Spain’s Supreme Court has struck down rules that let the authorities refuse residence permits automatically to immigrants with a criminal record.
The court’s Contentious-Administrative Chamber found that officials could no longer reject an application on the record alone. They would instead have to weigh each case individually where protected family rights or European citizenship were at stake.
Such assessments must take account of the seriousness of the offence, the time elapsed since it was committed, the applicant’s family circumstances and the interests of any children.
The disputed provision formed part of Royal Decree 1155/2024, the immigration regulation overhauled by the Spanish Government under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in 2024. The reform sought to simplify residence procedures and widen routes to regularisation.
Judges only partially upheld the challenge, which was brought by migrant-rights organisations, and left the bulk of the overhaul standing. They also overturned several restrictions affecting foreign minors.
The regulation could no longer bar residence simply because a minor was married, a limit the court found might harm victims of forced marriage. It also had to recognise guardianship arrangements for children established abroad under international conventions.
The ruling struck down wording that had weakened the duty to provide immediate care to unaccompanied foreign minors. In a further loosening, it lifted a ban that had stopped temporary employment agencies from recruiting foreign seasonal workers.
Judges rejected the compulsory use of electronic procedures for some applicants, finding the Government had not shown that every affected group could access the necessary digital tools.
The 149-page judgment, dated July 8, confirmed the visa requirements for certain relatives living abroad. It also backed the residence rules the regulation set for family members of Spanish citizens.
The decision came as Spain pressed ahead with one of Europe’s largest migrant regularisation schemes, which has drawn opposition from the right-wing Vox party and the centre-right Popular Party. Both have attacked the wider programme as an amnesty that rewards illegal entry.
More than 1.3 million people applied before the programme’s June 30 deadline. The same court this month declined to suspend that scheme or refer it to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
