Spain to Grant Legal Status to 500,000 Undocumented Migrants

MADRID — Spain announced Tuesday it will grant legal status to about 500,000 undocumented migrants, a move that runs counter to increasingly restrictive immigration rhetoric and policies in the United States and parts of Europe.

The measure aims to reduce labor exploitation in Spain’s underground economy and address workforce shortages. Spain’s central bank and the United Nations have previously warned that the country needs roughly 300,000 migrant workers each year to sustain its welfare system and economic growth.

“Today is a historic day for our country,” Immigration Minister Elma Saiz told a news conference. “We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, coexistence, and compatibility with economic growth and social cohesion.”

Saiz said the policy responds to the reality faced by hundreds of thousands of migrants already living in Spain and would provide clear economic benefits. The Spanish presidency added that the measure would allow migrants to live with “dignity.”

Under the new rules, foreigners who arrived in Spain before Dec. 31, 2025, and can prove they have lived in the country for at least five months will be eligible for legal residency of up to one year, along with work permits valid nationwide and across all sectors. Applicants must also demonstrate they have no criminal record. Applications will be accepted from early April through June 30, 2026.

Despite the scale of the announcement, the measure will not cover all undocumented migrants in the country. Funcas, an economic research center linked to Spain’s banking association, estimates that about 840,000 undocumented migrants were living in Spain at the start of 2025. Of those, around 760,000 are from Latin America, including about 290,000 from Colombia, nearly 110,000 from Peru and about 90,000 from Honduras.

Funcas estimates the number of undocumented migrants in Spain has increased eightfold since 2017.

The policy builds on earlier reforms that took effect in May last year, aimed at simplifying and speeding up legalization procedures. The government has said those changes could allow up to 900,000 undocumented migrants to obtain legal status over the next three years.

GAROWE ONLINE