- Spain has officially approved a royal decree to grant legal status to approximately 500,000 undocumented migrants.
- Applications for the one-year renewable permits will be open from April 16 to June 30, 2026.
- Eligible residents must have entered before 2026 and possess a clean criminal record to qualify for benefits.
(SPAIN) – Spain’s government approved a decree on April 14, 2026, granting legal status to around 500,000 undocumented migrants living in the country.
Applications will open on April 16, 2026 and close on June 30, 2026. The measure covers adults who entered Spain before January 1, 2026 and meet residency and criminal record rules.
Eligible applicants will receive a one-year residence and work permit, while children will receive a permit valid for five years. The permits are renewable and give access to a Social Security number and regional public healthcare.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defended the move as “an act of justice” and tied it to Spain’s labor market and long-running integration debate. He credited a citizen-led initiative backed by more than 600,000 signatures and support from 900 NGOs, including the Catholic Church, business groups and unions.
Deputy Prime Minister or government spokesperson Saiz said beneficiaries “will be able to enjoy full rights with guarantees and fulfill their obligations.” Family members, including first-degree relatives, spouses or registered partners in the household, can apply at the same time.
The decree sets out a short list of entry conditions. Applicants must be legal adults, must have entered Spain before January 1, 2026, must prove residence for at least five consecutive months before applying, and must have a clean criminal record.
Spain approved the measure after a parliamentary bill stalled. The government instead amended immigration laws through a decree, turning a years-long political campaign into an administrative process that begins within two days.
The conservative Popular Party, or PP, announced a legal challenge even though the broader regularization effort had previously won parliamentary backing in a 310-33 vote in the 2024 Congress. Only far-right Vox opposed that vote.
Applicants who enter the program can remain and work legally in Spain, but the measure does not open the rest of the European Union labor market to them. They cannot move to other EU countries for legal work until they obtain permanent residency in Spain.
After 10 years, participants may qualify for Spanish citizenship. That long timetable places the decree between immediate legal recognition and a slower path to full political membership.
The government put the number of undocumented migrants covered by the plan at 500,000, but other estimates run higher. Funcas placed the figure at 840,000, while the National Centre for Immigration and Borders, or CNIF, estimated between 750,000 and 1 million.
Spain has used regularization before. This is the country’s seventh regularization in 40 years, and prior efforts resulted in 1,753,844 permits.
That history gives the decree a familiar shape, but the scale still stands out. A half-million people, if the government’s estimate holds, would move from irregular status into a documented system that links legal work, healthcare access and tax obligations.
The permit structure also reaches beyond individual applicants. Household members in the first degree, along with spouses or registered partners, can file simultaneously, extending the effect from single workers to family units already living inside Spain.
Supporters cast the plan as a response to social reality rather than a new migration signal. Sánchez described it as a way to integrate nearly half a million people into Spain’s workforce and society.
Opponents chose the courts. The PP’s decision to challenge the decree points to a fight over the government’s power to change immigration rules after the parliamentary route stalled, even with an earlier vote that showed wide support.
Spain’s move also sets it apart from a harder line elsewhere. The decree contrasts with stricter policies in other parts of Europe and the United States, where governments have tightened enforcement, narrowed legal routes or made regularization politically harder to achieve.
Inside Spain, the practical effects will turn on how many eligible people apply between April 16, 2026 and June 30, 2026. The offer is narrow in time but broad in consequence: legal status, a residence and work permit, entry into the Social Security system and a foothold in public healthcare.
For many undocumented migrants already embedded in Spanish towns, schools and workplaces, the decree turns informal presence into a recognized legal category. For the government, it tests whether regularization can absorb a population long counted in estimates and signatures, and now measured in permits.
