Overview
- Spain’s in-person window, which opened Monday, drew long lines at hundreds of sites as applicants queued at more than 370 post offices and dozens of social security and migration offices.
- The program offers a one-year, renewable residence and work permit to people who arrived before Dec. 31, 2025, can prove at least five months’ residence, and have no criminal record, with applications accepted through June 30.
- Immigration staff who had threatened to strike over resources called off action after an agreement with the government and the Workers’ Commissions union.
- Opposition parties PP and Vox condemned the measure and said they will take it to court, signaling a legal fight over the decree.
- The government expects about 750,000 applications with roughly 500,000 eligible, while the Funcas think tank estimates 840,000 undocumented residents, and for many applicants legal status would unlock healthcare, formal work, banking and family visits.