More than 1.17 million people have applied for legal residency under Spain's first mass regularisation programme since 2005, more than double the half million the government initially projected. The application window closed on 30 June, with 608,000 files accepted for processing, granting provisional residence and work permits, though only 11,000 have received final approval so far.
The programme has stirred public unease. Immigration rose 4.5 points as a top concern in July, now ranking as Spain's second-most cited problem at 24.3%, behind only housing at 43%, according to the Centre for Sociological Research.
Family reunification provisions could eventually swell the number of regularised migrants to three million, after the Supreme Court scrapped the clean criminal-record requirement for relatives of Spanish citizens. Critics have warned of potential fraud and strain on public services.