Abstract Using an exploratory space‐time analysis called spMorph, this article explores how the spatial distribution of international migration across the Spanish provinces has evolved over the period 1998‐2010. The chief advantage of this approach is that it permits the unambiguous identification of two key components in a spatial redistribution process, namely the shocks to the spatial distribution and the duration of regime fades. The results of the analysis show that administrative regions do not provide a reliable picture of the real dynamics in Spain's international migration distribution. In addition, the identification of two spatial shocks reveals the existence of three spatial regimes that consistently characterize the various phases that international migration has been through since the late 1990s.