In contrast to a trend of anti-immigration rhetoric and practices in the United States and much of Europe, Spain has launched a scheme to offer legal status to 500,000 unauthorised migrants.
The initiative, which was unveiled in January, aims to lessen labour exploitation on Spain's black market. The country’s central bank and the United Nations have previously said that Spain needs around 300,000 migrant workers a year to sustain its welfare state.
As Spain started an in-person application window on Monday, hundreds of migrants waited in queue outside immigration offices to attempt to legalise their status.Others waited in queue outside city council buildings to receive a certificate attesting to their vulnerability. Sometimes, in order to apply for regularisation, such a document is necessary.
Police had to send people away for the day due to the length of the line in Almería, a city on the southeast coast of Spain.
"I got there at 6:30 a.m." There were a lot of folks there already. Enrique Solana, a migrant from Colombia, told Reuters, "I'll have to get up earlier after an officer said officials wouldn't be able to help all the migrants that day."
Migrants must attend designated offices by appointment, according to Spanish Migration Minister Elma Saiz, and a vulnerability certificate may be necessary in some circumstances."Competition is not what regularisation is. It is visibility and social justice. It's providing opportunities," she stated on X on Monday.
Saiz stated that Spain was "strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, coexistence and compatibility with economic growth and social cohesion" when the plan was unveiled in January.
She went on to say that the new policy would help the nation's economy and was "necessary to respond to a reality that exists on our streets."
According to the presidency, the policy will enable migrants to live "dignified" lives.

Foreign nationals who arrived in Spain prior to December 31, 2025, and who can demonstrate that they have been residing there for at least five months will be awarded work permits that are valid for any industry in the country, as well as legal residency for a maximum of one year. They will have to demonstrate that they have no criminal history.
Applications are accepted from the start of April through June 30.
What is the number of undocumented immigrants in Spain?
This new regulation does not address the much greater number of unauthorised migrants in Spain. According to projections from Funcas, an analysis institute associated with the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA), there were 840,000 undocumented migrants in the nation at the start of 2025.According to Funcas, the majority—roughly 760,000—come from Latin America. Approximately 110,000 are from Peru, 90,000 are from Honduras, and 290,000 are from Colombia.
According to Funcas, the number of unauthorised migrants in Spain has increased eightfold since 2017.
The statement in January expands upon a law that went into force in May of last year with the intention of streamlining and accelerating the legalisation process. Over the next three years, 900,000 undocumented migrants may be able to achieve legal status thanks to the strategy, according to the Spanish government.

An overview of the routes to legal status
Since the 1980s, Spain has authorised at least six more large-scale avenues to legal status for undocumented migrants.
In 1986, Felipe González's socialist government granted legal recognition to approximately 38,000 individuals. More over 114,000 persons were granted legal residency between 1991 and 1992, when González was prime minister.
In 1996, 2000, and 2001, around 524,000 persons received papers under Prime Minister José María Aznar. Nearly 21 years have passed since José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero's government handled over 576,000 applications for legal status.Following US President Donald Trump's criticism of Europe's "politically correct" immigration policy, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez launched the legalisation scheme. Trump declared that Europe was "invaded by a force of illegal aliens" and in "serious trouble" during the September UN General Assembly.
Additionally, Trump claimed in Davos, Switzerland, in January that some European locations are "not even recognisable" and "not heading in the right direction."Many European countries have adopted strict immigration policies, such as Italy's contentious policy of deporting asylum applicants who are saved at sea. Spain, which views immigration as a means of boosting its economy, has mostly continued to be an anomaly in Europe.