Spain gives papers to 500,000 migrants: ‘They will be able to work in any sector…’

“The government will regulate the status of these people in order to give rights to people who are already in Spain,” the minister noted.

The measure applies to those who have been in Spain for at least five continuous months until December 31, as well as to those who submitted an application for international protection before that date. As proof, you will have to show any public or private document from which it can be seen, or a combination of both.

Applicants for regularization of status must have a criminal record and must not pose a threat to public order. Permissions ć apply to ​​and their children who are olderć They live in Spain.

It is expected that the application deadline will open in April and last until the end of June.

The plan will be adopted by a decree that will not need approval in parliament, where the socialist-led coalition does not have a majority.

The conservative and far-right opposition attacked the government, saying such measures would encourage more illegal immigration.

Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the People’s Party, the main right-wing opposition party, wrote on Xu that the “absurd” plan would “overburden public services.”

“In socialist Spain, illegality is rewarded,” he pointed out and promised to change migration policy “from top to bottom” if he takes power.

Spain’s Catholic Church was among the organizations that praised the move, hailing it as “an act of social justice”.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez believes Spain needs immigrants to fill gaps in the workforce ​​ and combat an aging population that could threaten pensions and the welfare state.

Official data published on Tuesday showed that 52,500 out of 76,200 new employees in the last quarter of last year were foreigners.

Spain’s more open stance is at odds with a trend in which European governments have tightened migration policies under pressure from hard-right parties, which have strengthened ​​across the European Union.

About 840,000 undocumented migrants lived in Spain at the beginning of January 2025, mostly from Latin America, according to the think-tank Funcas.

Spain is one of the main European gateways for illegal migrants fleeing poverty, conflict and persecution, with tens of thousands of mostly sub-Saharan Africans arriving in the Canary Islands in northwest Africa.

According to the latest data from the National Statistical Institute, more than seven million foreigners live in Spain out of a total population of 49.4 million.