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19h ago

Spain Finalizes Mass Regularization for Undocumented Migrants

The fast‑track decree tests Spain’s capacity to move shadow workers into the formal economy.

FILE - Migrants climb the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Javier Bernardo, File)
Would-be immigrants walk in the Centre for Temporary Stay of Immigrants (CETI), following a morning assault in Melilla, on May 28, 2014. About 500 African migrants leapt a towering, triple-layer border fence to cross from Morocco to the tiny Spanish territory of Melilla today, one of the biggest breaches in nearly a decade, officials said. AFP PHOTO/ JESUS BLASQUEZ (Photo by JESUS BLASQUEZ / AFP)
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Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing on April 13, 2026. Sanchez called China's trade imbalance with the European Union "unsustainable" on April 13, as he began a three-day visit to Beijing where he hopes to strengthen economic ties. (Photo by ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Overview

  • The Council of Ministers, which approved the royal decree Tuesday, set online applications to open Thursday and in‑person filings to start April 20 with a June 30 deadline.
  • Eligible applicants must have arrived before January 1, prove at least five months’ residence, and show a clean criminal record, with successful cases getting a one‑year work and residency permit that can lead to longer‑term status.
  • The center‑right People’s Party said it will challenge the decree in court, Vox vowed similar action, and immigration‑office unions warned of strikes from April 21 over scarce staff and funding.
  • To handle the influx, the government designated a nationwide network of immigration centers, social security buildings, and post offices and says it has added more than 550 staff, though unions say the system cannot process the volume expected.
  • Officials estimate roughly 500,000 people could qualify, analysts cite as many as about 840,000 undocumented residents, and lawyers report long lines at consulates as applicants seek criminal‑record certificates required to file.