The Spanish government recently announced a bold move that will allow about 300,000 migrants living illegally in the country to receive residency and work permits each year for the next three years. The policy will go into effect next May and is aimed at bolstering Spain’s aging workforce. While many European countries are looking to tighten their borders and limit the entry of illegal migrants and asylum seekers, Spain has maintained a relatively open policy toward migrants.
According to Migration Minister Elma Saiz, Spain needs about 250,000 registered foreign workers per year to maintain its welfare state. She stressed in an interview that the regularization policy is not just about “cultural wealth and respect for human rights, it is also for prosperity.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has often presented his government’s migration policies as a way to combat the country’s low birth rate. The new policy, approved by Sánchez’s left-wing coalition government, streamlines administrative procedures for short- and long-term visas and grants migrants additional labor protections. It extends a visa previously offered to job seekers from three months to one year.
In August, Sánchez visited three West African countries in an effort to address irregular migration to Spain’s Canary Islands, which are often seen as a gateway to continental Europe for young men from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and elsewhere who undertake dangerous sea crossings in search of better job opportunities abroad or to flee violence and political instability at home.
The challenges of migration in Spain are not limited to those arriving by sea or land. Many undocumented migrants earn their living in Spain’s underground economy as fruit pickers, home care workers, delivery workers or in other essential but often poorly paid jobs overlooked by Spaniards.
Without legal protections, they can be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Saiz stressed that the new policy will help prevent such abuse and “fight mafias, fraud and rights violations.”
The Spanish economy has been among the fastest growing in the European Union this year, thanks in part to a strong recovery in tourism after the pandemic. In 2023, Spain issued 1.3 million visas to foreigners.
Spain’s decision marks an important step in its migration policy and demonstrates its commitment to integrating migrants into society and the labor market. It could also serve as an example for other European countries facing similar migration challenges.