Spain approves granting legal status to around 500,000 undocumented migrants

Spain’s government, led by a progressive coalition, on Tuesday approved a decree at a Cabinet meeting that paves the way for the regularization of approximately 500,000 immigrants currently living and working in the country without authorization, the latest way the country has bucked a trend toward increasingly harsh immigration policies imposed in the United States and much of Europe.

Elma Saiz, the minister for inclusion, social security and migration, called it “a major milestone” of this administration and insisted that the legislation “has threefold legitimacy: social, political, and economic.”

“These are people who live among us, whose children go to school with our children, who bring life to our towns and our streets, and who, starting today, will be able to enjoy full rights with guarantees and fulfill their obligations,” said Saiz, adding that immigrants who meet the requirements will be eligible for a residence and work permit and will also be issued a Social Security number and a public healthcare card for the region where they reside.

She noted that the authorization “will be valid for an initial period of one year” and that subsequently, these individuals will be able to transition to the categories provided for in the immigration regulations, “which allows for their full and progressive integration into the system.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who is currently on an official visit to China, defended the regularization drive in a letter sent to the public via social media, in which he wrote that this was made possible “thanks to hundreds of organizations and more than 600,000 people who, for years, have worked tirelessly to bring this to Parliament through a Popular Legislative Initiative [a citizen-driven procedure to bring a bill to parliament that requires 500,000 signatures].”

Immigrants who wish to apply for the program must be of legal age, have entered the country before January 1, 2026, and prove that they have resided in Spain for five consecutive months at the time of application, the deadline for which has been extended to June 31. If applicants have first-degree relatives, a spouse, or a registered partner who are part of their household, their applications will be processed simultaneously.

Checking criminal records

The final wording of the decree follows the recommendations of the State Council’s report and tightens the requirements when it comes to applicants’ criminal records. The government will give migrants one month to request certificates from their countries of origin proving that they have a clean record; if they fail to do so, the Spanish government itself will request these documents through diplomatic channels.

The regularization is being done through a decree to amend immigration laws, after a similar bill stalled in parliament. The main opposition group, the mainstream conservative Popular Party (PP), has already announced it will challenge the move, despite having voted in favor in Congress in 2024. At the time, lawmakers voted 310-33 to accept the proposal for consideration, with only the far-right, anti-immigration Vox party voting against it.

Now the PP believes that the decision “is bad for those who have followed the law, for those who are yet to come; it is bad for citizens as a whole, who see how public services are deteriorating without the government doing anything about it,” stated PP Deputy Secretary Alma Ezcurra.

Speaking on national radio on Tuesday, Ezcurra argued that “nobody knows how many people will take advantage of it” and that it could create a pull factor: “We believe that taking a measure of this magnitude without knowing how many people will take advantage of it is reckless. In general terms, the Popular Party opposes mass regularizations; we believe that there must be individualized criteria, always linked to employment and with very strict requirements. Otherwise, the message we send to the world is that irregularity is rewarded; and that, among other things, leads people who are very desperate to fall into the arms of criminal organizations and potentially lose their lives at sea.”

And Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox, wrote on social media that Sánchez “hated” Spaniards and was “accelerating an invasion.”

Minister Saiz said Spain will remain a “beacon” in the fight against the global wave of anti-immigration politics led by the far right. “We will do everything in our power to stop it,” she said. “I believe that today is a great day for our country.”

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