The Spanish government has approved a decree that immediately opens an extraordinary regularisation process for around 500,000 undocumented migrants, a measure first announced by the executive in January.
“This is an act of normalisation, of recognising the reality of almost half a million people who are already part of our daily lives. It is also an act of justice and a necessity for a country that is ageing and that, without new people working and contributing to social security, will see its prosperity held back,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on social media.
The decree will be published on Wednesday and will enter into force immediately. Applications will open on Thursday and run until 30 June, according to Migration Minister Elma Saiz, who announced the details in Madrid.
Spain has reinforced the process with an additional 550 staff members, the minister added.
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The measure is being implemented through a government “royal decree,” meaning it does not require parliamentary approval. A similar initiative, backed by a citizen petition with 700,000 signatures and support from 900 organisations — including the Catholic Church — has been stalled in parliament since April 2024 due to opposition from right-wing and far-right parties.
Saiz said the measure has “triple legitimacy — social, political and economic,” noting that while the parliamentary initiative remains blocked, broad sections of civil society, trade unions, employers’ associations and social organisations have long supported regularisation.
The scheme targets foreigners who have been living in Spain for at least five months as of 31 December 2025, or those who applied for international protection by that date, provided they have no criminal record.
The government estimates that around 500,000 people could benefit from the measure.
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An estimated 840,000 undocumented migrants were living in Spain in 2025, according to the Funcas think tank, based on official data. The study also notes that the number of irregular non-EU migrants in Spain has increased eightfold between 2017 and 2025.
Spain has carried out nine extraordinary regularisation processes since 1986 under both left- and right-wing governments. The last one was in 2005, when more than 575,000 people were legalised.
