Spain Opens Mass Regularization for 500,000 Undocumented Migrants, Applications Start This Week
The Spanish government approved a Royal Decree granting one-year residence and work permits to undocumented migrants who arrived before January 1, 2026 and can prove five months of residency. Online applications open April 17, with the window closing June 30.
Spain's Council of Ministers has approved a Royal Decree launching an extraordinary regularization process for undocumented migrants already living in the country. The government expects roughly 750,000 applications, of which about 500,000 will meet the eligibility criteria.
Online applications open April 17. In-person applications begin April 20. The window closes June 30.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the program "an act of justice and a necessity," adding: "We recognise rights, but we also demand obligations."
Who Qualifies
Applicants must meet three conditions:
- Arrival before January 1, 2026 -- documented by public or private records
- Five months of continuous residency in Spain at the time of application
- No criminal record and no threat to public order, safety, or health
Those who qualify receive a one-year residence and work permit, renewable through existing immigration pathways such as employer sponsorship.
The Scale
Analysts estimate Spain has up to 800,000 undocumented residents in a country of 49 million. This is Spain's seventh regularization program -- the previous six were carried out between 1986 and 2005, the last under then-PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The decree bypasses parliament, where a previous legislative attempt had stalled. Migration Minister Elma Saiz's ministry administers the program, with a dedicated telephone line (060) opening April 16 for appointment scheduling.
The Economic Argument
The government framed the regularization explicitly in economic terms. Spain has been the fastest-growing major economy in the European Union for two years running, and Sanchez argued that continued growth depends on immigrant labor.
"Without new people working and contributing, prosperity slows," Sanchez said. "It is thanks to the dynamism of migrants that the Spanish economy is currently the fastest growing in Europe."
Minister Saiz echoed the point: "Our prosperity is demonstrably linked to our management of migration and the contributions of foreign workers."
The government published an economic analysis alongside the decree, arguing that regularization enables employment generation, wealth creation, and sustainability of the welfare system through increased social security contributions from newly documented workers.
The Opposition
The far-right Vox party announced plans to challenge the decree in Spain's Supreme Court. Immigration office workers across the country have threatened to strike over the additional workload.
The decree has drawn attention across Europe, where migration policy remains one of the most politically charged issues. Spain's approach -- regularizing existing undocumented populations rather than focusing exclusively on enforcement -- stands in contrast to the restrictive direction taken by several other EU member states in recent years.