AIBU to be deeply concerned about the recent influx of 30k+ undocumented arrivals in Spain?

Young Moroccans may have returned home. But men who have travelled from farther away -sub-Saharan Africa - are staying put.

And the point is we have thousands - or maybe millions - of people who want to live in Europe. They may have been thwarted this time, but they will keep trying. Other routes are available: up through Greece or to Italy.

I can sympathise, but the numbers are too great, by and large they have nothing to offer (unless people think young men make adequate care workers), their cultures are incompatible with Western ones (unless you think that women are lesser) and Europe’s benefits and housing systems would crumble in no time under the strain of hundreds of thousands of claimants.

Finally, some may have read that there has been a recent ruling of the Tribunal Supremo which from what I can gather is being reported in the British press as "once they are here if they come by sea they can't be sent back"

So - of course - that is not to say that anyone who swims to Spain has hit the jackpot and gets handed an ID card and their social security number to start working.

What the ruling actually deals with, and you can read it here

https://www.poderjudicial.es/search/openDocument/8cf9f3925b1a7672a0a8778d75e36f0d

is that people who arrived by sea having not crossed and clear border have not commited an illegal act in arriving in the territory and as such cannot be returned "en caliente" literally "in the heat" but basically means they can not be turned away at the "border" because there is no clear border at sea. However that doesn't mean they have a residency, or as the UK would say "the right to remain".

They would still need to meet residency criteria, most of which for the unskilled and economically deprived require a minimum of 2 years of provable physical presence, uninterrupted, a precontract for a job or proof of funds and full private health insurance, clear criminal background check, proof of having passed a particular Spanish language test etc). They would file paperwork and wait (can take months to receive an answer) At the end of that they will receive a resolution saying either that they meet the requirements for residency or that they don't in which case they would be given 15 days to leave voluntarily, which if they disobey it is often considered a disobedience to the Spanish state and as such grounds for deportation at the end of those 15 days.

The ruling was misinterpreted (perhaps deliberately...perhaps some of the social media posts that started to circulate Morocco might have had some bad actors behind them...) and it began to appear on tiktok etc that "Spain is open as long as you arrive by sea" which is often course, not the case.

Spain has now installed a floating sea border. Of course this is met with derision "anyone could climb over that" but the point is not to be a big thing you can't climb over. It is that if someone does climb over then we can see at what point they crossed the border, illegally and therefore we CAN refuse entry and return them "en caliente" if the arrive by sea and have climbed over the floating border.

Hope that helps to give more information on the situation in Ceuta.

Always. You could almost bet on it. There was no need at all to mention Brexit or Reform in a reply to my post.

Got to get the daily Reform mentionitis in.

You're getting me mixed up with someone else. I'm not at all worried about any impact on the UK. And I know the reasons for this incident too because I read about it in the press. I only questioned the numbers and told you that many of us knew that some had returned to Morocco. You've used it as an opportunity to give a lecture to shoehorn in Brexit and , surprise surprise, Reform!

Are you seriously for real?

Are you going to house and pay for them then? Are you going to let them stay with you?

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/es/Comunicacion/Exteriores-Explica/Paginas/2026_Articulos/Ceuta,-Melilla.aspx

Please. Just read the above. It will give you important information.

What do you mean going to be. It already is.

What does giving them a chance look like to you?

They are clearly desperate to start a new life so why don’t we give them a chance? Let’s be honest, I think we’d all be doing the same if we were in their situation.

I imagine that the impact on the UK will be zero.

According to the Spanish president 98% have returned. I think that is a valid point to make on a post worrying about the impact of this on the UK. Same as the fact that the area is actually on the African continent nowhere near Spain and is mainly about a diplomatic row between Spain and Morocco. Whilst the headline is worrying and the situation must have been scary for the people in Ceuta, this does not have much to do with us.
The small boat arrivals to the UK went up mainly due to Brexit, a slightly similar situation where France do not stop people coming over like they used to. If you google it, net immigration and small boat arrivals are down, due to more agreements with France, tighter immigration rules and more investment in policing. Rather than look at the sensationalist headlines, it would be great if people read up on the subject rather than parroting Reform UK.

I made several posts on another thread about this trying to give some perspective from Spain. Largely fell on deaf ears as people were very keen to use the events of the past few days as a way to whip up fear and make pejorative comments about President Sanchéz, Spain and of course, migrants.

I encourage everyone on this thread to read the following information that has been provided by our Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación, also even in English. It provides proper insight into the situation, saves a lot of time on explaining basic things like where Ceuta actually is and that we are not simply handing out residencies.

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/en/Comunicacion/Exteriores-explica/Paginas/2026Articulos/Ceuta,-Melilla.aspx

Further, for those worried about the Regularización Extraordinaria that recently took place.

First of all, here is the link to the Informative Notes on the procedure. It is in Spanish. You will see if you read it that it is not simply "be here, collect residency".

https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/w/28-ter.-autorizacion-de-residencia-por-circunstancias-excepcionales-por-razon-de-arraigo-extraordinario

1. We have these types of immigration amnesties periodically. The last one was in 2005. It is nothing new and is not an initiative imagined for the first time by Pedro Sanchéz. We have been doing this since the 1980s.
2. The window to apply was from April 16th-June 30th 2026 and it was only available to those who were already here for 5 months consistently before April 16th 2026.
3. A criminal background check from your country of origin and any country you have resided in in the last 5 years was one of the documents required, with a criminal records for crimes that are considered crimes also under Spanish law being reason for disqualification from the process.
4. The majority of applicants were from Latin America. Some applicants were British. 🙂
5. The regularizacion gives the right to a one year residency and work permit only. In order to renew applicants will have to meet a second set of requirements. Spanish nationality by residence is normally only available to those who have lived here legally for a minimum of 10 years, with the exception of certain groups - nationals of former Spanish colonies (2 years of legal residency) spouses of Spanish citizens (1 year of legal residency) third country nationals born in Spain (1 year of legal residency - unlike the UK being born in this country does not grant the automatic right to nationality) etc etc

I have not heard of anyone in Spain who has obtained Spanish residency or arrived here as an irregular migrant having the aim to use Spain as a stepping stone to get the the UK in recent years. The reasons for that are likely linked to our healthcare, education, ongoing EU membership, climate, and our growing economy.

Please try not to get your information exclusively from British newspapers. Your press does not give you all the information and is scaremongering.

I'm becoming increasingly concerned about illegal immigration and the lack of certainty around who is entering the country. We don't always know people's backgrounds, and when stories emerge involving violence or serious criminal allegations, it's understandable that many people feel worried about public safety.
I believe it's important to have secure borders, thorough background checks, and an asylum system that is fair but also protects the public. At the same time, people who are granted the right to stay should respect UK laws, values and culture, and be willing to integrate into society. This is an issue that needs sensible, balanced discussion rather than being ignored.

What's got up your nose? It's common knowledge that many have returned. How many exactly could be disputed.

The same who counted them arriving… if it has been reported far and wide, why are you questioning it? It appears that people on this thread are not aware of the fact that most of them have already returned so it cannot have been headline news…

It's been reported everywhere...on the news and in the papers. Who counted them BTW ?

Morocco allowing these numbers through the border is due to a diplomatic crisis between Spain and Morocco involving Algeria. A little bit like France allowing more refugees (or turning a blind eye) due to the UK leaving the EU…

https://www.google.com/search?q=small+boat+and+asylum+seekers+down&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#lfId=ChxjMe

…

net immigration is down:

Good. Shows you can deport someone back to their homeland

By the way, what most of the papers don’t say in their headlines is that 48300 of them voluntarily returned to Morocco on Friday.

And mostly identical too. It was obviously an orchestrated event.

Yes, that occurred to me too. All these buoyancy aids suddenly appeared?