Millions of illegal migrants able to cross British border with zero checks within weeks

Millions of illegal migrants are expected to enter Britain entirely unchecked within weeks, according to new analysis.

Research by Facts4EU for GB News revealed Spain’s left-wing government received 1.2 million legal status applications between April and May under the amnesty known as “Extraordinary Regularisation”.

The Spanish government predicted no more than 500,000 migrants would apply, but the total number of applicants ballooned by more than 140 per cent of expectations.

"Extraordinary Regularisation" provides a temporary, one-year residence and work permit to undocumented migrants who arrived in Spain before January 1 this year.

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Illegal migrants with a clean criminal record who have lived in the country for five consecutive months were granted access to the scheme.

Consequences of the amnesty could be bound for Britain, as the border between Spain and Gibraltar – a British overseas territory – was removed on July 15, opening freedom of movement between the two territories.

Conservative peer Lord Redwood told GB News: “One of the main reasons the UK voted to leave the European Union was the open borders policy.

"Under freedom of movement other member states decided how many people to let in from all round the world, who could then come to the UK to demand homes, benefits and jobs."

“Spain shows the dangers, letting in hundreds of thousands that other EU states think are illegals who should not stay. The last UK government was thrown out for not getting the memo to stop runaway migration.

“The current government has wantonly given away control of Gibraltar's border with Spain and is wrongly offering to take in more young people through a mobility scheme.

“The voters are right. We do not want more migrants when we are short of homes, jobs, energy and water.”

The amnesty may be used in the future to gain access to the UK, under Britain's "Youth Mobility Scheme" being finalised with the EU Commission.

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Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s intentions towards the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain are not yet known.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, of the Socialist Workers Party, has been in power since 2023 and leads a coalition government including members of the Spanish Communist Party, the Socialists' Party of Catalonia, and United Left, among others.

The Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has confirmed only 20 per cent of "Extraordinary Regularisation" applicants might qualify for international protection.

Only seven per cent of the total applied themselves, with the rest relying on professional advisors – the majority of which are immigration lawyers.

A Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration spokesman said: “The process of extraordinary regularisation launched on April 16 and ended on June 30 and has concluded with a total of 1,174,978 registered applications, of which 609,737 have already been processed.”

The majority of applicants to the scheme are male, and six out of ten are under the age of 34.

Colombians are the largest nationality represented, with two out of every three applicants hailing from Central and South America.

Meanwhile, 23 per cent are of African descent, with eight per cent coming from Asia.

Spain claims 160,000 more workers have registered for employment due to the new scheme, in a bid to level youth unemployment with 454,000 young people unemployed in Q1 this year – nearly a quarter of youngsters.

This number is almost 50 per cent higher than Britain's, with a youth unemployment rate of 16.2 per cent – which has risen dramatically in the last two years.

Given the majority of the recipients of Spain's illegal migrant amnesty are young, the greener pastures of Britain are likely to beckon.

Beyond initial applicants, there may be more than 50 per cent more dependents as original applicants, who will likely apply for "family reunification".

GB News contacted the Home Office for comment.

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