©picture alliance / AA | Spanish Prime Ministry Press Office / Handout
More than one million undocumented migrants have applied for legal residency in Spain as part of an exceptional regularization plan. With the move, Madrid is going against the stricter immigration policies that are gaining ground in the rest of Europe.
The measure was launched in April by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government and offers renewable residence permits to people who have been living in Spain for at least five months and have no criminal record. Originally, the government expected about 500,000 applications, but by mid-June, the total had already surpassed 900,000. On the final day, the government reported that the number of applications had exceeded one million.
The regularization plan stems from a citizens’ initiative that received broad support in 2024 from more than 700,000 Spaniards, hundreds of aid organizations, employers, and the Catholic Church. Of the applications submitted, some 360,000 had already been provisionally approved by June, allowing those involved to work and reside in the country while their cases are being processed.
Not everyone is automatically eligible for regularization. Applicants must demonstrate that they have been living in Spain for at least five consecutive months, have no criminal record, and meet the administrative requirements. Only then can they obtain a residence and work permit.
The Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez defends the initiative as a way to recognize people who are already contributing to the Spanish economy. According to him, migrants are needed to sustain the labor market, the welfare state, and pensions in a country with an aging population and a shrinking rural population. “When we condemn someone to invisibility, we make our country worse,” he said in Madrid. However, the measure faces fierce opposition from the conservative Partido Popular and the far-right Vox. They warn that regularization would only encourage illegal migration. There have also been legal attempts at the regional level to halt the process, but the Supreme Court has provisionally rejected a request for a stay of proceedings.
Furthermore, Spain’s approach clashes with the new European migration policy. Earlier this month, the EU developed a sweeping reform featuring faster return procedures, stricter border controls, and so-called “return hubs” outside the Union for rejected asylum seekers. Madrid opposes this, calling these centers legally questionable and disproportionate, with insufficient respect for international and EU law. In doing so, Spain is clearly opting for a different approach.
©picture alliance / AA | Spanish Prime Ministry Press Office / Handout - Illustrative image: The photo shows Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez viewing video footage of arriving refugees in Ceuta on May 18, 2021.