In a midnight column dated 5 July, *El Independiente* examines how Spain’s opposition Partido Popular (PP) is linking two very different mobility dossiers: the Supreme Court’s willingness to question the constitutionality of the April regularisation decree and the so-called ‘ley de nietos’, which extends citizenship to descendants of Spanish exiles. PP strategists claim both measures amount to “electoral engineering” by the Sánchez government, potentially adding millions of new voters. The article reports long lines outside the Spanish consulate in Havana as applicants seek passports under the ancestry route, straining consular capacity and complicating appointment scheduling for business visas.
![Political row over ‘law of grandchildren’ deepens as Supreme Court doubts migrant regularisation]()
Amid this uncertainty, VisaHQ can streamline the process for HR teams and individual travellers by monitoring appointment availability across Spanish consulates and pre-checking documentation requirements online. Its platform— real-time alerts on rule changes and personalised guidance, helping companies adjust timelines before bottlenecks disrupt project start dates.
For global-mobility teams relocating staff to or from Latin America, the politicisation of consular services could translate into longer lead-times for work-permit legalisations and background checks. The Foreign Ministry has already reassigned officers from visa desks to handle nationality petitions, reducing daily appointment slots in Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Caracas. Law firms expect the Supreme Court to decide by year-end whether to refer both the regularisation and citizenship rules to the EU Court of Justice, arguing potential conflicts with Schengen visa policy and EU law on long-term residents. Until then, companies should anticipate fluctuating processing times at Spanish consulates in the Americas and build contingency days into start-date planning for assignees.
Amid this uncertainty, VisaHQ can streamline the process for HR teams and individual travellers by monitoring appointment availability across Spanish consulates and pre-checking documentation requirements online. Its platform— real-time alerts on rule changes and personalised guidance, helping companies adjust timelines before bottlenecks disrupt project start dates.
For global-mobility teams relocating staff to or from Latin America, the politicisation of consular services could translate into longer lead-times for work-permit legalisations and background checks. The Foreign Ministry has already reassigned officers from visa desks to handle nationality petitions, reducing daily appointment slots in Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Caracas. Law firms expect the Supreme Court to decide by year-end whether to refer both the regularisation and citizenship rules to the EU Court of Justice, arguing potential conflicts with Schengen visa policy and EU law on long-term residents. Until then, companies should anticipate fluctuating processing times at Spanish consulates in the Americas and build contingency days into start-date planning for assignees.
