Spain’s government continues to stand out for its approach to immigration, embracing an open-door policy — and the right is pushing back.
Spain’s socialist-led government has announced the approval of a law that will grant legal status to half a million undocumented migrants. The measure, born from a popular legislative initiative signed by more than 700,000 people, will come into force in April and aims to bring hundreds of thousands of individuals into the formal labour market. In an increasingly sovereigntist and identity-driven European context, Spain has long stood out for its integration and reception policies, which have significantly strengthened the country’s economy by addressing the impact of low birth rates and an ageing population on the labour market. Today, Spain’s unemployment rate has fallen below 10 per cent, and the socialist government has shown its intention to continue recognising the value of immigration. The new regularisation law, as expected, is however triggering strong protests from right-wing opposition parties.
What the new Spanish law provides
In 2020, migrant collectives, anti-racist associations and other progressive civil society groups joined forces to draft a popular legislative initiative on the regularisation of undocumented migrants. Over time, 700,000 signatures were collected and major institutions, including the Catholic Church, became involved. This increased pressure on Spain’s socialist-led coalition government, which in recent years has pursued reception and integration policies that run counter to the sovereigntist drift seen across much of the European Union. On 27 January, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the approval of the regularisation law stemming from this initiative.
The law, adopted through a royal decree in order to avoid a difficult parliamentary process, will enter into force in April. It will apply to people who arrived irregularly in Spain by 31 December 2025 and who can prove they have no criminal record, have applied for asylum, and have been living in the country for at least five months. Estimates suggest that at least half a million people have been living for years in precarious conditions and exploitation, excluded from access to basic political, economic and social rights. The left-wing party Podemos puts the figure as high as 800,000, while the Funcas think tank estimates around 600,000.
Undocumented migrants will be able to submit applications between 30 April and June and will be granted a temporary one-year residence permit, allowing access to formal employment, the public healthcare system and social security. Family reunification with minor children is also included. Meanwhile, the bureaucratic process towards eventual Spanish citizenship will continue. The government has promised to hire at least 400 social workers and to launch an online portal to speed up procedures. “We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration and coexistence, compatible with both economic growth and social cohesion,” said Elma Saiz, Spain’s minister for inclusion, social security and migration.
Right-wing backlash: conspiracies and “remigration”
A key role in the approval of the law was played by Podemos, which until a few years ago was part of the government. Sánchez gave the green light to the measure in exchange for parliamentary support from the former ally. “We achieved what the Socialist Party did not want to do,” said Podemos secretary general and MEP Irene Montero, claiming credit for the law. The measure was also welcomed by the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (Picum), based in Brussels, which called on other EU governments to adopt similar policies.
Spain’s right wing, however, strongly opposed the move. The main opposition party, the conservative People’s Party, accused Sánchez’s government of using the law to distract attention from a deadly train accident on 18 January in Adamuz, Córdoba, which killed at least 40 people.
The far-right party Vox — allied with Italy’s Brothers of Italy and rising in the polls — also harshly criticised the regularisation law. Its leaders announced they would appeal to the Supreme Court against both the law and the decree procedure that bypassed parliament. They invoked conspiracy theories such as the “Great Replacement” and called for “remigration”, a concept promoted by the far right involving the deportation of people of foreign origin to their countries of origin.
Spain’s economic boom (also thanks to immigration)
Spain has long adopted an open approach to immigration. Foreign labour has become one of the driving forces of the Spanish economy, helping to offset demographic ageing and declining birth rates — challenges affecting much of Europe, including Italy.
Since Sánchez’s first government took office in 2018, Spain has pursued an open-door policy, and recent employment statistics offer a clear picture. Of the 468,000 jobs created in Spain in 2024, around 85 per cent were filled by migrants or people with dual nationality, who now represent about 13 per cent of the country’s workforce. Many have found work in sectors less attractive to locals, such as agriculture and construction, but also in services. Spain’s welfare system increasingly depends on this labour force. According to an analysis by the Bank of Spain, migrant workers contributed 20 per cent to the country’s GDP surge of over 3 per cent in 2024.
Projections for 2025 confirm steady growth well above the European average. Unemployment has dropped below 10 per cent, the lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis. The regularisation law fits within this success dynamic, as well as the left-wing government’s broader philosophy of expanding rights for those living in Spain. The country currently needs labour especially in hospitality, logistics and elderly care, while migrant employment is also growing in more highly skilled sectors.
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