Spain has launched a comprehensive procedure to legalise migrants without valid residence permits. According to current estimates, between 500,000 and 840,000 people could benefit from the measure. This makes the initiative one of the largest regularisation programmes in Europe in recent decades.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
Already in the first week after the programme’s launch, more than 130,000 applications were submitted, placing considerable organisational strain on the relevant authorities. In many cities, long queues formed outside immigration offices and administrative centres, while digital systems were temporarily under heavy pressure.
Who is eligible for legalisation
The programme is aimed at migrants who have already been living in Spain for some time. Among the requirements is that they must have arrived in the country before a specified cut-off date at the end of 2025 and have been able to prove that they have resided in Spain for at least several months – typically around five months. In addition, they must have no serious criminal record.
Successful applicants initially receive a temporary residence and work permit, usually valid for one year and renewable thereafter. This gives many of those affected their first access to the formal labour market, as well as to social and administrative services.
The Spanish government justifies the move primarily with economic and demographic developments. Spain is one of the European countries with a particularly rapidly ageing population. At the same time, numerous sectors – including agriculture, hospitality, construction and tourism – are heavily reliant on foreign workers.
The legalisation is intended not only to improve social integration, but also to help address labour shortages. In this context, the government describes the measure as a necessary adjustment to the country’s economic reality.
Political controversy at home and abroad
However, the programme has sparked intense political debate. Critics warn that such a measure could indirectly encourage irregular migration. In particular, conservative and right-wing parties in Spain, as well as in other European countries, have raised concerns about potential pressure on social systems and administrative structures.
On the other hand, the move has been welcomed by employers’ associations, human rights organisations and parts of civil society. They point to the economic importance of migration and the need to regularise people already living in the country, rather than leaving them in long-term uncertainty.
In a European comparison, Spain is therefore taking a rather unusual approach. While many EU member states have tightened their migration policies in recent years, Spain regularly relies on large-scale regularisation programmes.
This positions the country as one of the few EU member states that view migration more as a structural component of economic policy and place less emphasis on restrictive or exclusionary approaches.
