Spain plans to legalise the residency status of 300,000 undocumented migrants annually through 2027, aiming to bolster its labour force and sustain economic growth amid an ageing population.
This mass regularisation will simplify work and residence permit procedures, providing undocumented migrants with labour rights and protections, addressing a population estimated at 600,000—one of the highest rates in the EU.
Spain’s approach is as an outlier in Europe, focusing on inclusion and integration rather than tightening border controls or outsourcing asylum processes.
Regularisation is seen as transformative for migrants, improving mental health, reducing stress and anxiety, and enabling access to jobs, healthcare, and other public services. Immigrant labour has played a key role in Spain’s economic success, with migrants increasingly filling gaps in sectors like technology and hospitality.
“We welcome Spain’s move to legalize 300,000 undocumented migrants over the next three years.”, says Suzanne Hoff, International Coordinator of LSI, “Migrants without a regular stay, are very vulnerable for severe forms of labour exploitation and abuse, including human trafficking. Having no access to regular employment and stay, they have little other choice than to accept poor and often hazardous working conditions to survive, for often very little pay, while at the same time not being able to report such misconduct.”
Picture Credits:
Barcelona protest, 2016 Spain. © BRAIS G. ROUCO