World Immigration News

The seventh regularisation of undocumented migrants in 40 years exposes the need for greater migratory policy planning

Release Date: 2026-03-10
Media: Real Instituto Elcano
Summary: Spain will begin granting legal status to more than 500,000 undocumented migrants and asylum seekers starting next month under a new decree. Applicants must prove they have no criminal record and have lived in Spain before December 31, 2025, or have sought international protection. The permit will be valid for one year (five years for children) and renewable, and migrants may become eligible for Spanish citizenship after ten years. However, they cannot legally work in other EU countries until they obtain permanent residency in Spain.

The government estimates about 500,000 migrants will benefit, though police authorities believe 750,000 to one million people could apply. The initiative began as a citizen-led campaign supported by more than 700,000 signatures, NGOs, the Catholic Church, business groups, and trade unions. Opposition parties, including the Popular Party (PP) and the far-right VOX, strongly oppose the measure.

Spain argues that immigration is necessary due to rapid population aging, low fertility rates, and labor shortages, and foreign workers have become crucial for economic growth and for sustaining the pension and public health systems. By 2025, the foreign-born population exceeded 10 million, or about 20% of Spain’s population.

However, significant social and economic gaps between Spaniards and immigrants remain. Foreigners have higher school dropout rates, poverty levels, overcrowded housing, and concentration in low-skilled jobs, raising concerns about the formation of an underclass. While the regularisation will remove many migrants from legal uncertainty, the fact that more than 1.7 million migrants have been regularised in Spain over the past 40 years highlights the need for better long-term migration policy planning.
Tags: Spain

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