Scenes of chaos unfolded in Sevilla on Monday as hundreds of people queued for hours outside a city office on the first day of in-person applications for Spain’s new migrant regularisation process.
From as early as 6am, long lines stretched along the street outside the General Registry office at El Prado, with some applicants waiting up to five hours to be seen.
Many were there to obtain a vulnerability certificate – a key requirement for certain cases – issued by the local council.
The scenes were repeated elsewhere in Andalucia, with queues forming in Malaga and other provincial capitals.
Municipal unions in Sevilla, including SPPME-A, SEM and SAB, described the situation as a ‘collapse’, blaming a lack of staff reinforcements despite what they say was a predictable surge in demand.
They warned that the overcrowding and long waits are creating ‘growing tension’, raising the risk of conflict both among those waiting and with overstretched staff.
According to the unions, workers are operating under ‘extraordinary pressure’ without the necessary resources, leading to a clear decline in service quality.
Demand triples overnight
Union representatives say the number of people being attended has doubled or even tripled compared to a normal day – yet no additional staffing, organisational changes, or security measures were put in place.
They argue the situation was entirely foreseeable following last week’s approval of a new decree by the Spanish government, which opened the door to an extraordinary regularisation process for migrants.
As a result, unions are now calling on the city council to act immediately, including deploying more staff, introducing emergency organisational measures, improving security, and offering additional compensation for workers facing the surge.
City hall pushes back
For its part, the Seville City Council insists the service is operating ‘normally’ and has urged calm, pointing out that the application window will remain open until June.
However, unions warn that without urgent action, the current situation could escalate further, risking both public safety and the long-term functioning of the service.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
