Spain will take in THREE MILLION migrants as a result of socialist PM throwing the doors open as applicants' families are allowed to join them, officials fear

By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 13:46, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 13:55, 14 July 2026 Spain could take in up to three million migrants and their families within the next year, immigration officials have warned.  Earlier this month, more than one million immigrants in Spain sought to legalise their status after the Southern European nation launched an initiative to integrate foreigners living and working in the country without authorisation.  But now immigration officials predict that up to three million migrants could arrive in Spain as part of the family reunification process involving the 1.2million migrants who applied for legal status.  Speaking to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, immigration officials warned that 'for every person whose status is regularised, at least three more will be added if they apply for and are granted family reunification.' Officials have criticised the socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government for allegedly deliberately removing the National Police from the process and placing it in the hands of the Ministry of Migration. This move, in their view, weakens the mechanisms for verifying the authenticity of documents for those going through the process and opens the door, they warn, to erroneous checks, for example, of criminal records. The number of applications is more than double the 500,000 that the country's government expected, according to data from the Mercurio platform, which registers applications from across Spain. Sanchez has touted the amnesty as an act of justice and has insisted it will help pursue economic growth while easing public tensions, but critics have expressed their concerns over the amnesty.  Migrants queue at a public service office to obtain paperwork needed to apply for Spain's immigration amnesty, in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat near Barcelona, Spain, on April 21, 2026 People queue to receive documentation as Spain's mass migrants regularisation process is set to start, in Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona, Spain, April 20, 2026 An unnamed official told El Mundo: 'This process is something no one in their right mind would initiate', arguing that the move paves the way for criminal organisations to take advantage of the family reunification process.  'There may be cases where people from foreign countries pay those who are already legally present to let them pose as relatives, like a child or parents. In other words, paying for papers and certificates. We are already seeing cases like this, where they even bring witnesses, but it's detected quickly because there aren't that many applicants,' the official said.  After the amnesty was announced, huge queues of migrants formed outside the application centres, where migrants had to prove they met the criteria to qualify for a one-year residence and work permit. Applications were open to undocumented migrants who had been in the country since January 1, had a clean criminal record, and could prove they had spent five consecutive months in Spain. The deadline for the application was earlier this month. Applications made by the deadline will be processed over the next few weeks, and decisions on their outcomes will be made in three months. Special provisions have also been made for migrants struggling to provide proof of a clean criminal record from their countries of origin before the deadline. The expected number of approvals for Spain's latest amnesty will surpass the half a million who were regularised in the country in 2005. Earlier this month, more than one million immigrants in Spain sought to legalise their status after the Southern European nation launched an initiative to integrate foreigners living and working in the country without authorisation It is also larger than a similar amnesty in Italy in 2002, in which 634,700 undocumented migrant workers moved into the formal economy in the region's biggest regularisation so far. The move from the Spanish government is a massive contrast from the rest of Europe, where mostly conservative leaders have been clamping down on illegal immigration. Sanchez has reportedly clashed with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during this month's European Council summit over the amnesty. Meloni, who has called for tougher EU migration rules, fears the amnesty could impact the Schengen zone. The amnesty was opposed by Spain’s main opposition centre-right party, Partido Popular (PP), and the hard-Right Vox, with both arguing it would attract more illegal immigration.