More than 34,000 people have applied to regularise their immigration status in the Balearic Islands under the Spanish government’s extraordinary regularisation scheme — a figure the regional government says is far higher than expected.
The regional government’s criticism
Balearic vice-president Antoni Costa, of the Partido Popular, said the number of applications was around three times what the central government had initially estimated, and described Madrid’s forecast as irresponsible.
Costa argued that:
- regional governments, not the state, provide most of the services new residents will use, such as health care and education;
- the central government has not provided additional funding to cover the extra demand;
- the scheme could put more pressure on public services and create integration challenges.
He also criticised Més per Mallorca, accusing the party of inconsistency for supporting the regularisation while opposing population growth linked to tourism.
The scheme
The extraordinary regularisation allows people already living in Spain without legal status, who meet certain requirements, to obtain residence and work permits. It followed a popular legislative initiative backed by hundreds of thousands of signatures and a broad coalition of social organisations, including the Catholic Church.
The arguments in favour
Supporters say the measure recognises a reality: hundreds of thousands of people already live and work in Spain, often in the informal economy. Regularising them, they argue:
- allows them to work legally and pay taxes and social security contributions;
- reduces exploitation and abusive working conditions;
- helps sectors with labour shortages, such as agriculture, care and hospitality.
They also point out that most applicants already live in the islands and use some public services, so regularisation does not necessarily mean new arrivals.
The Balearic context
The debate is particularly sensitive in the Balearics, where population growth, housing shortages and pressure on services are among the main political concerns. Disagreement over how immigration and its costs should be managed, and who should fund the services involved, is likely to continue between the regional and central governments.
