L'Espagne va régulariser un demi-million de sans-papiers
In contrast to its European counterparts, the Spanish left-wing government is preparing to adopt a massive regularization plan for undocumented immigrants that could benefit 500,000 people, a measure intended to support the country's economic growth.
"Today is a historic day for our country. We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, living together, and compatible with economic growth as well as social cohesion," said government spokesperson and Minister of Migration Elma Saiz after the cabinet meeting.
The measure, adopted by the government on Tuesday, will affect "about half a million people" who are in Spain and will thus be able to "work in any sector, anywhere in the country".
Those eligible will be people who arrived before December 31, 2025, and have been present in Spain for at least five months. "From April onwards, all applications can be submitted until June 30," the minister explained.
"This is a measure that has been carefully developed, discussed and is necessary to address a reality that exists in our streets," she stressed.
"Open and human model"
To facilitate its implementation, Pedro Sánchez's government adopted a "royal decree," which allows it to bypass a vote in Parliament, where it does not have a majority.
"We are a country that firmly defends a legal, safe, orderly, but also open and humane migration model, against those who advocate closing the borders," the Prime Minister justified in early January, asserting at the time that immigration represented "80% of Spain's economic growth" over the past six years.
Tuesday's announcement also comes on the same day as the release of unemployment figures for the 4th quarter of 2025, which show a rate below 10% for the first time since 2008, a success driven in particular by the number of new jobs held by foreigners (52,500 compared to 23,700).
Spain is one of the three main entry points for immigration into Europe, along with Italy and Greece. Nearly 37,000 irregular migrants entered Spain in 2025, a figure significantly lower than in 2024 (-42.6%, 64,000 arrivals), according to the Ministry of the Interior.
According to the latest data published by the National Institute of Statistics, more than seven million foreigners live in Spain out of a total population of 49.4 million people.
As early as November 2024, the government had adopted a reform that was intended to allow the regularization of 300,000 people per year over the following three years, in order to comply with European laws and to mitigate the aging of the population.
The new measure announced on Tuesday is expected to primarily affect Latin American migrants, who represent 91% of the 840,000 people currently in an irregular situation in Spain, according to figures from the Funcas think tank.
"Insane" policy
The announcement of these mass regularizations came after a meeting between the government and the far-left party Podemos, a former ally that has become very critical in recent months.
"Podemos is here to guarantee rights, and papers are rights," argued MEP Irene Montero on Monday.
Unsurprisingly, the measure has drawn the ire of the right-wing and far-right opposition.
"In socialist Spain, illegality is rewarded. Sánchez's migration policy is as insane as his railway policy," criticized Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the People's Party (PP, right), the main opposition force, on X, claiming that the plan sought to "divert attention" from the railway tragedy that killed 45 people in the south of the country on January 18.
Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, the country's third-largest political force, denounced the "tyrant Sánchez" on X. He said he "hates the Spanish people. He wants to replace them. That's why he intends to use decrees to create a pull factor, to accelerate the invasion."
This reform follows a popular initiative signed by more than 600,000 people and supported by some 900 associations, which demanded the exceptional regularization of all undocumented immigrants in Spain.
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