Spain to initiate extraordinary regularisation up to 5 lakh undocumented migrants: Details here

Spain is set to roll out a rare large-scale legalisation drive for undocumented migrants, with the government confirming it will approve an extraordinary grant of legal status on Tuesday. The move comes as Madrid doubles down on a migration strategy that stands apart in Europe, treating population inflows not as a threat to manage, but as a gap to fill.

In a statement, the government said the measure aims to “guarantee rights and provide legal certainty to an existing social reality.”

The process will be open to all foreign nationals who were in Spain before December 31, 2025, and who can prove they resided continuously in the country for at least five months at the time of application. This can be demonstrated with any public or private document, or a combination of both, according to the official realease by the governement. For applicants for international protection, it is sufficient that the application was submitted before December 31, 2025, and can be proven.

Why Spain is making this move now

With close to 50 million people, Spain is currently the fastest-growing large economy in Europe. The Bank of Spain forecasts GDP growth of 2.2% in 2026, compared with 1.2% for the euro area. Part of that performance is being driven by stronger private consumption and steady population gains.

Government data also shows how sharply the formal migrant workforce has expanded since the pandemic. Foreign workers registered with the social security system, an indicator of formal employment, have risen 45%, now accounting for 14% of the total.

Even so, hundreds of thousands remain in an irregular administrative status. In 2024, petitions signed by more than 600,000 citizens supported an initiative calling for a mass grant of legal status, and it won a broad majority in the Congress of Deputies.

Sánchez’s migration line stands out in Europe

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist government has taken a different path from many of its European peers. While several countries have tightened entry rules and pushed for removals, Sánchez has framed migration as essential, partly to offset the ageing pressures of one of the world’s longest-lived populations.

“I’ll say it clearly. No one is expendable in Spain. On the contrary, we lack people,” Sánchez said earlier this month. “Faced with the choice between being a closed and poor nation, Spain is opening itself to the world to ensure prosperity,”