Castro launches migrant regularization assistance service

Castro Urdiales has opened a municipal service to help undocumented foreign residents apply under Spain’s 2026 extraordinary regularization process. (castro-urdiales.net) The Ayuntamiento said on April 28 that its Social Services department had been reorganized and reinforced to attend residents who may qualify for the new process. Spain published Royal Decree 316/2026 in the Official State Gazette on April 16. (castro-urdiales.net) The local service is aimed at people in an irregular administrative situation who need help understanding whether they can apply and how to prepare their paperwork. The town described it as a dedicated point of attention for foreign residents seeking regularization. (castro-urdiales.net) Spain’s national government approved the broader regularization plan on April 14 and said it would add more than 550 extra professionals to support roughly 450 offices handling applications. Online applications were due to open that week, while in-person applications required free appointments starting April 20. (europapress.es) That national rollout has been accompanied by rule changes. Europa Press reported that the government removed a draft option that would have allowed applicants to prove they lacked criminal records through a sworn declaration when other proof was unavailable. (europapress.es) In Castro Urdiales, the local response comes after months of migration-related tension in the town. In March, the Guardia Civil was called at least twice to a newly opened migrant minors center in Mioño after incidents involving residents, and a protest of about 40 people gathered outside. (europapress.es) Weeks earlier, neighbors grouped under the platform “Patrullas Castro” had called a demonstration in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento against the planned opening of that center. Cantabria president María José Sáenz de Buruaga later asked for “prudence” and thanked mayor Susana Herrán for cooperating with the regional government. (europapress.es 1) (europapress.es 2) The new municipal office gives Castro Urdiales a formal local channel for a national process that is already underway, with appointments, paperwork and eligibility rules now moving from decree to case-by-case review. (castro-urdiales.net) (europapress.es)