Spain to ‘regularize’ 900,000 undocumented migrants

Migration Minister Elma Saiz said Spain does not want to be a “closed and poor” country

New migration rules announced by Madrid on Tuesday will allow for the legalization of some 300,000 undocumented migrants per year over the next three years. The reforms are aimed at expanding the country’s workforce and boosting its economy, according to Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Elma Saiz of the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party.

“Spain has to choose between being an open and prosperous country or being a closed and poor country and we have chosen the former,” Saiz said, announcing the change. She added that the country needs “around 250,000 to 300,000 foreign workers per year to sustain its welfare state.”

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has previously promoted “circular migration” policies to create legal channels for economic migrants, something he said the country badly needs as its aging population strains public finances.

The reforms will simplify visa requirements and paperwork and extend their duration in certain circumstances. The period an illegal migrant must live in Spain to be granted the right to a visa will also be reduced from three to two years.

“We want to make it easier for foreigners to get a job matching their professional profile and that companies find the professionals they need,” Saiz told reporters.

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She explained that the reforms could increase the rate of regularization to up to 300,000 people per year over the next three years.

According to Saiz, 210,000 people were already authorized to live in Spain via the residency route by the end of 2023. She said that around 3 million foreigners add nearly 14% of contributions to Spain’s welfare system. Among other changes, student visas will also become more flexible, allowing up to 30 hours of work per week.

In the first six months of this year, some 25,000 migrants reached Spain illegally, double that registered during the same period last year, according to official figures. More than 19,000 of those made the maritime journey from north-western Africa to the Canary Islands. In response, the government of Lanzarote declared a state of social emergency, saying it could not deal with the influx. The situation prompted Spain’s main opposition party, the right-wing Partido Popular, to call on the government to deploy the navy to block more immigrants.

An October survey for El Pais newspaper and Cadena Ser radio station found that 57% of Spaniards feel there is “too much” immigration, while 75% held a negative view of migrants.

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Spain’s latest moves on immigration come in stark contrast to the trend in Europe, where governments have introduced more curbs on migrants and tighter border controls. In recent months, Germany and the Netherlands have expanded checks at their land borders and France has promised to “restore order” at its own entry points, while Sweden and Finland have vowed to introduce more stringent immigration laws.