More than one million undocumented migrants have applied to legalise their status in Spain under the government’s mass regularisation programme, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced.
Speaking in Madrid on the final day for applications, Sánchez said the scale of the response demonstrated the need for the measure, which grants eligible migrants access to legal residence and employment rights.
“The more than one million applications submitted show how necessary this recognition of rights and responsibilities was,” the Socialist prime minister said.
When the scheme opened in April, the government estimated that around 500,000 people would benefit, with the majority expected to come from Latin American countries.
Government sources said approximately 360,000 applications have so far been declared admissible, although the authorities still face the significant task of processing the remaining submissions.
To qualify, applicants must demonstrate that they have no criminal record and that they had lived continuously in Spain for at least five months before January 1.
Officials have up to three months to assess each case. Successful applicants will receive residence and work permits valid within Spain.
Among those whose applications have already been approved is 59-year-old Cuban national Juana Hernández, who has lived in the country for two and a half years.
Hernández described the scheme as “a huge opportunity” and said she had paid around €200 for legal assistance to ensure the application was completed correctly. She also received support from a migrant aid organisation.
Although initially concerned about the process, the English graduate now hopes to secure employment at Madrid airport.
Spain, once a country from which large numbers of people emigrated, has become one of the main entry points into the European Union for migrants arriving without documentation, alongside Italy and Greece.
Many reach Spanish territory after undertaking the dangerous Atlantic crossing from West Africa to the Canary Islands. Arrivals fell last year after reaching a peak in 2024.
Since the regularisation process began, long queues of men, women and children have formed outside government offices as applicants sought documents and attended appointments. Many others submitted their applications online.
Despite early concerns that immigration services could become overwhelmed, some applicants said the process had been relatively straightforward.
Mohamed, a 23-year-old Moroccan living in Cantabria, said his experience had been “relatively easy”. He has lived in Spain without legal status for around four years and hopes regularisation will allow him to work lawfully and pay social security contributions.
He said obtaining legal status would also protect him from employers who exploit undocumented workers by offering extremely low wages, denying them employment rights or, in some cases, failing to pay them at all.
The programme places Sánchez increasingly at odds with the tougher immigration policies being adopted elsewhere in Europe, where governments are under growing pressure from populist and far-right parties.
The Spanish prime minister has emerged as one of Europe’s strongest advocates of a more open approach to migration, reportedly leading to disagreements with other European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Following a recent European Union summit in Brussels, Sánchez argued that migrants already living and contributing in Spain should enjoy the same basic rights as other residents.
“Those who already live in our country and contribute to its economic development deserve to have the same rights as any other citizen,” he said.
The government has also presented the scheme as an economic measure, arguing that legalising undocumented workers will help address labour shortages in sectors such as construction, agriculture, hospitality and care work.
Spain has recorded some of the strongest economic growth among developed countries in recent years, and Sánchez has repeatedly said immigration is essential to sustaining the workforce and supporting the social security system.
Business organisations have broadly welcomed the programme, saying it will bring more workers into the formal economy and reduce undeclared employment.
However, the conservative opposition and far-right parties have strongly criticised the policy, claiming it will encourage further irregular migration.
Their anger intensified after the minority government introduced the measure by decree, allowing it to take effect without securing prior approval from parliament.
Photo by Jose Manuel Esp on Unsplash
