PEMA, all people who cross the EU’s external borders irregularly must undergo a biometric “pre-entry screening” and, where appropriate, a three-month border-procedure detention before their asylum claim can even be filed. The Spanish amnesty, by contrast, awards a renewable one-year residence authorisation and immediate labour-market access to anyone who applied between 16 April and 30 June 2026 and can prove they have lived in Spain since before 31 December 2025 with no serious criminal record.
![Spain’s Supreme Court questions new migrant amnesty after EU border-control law enters force]()
For individuals trying to navigate this fast-moving landscape—whether they qualified for the regularisation or are considering other legal routes—VisaHQ can provide practical, up-to-date guidance. The company’s platform tracks every change in Spanish and EU immigration rules and lets users check eligibility, upload documents and monitor processing times for visas, residence permits and work authorisations, easing the compliance burden while the courts decide the amnesty’s fate.
The Supreme Court fears the domestic measure may undermine the EU-wide screening and solidarity rules by allowing Spain to regularise migrants unilaterally. The Sánchez government argues the decree was drafted before PEMA entered into force and that Article 79 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU preserves national competence to “determine volumes of admission of third-country nationals for employment.” Legal scholars consulted by APD Noticies note that several Member States, including Italy and Portugal, have run periodic amnesties without EU challenge, but concede that the new, more harmonised framework may change the calculus. For employers in hospitality, logistics and agro-food—sectors already suffering from vacancies of up to 12 percent according to business federation CEOE—the court case injects fresh uncertainty. Unless the CJEU grants an accelerated procedure, a final ruling could take 18–24 months, during which time the temporary work permits issued to some 600,000 applicants (see separate story) will remain valid but their upgrade to full residence may be delayed. HR teams are advised to double-check employees’ authorisation end-dates and consider contingency plans for renewals. Whatever the legal outcome, the clash highlights the growing tension between EU-level border digitalisation and Member-State labour-market flexibility.
For individuals trying to navigate this fast-moving landscape—whether they qualified for the regularisation or are considering other legal routes—VisaHQ can provide practical, up-to-date guidance. The company’s platform tracks every change in Spanish and EU immigration rules and lets users check eligibility, upload documents and monitor processing times for visas, residence permits and work authorisations, easing the compliance burden while the courts decide the amnesty’s fate.
The Supreme Court fears the domestic measure may undermine the EU-wide screening and solidarity rules by allowing Spain to regularise migrants unilaterally. The Sánchez government argues the decree was drafted before PEMA entered into force and that Article 79 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU preserves national competence to “determine volumes of admission of third-country nationals for employment.” Legal scholars consulted by APD Noticies note that several Member States, including Italy and Portugal, have run periodic amnesties without EU challenge, but concede that the new, more harmonised framework may change the calculus. For employers in hospitality, logistics and agro-food—sectors already suffering from vacancies of up to 12 percent according to business federation CEOE—the court case injects fresh uncertainty. Unless the CJEU grants an accelerated procedure, a final ruling could take 18–24 months, during which time the temporary work permits issued to some 600,000 applicants (see separate story) will remain valid but their upgrade to full residence may be delayed. HR teams are advised to double-check employees’ authorisation end-dates and consider contingency plans for renewals. Whatever the legal outcome, the clash highlights the growing tension between EU-level border digitalisation and Member-State labour-market flexibility.
