US EditionSpain to regularize 500,000 undocumented migrants
The decree grants one-year residency and work permits to up to 800,000 undocumented migrants to address workforce shortages and support economic growth, the government said.
- On Tuesday, Spain's left-wing government will approve a decree to regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said.
- Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says Spain needs migration to fill workforce gaps and counteract an ageing population that could imperil pensions and the welfare state.
- Sources said the measure affects applicants who have lived in Spain at least five months and applied for international protection before December 31st 2025, with applications open April–end June and beneficiaries allowed work in any sector, Saiz said.
- The Socialist-led coalition will enact the decree by executive order without parliamentary approval, while irregular migrant arrivals to Spain fell by more than 40 percent in 2025 due to fewer Atlantic route flows to the Canary Islands.
- The move contrasts with far-right gains across the EU, as Saiz highlighted broad work rights for beneficiaries, stressing the measure's positive labour market impact in Spain.
140 Articles
140 Articles
Spain's Socialist Government Moves to Legalize Up to 500,000 Illegal Migrants in Sweeping Decree
Spain’s entrenched leftist political class is once again moving to normalize illegality, this time through an extraordinary mass regularization that could grant legal status to more than 500,000 illegal immigrants.
The socialist government will integrate into a booming economy a large number of migrants without legal status. The measure, born of a citizen initiative, brings together the fragmented left and provokes the anger of the right and the far right.
The process for regularisation started, a decision against the EU (ANSA)
Integration Into the Labour Market: Hundreds of Thousands of Illegal Migrants in Spain to Get Papers
The Spanish economy is booming. According to economists, this is also due to migrants. Now the period of illegality for many of them could soon end. The opposition announces opposition to the plans.
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