Almost 1.2 Million of Spain's Undocumented Migrants Apply for Regularisation
Authorities will review the paperwork over three months, and approvals are not guaranteed, with initial forecasts predicting 500,000 regularisations.
- On Thursday, Secretary of State for Migration Pilar Cancela announced that 1,174,978 undocumented migrants applied for legal status in Spain between mid-April and June 30, with more than 600,000 applications already being processed.
- Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez launched the vast regularization scheme in April, defying a broader European crackdown on irregular immigration while touting workforce benefits for construction and other labor-intensive sectors.
- Applicants are predominantly young, with eight out of 10 younger than 45 years old. Latin America accounted for 67% of submissions, with Colombia representing 25.9%, while African nationalities followed with 22.9%.
- Authorities have three months to process paperwork and issue residency permits valid only in Spain. While Spanish business leaders welcomed the move, the conservative and far-right opposition remain furious, arguing the policy encourages irregular immigration.
- The final application count of nearly 1.2 million far exceeds initial predictions of 500,000, though applicants must prove a clean criminal record and five consecutive months of residence in Spain prior to January 1 to receive legal status.
30 Articles
30 Articles
A seventh process of regularization of immigrants in Spain has been completed and the number of applicants is the largest in the history of these processes: more than 1.17 million citizens presented themselves to regularization and had to arrive in this great country before December 31 last year.
Spanish immigration amnesty drew 1.2M applicants
A Spanish immigration amnesty drew 1.2 million applicants, double the expected number. Madrid is unusual in Europe in maintaining an open immigration policy; elsewhere, governments, under pressure from populist anti-migrant parties, are closing borders. Spain’s incumbent socialist government is facing challenges, but Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez argues that migration is economically necessary given the country’s aging population. The largest gro…
Almost 1.2 million undocumented migrants have applied for legal status in Spain as part of an extensive programme launched by the socialist government led by Pedro Sánchez. The measure, welcomed by the business environment because it could cover the labour shortage, is harshly criticized by conservative and extreme right-wing opposition, which claim to encourage illegal immigration.
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