SPAIN: New Immigration Policies & more – 22nd May 2025

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 22nd of May twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

First up, on Monday the 19th, the government drafted a law to approve the regularization of over half a million undocumented immigrants living in Spain, establishing a temporary, exceptional, and time-limited order to grant residence and work permits to foreigners who have been in the country since before the 31st of December, twenty twenty-four.

This new proposal updates an earlier initiative that gathered more than 600,000 signatures but stalled in Congress. Unlike the original plan, which set the deadline at the end of twenty twenty-three, the new law extends it by a year. The law complements recent reforms in Spain’s immigration regulations, which include new pathways for residency and family reunification.

Specific eligibility requirements will be defined later while the government irons out the details.

Also on Monday, the Consumer Rights Ministry ordered Airbnb to take down thousands of rental listings that violate regulations, including listings without license numbers or unclear owner details.

The governing body was formed in twenty twenty-three and is responsible for consumer rights and related policies, and has taken over responsibilities previously held by the Ministry of Health and Finance. One of their key targets is regulating tourism rentals through the holiday rental market, which, the ministry says, has contributed to the lack of affordable housing across the Peninsula.

Airbnb says it plans to appeal and has argued that some of the 65,000 listings mentioned are lawful rentals.

As if Mondays weren't already blue, also on the 19th, many major mobile networks suffered a widespread network outage.

The disruption primarily affected landlines but also interfered with mobile networks across regions, including Aragón in the northeast, Extremadura in the west-central, the Basque Country in the north and Valencia. The 112 emergency line was also temporarily down but thankfully was quickly restored.

Telefónica, the telecommunications giant, has since apologized, saying the outage was because of network upgrades. Services were restored later on Monday, but only weeks after the national blackout, the broader stability of the country’s infrastructure has been put into question.

Next, President Pedro Sánchez wants Israel out of cultural events like the Eurovision Song Contest because of its military campaign in Gaza.

Speaking at a conference in the capital on Monday, Sánchez argued that there should be no double standards in culture, referencing Russia’s exclusion from such events following its invasion of Ukraine.

And he’s not alone. Sánchez’s remarks echo growing criticism amid ongoing controversy over Israel’s participation in Eurovision.

Speaking of Eurovision, Spain's public broadcaster TVE says it hit a record while showing the song contest this year, drawing nearly six million viewers to their TV screens.

However, Melody, Spain’s representative, finished 24th out of twenty-six countries with her song Esa Diva, tying the country's second-worst result ever. After the results, media rumours said Melody was angry and refused to travel back with the Spanish delegation. She later denied this, saying she simply wanted to return to her one-year-old son and family after three weeks away.

Austria’s JJ won with 428 points for Wasted Love, followed by Israel and Estonia.

Now for news across the pond. Last week, the United States government reissued its travel alert for Spain and Germany, keeping them both at level two out of four, which advises increased caution.

The reissue encourages American citizens to exercise increased caution regarding imminent risks of terrorist attacks and civil unrest. Previously, the only advisory was for terrorism.

As it stands, the U.S. is the only country to update its travel guidance, saying that recent protests, political issues, and the coming summer season have increased risks of unrest. The Spanish government hasn’t commented on this change yet.

In tech news, on Monday the 19th, news outlet Euractiv published an article announcing that France, Spain, and Greece plan to request that the European Commission implement strict EU-wide measures aimed at limiting children's access to social media.

In a joint policy paper, the three countries are calling for mandatory and robust age verification systems, establishing an EU minimum age for social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, which are both thirteen, and advocating for stronger parental controls and safeguards. The three countries have cited health risks, including increasing anxiety and body image issues from constant exposure to harmful content, as some of the main reasons for these changes.

While France and Greece support banning social media access for under-fifteen-year-olds, Spain favors a broader EU-wide discussion, which is set for the 5th of June, when EU digital ministers will meet to update the Digital Services Act guidelines.

For the first time in over thirty years, El Atazar, the largest reservoir in Madrid, has begun overflowing due to record water levels.

This rare spectacle, last seen in nineteen ninety-one, is the result of an exceptionally rainy spring that has filled the region's sixteen reservoirs to near capacity, with Madrid’s sitting at a comfortable 97% capacity. Since March, controlled discharges have gone ahead, but now water has been seen spilling out of its upper outlet.

Eight other dams across the region have also been releasing water, which could cause floods if left unchecked.

Better get your tissues out, as according to popular weather site El Tiempo, from Tuesday the 20th, pollen allergies will reach peak levels, affecting over half the country. After weeks of rain that temporarily reduced pollen counts, recent rising temperatures have triggered intense plant pollination.

Due to the unusually lush vegetation from earlier rainfall, pollen levels, especially from grasses and olive trees, are now extremely high, particularly in central, western, and parts of northeastern Spain.

Around 20% of Spain’s population suffers from pollen allergies, with grasses being the main trigger. If you’re suffering from any of the symptoms, just know you’re not alone!

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the 21st, five individuals were found guilty of racially abusing the Real Madrid star, Vinicius Jr, during a twenty twenty-two match against Real Valladolid.

The Valladolid Provincial Court handed them one-year suspended prison sentences and fines of around 1,500 euros. The culprits have also been told they cannot commit further offences or attend football matches for three years, otherwise, they’ll face repercussions.

LaLiga, the Spanish football league, called it an exemplary ruling, as this is the first Spanish court decision to classify racist abuse at a stadium as a hate crime, marking a significant step in combating racism in sport.

Fancy a glass of red wine? Well, the University of Navarra in the north is launching a groundbreaking four-year clinical trial to examine the long-term health effects of moderate alcohol consumption among the over-fifties.

The study will be funded by a 2.4 million euro European Research Council grant, and is in need of 10,000 volunteers living in Spain between the ages of fifty and seventy-five and already consuming at least three alcoholic drinks weekly. Participants must also be in good enough health to complete the trial.

4,000 participants have already signed up, but the study needs 6,000 more by June to get things going. Volunteers will complete surveys, quarterly check-ins, and health tests tracking heart health, metabolism, and emotional well-being. The goal is to clarify whether daily moderate drinking offers health benefits or poses risks, such as cancer.

Finally, let’s talk food, with an interesting story about the artichoke.

The artichoke has mythological roots in ancient Greece, where Zeus transformed a woman named Cynara into the spiny plant after she rejected him. While that’s a bit far-fetched, what isn’t is Spain’s love of this humble vegetable as the world’s third biggest exporter of cultivated artichokes from mainly Murcia in the south and Valencia.

The artichoke is celebrated across Spain in a ton of traditional dishes, you can find it grilled, fresh, pickled, or even in tea!

If this has made you hungry, find yourself a plate of this Spanish classic before the season ends in early June.

Need some inspo? Join Spanish chef Omar Allibhoy and cook a classic Spanish artichoke dish with the link in the show notes!

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

Did you know that we do lots of other updates? We’ve got country updates and non-county updates, including the Arctic Update, the Multilateral Update, and the Ocean Update.

Check the full list with the link in the show notes!

¡Hasta la próxima!