Spain’s government said on Friday it would establish border controls for flights and ships from Italy from midnight on Saturday until Sept. 7 in a dispute with the neighboring country over irregular migration.
Passport, nationality and visa checks would be conducted for Italian passengers and visitors from other countries arriving from Italy “amid the persistent irregular migratory pressure” from the country.
Spain said the measures would apply while Italy applied its own measures which it said were motivated by the mass migration rush by 72,000 people on Spain’s African enclave of Ceuta on July 30.
Earlier on Friday, Italy said it would not bow to “ultimatums or impositions” from Spain and would maintain border controls on arrivals from the country until at least Aug. 15.
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A carriage driver makes his way through crowds of tourists in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, April 24, 2025. Photo by Reuters |
Spain threatened earlier on Friday to impose reciprocal measures on travelers from Italy unless Rome lifted by Sunday the border controls it imposed last week, following amass influx of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
In a statement, the Italian government said it would only reconsider its decision once it was certain there were no security or terrorism risks, no new migration wave and no irregular migrants heading towards European territory.
Spain, the world’s second-largest tourism destination by visitor numbers after France, welcomed a record 96.8 million foreign visitors last year.
During the first six months of 2026, 46.57 million international visitors arrived in Spain, 4.6% more than during the same period last year.
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