Border controls restored
More than 50,000 people crossed into Ceuta in just 48 hours. Ten days later, part of that migratory crisis had already returned to Morocco, but its consequences had travelled thousands of kilometres to reach the heart of Europe. Italy, despite not sharing a land border, decided to reinstate border controls with Spain in response to events in the North African enclave, and Madrid, in a diplomatic stand-off, responded in kind with travellers arriving from Italy.
The move has called into question one of the main symbols of European integration: the free movement of citizens within the Schengen Area. Specifically, the decision by Giorgia Meloni and Pedro Sánchez has significant repercussions for the Canary Islands, where the Italian community is the largest foreign group in the Archipelago.
Italy: a key market for the Canaries
Around 61,000 Italians reside in the Islands, according to data from ISTAC and the official register, while the Canaries receive hundreds of thousands of visitors from Italy each year. In 2025, some 430,000 Italian tourists travelled to the Canary Islands, out of the 5.68 million who chose Spain as their destination—nearly 8 per cent of the total—making Italy the fourth-largest source market for the country, behind only the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Lanzarote alone attracted close to 97,000 of those visits, almost a quarter of the regional total.
For those living in the Islands, the dispute between Rome and Madrid is far from a distant concern. Italians who have made the Canaries their home, workers who travel between the two countries, families with ties on both sides, and tourists accustomed to travelling without borders now face a situation that seemed unthinkable until a few days ago.
Italian residents share their views
How do Italians living in the Canary Islands view their government’s decision? Angelo, 56, has lived in the Canaries for more than 30 years. He first came to the Islands on holiday and fell in love with the land and its people. On the new controls, he considers they could act as “a security filter” and a necessary reinforcement of borders within the Schengen Area. He has not travelled recently, but he believes and hopes that his Italian nationality will mean the measure does not cause him any problems.
Alessandro, 24, lives in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and arrived on the island with his parents when he was 14. The family moved from Italy for work reasons and in search of a change of life. Ten years on, he says the Canaries are now his home, although he maintains his link with his country of origin. For this reason, he considers Italy’s decision to bring back border controls “a rather strong measure”. In his case, he has already noticed the consequences on a recent trip. “It gets a bit more cumbersome and it takes longer.” He does not consider it a serious problem, but it is an inconvenience that, in his view, affects those who travel regularly between the two countries.
Damiana, middle-aged and resident for quite a few years now in Los Abrigos, in the south of Tenerife, plays down Italy’s decision. “Personally, I couldn’t care less. It doesn’t change anything for me,” she says. She also believes that border controls should not be a problem for those who travel legally. “Controls are good for those who have something to hide. If a person is clean, they can pass a check for the safety of others,” she maintains.
Cristiano Cupe, 23, arrived in Tenerife at the age of 15 with his parents, who were looking to escape the pace of life in Rome, and he now considers the Island his home. He currently works as a content creator and uses his social media to show his connection with the Archipelago. He finds the measure adopted by Italy “excessive”, although he is not yet sure whether it will end up affecting him. He travelled to Rome before the border regulation came into force and hopes to have no problems on his return to Tenerife on 13 August.
What the new measures mean
For residents and travellers, the measure does not mean the closure of borders or the loss of rights for EU citizens. Italians living legally in Spain retain their rights of residence and work, although their journeys between the two countries may be affected by document checks and longer waiting times at airports and ports. A change that, for now, some residents such as Alessandro have already begun to notice, and which others, like Damiana, insist poses no problem for them whatsoever.
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