Spain is set to grant legal residency to around 500,000 undocumented migrants through an extraordinary regularisation process, the Government announced. The measure, to be approved by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, January 27, via royal decree, aims to “guarantee rights and provide legal certainty to an existing social reality”, according to an official statement.

Beneficiaries must have entered Spain before December 31, 2025, hold no criminal record and be able to prove at least five months of continuous residence in the country. The policy comes amid Spain’s robust economic performance and demographic pressures. With a population of nearly 50 million, Spain is the fastest-growing major economy in Europe. 

The Bank of Spain forecasts GDP expansion of 2.2 % in 2026, compared with 1.2 % for the euro area as a whole. Officials attribute part of this growth to stronger private consumption and population growth.

Data from the Government show that since the pandemic, the number of foreign workers registered with the social security system – a measure of formal employment – has risen by 45 %, now accounting for 14 % of the total workforce.

Despite these gains, hundreds of thousands of workers remain in an irregular administrative situation. In 2024, a citizens’ initiative collected more than 600,000 signatures in support of mass regularisation, securing broad backing in the Congress of Deputies.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s socialist administration has positioned itself as an outlier in European migration policy. While several countries have tightened entry rules and increased expulsions, Spain has adopted a more open approach, partly to address the challenges of one of the world’s oldest populations.

Earlier this month, Mr Sanchez said: “I’ll say it clearly. No one is expendable in Spain. On the contrary, we lack people. Faced with the choice between being a closed and poor nation, Spain is opening itself to the world to ensure prosperity.”

The announcement follows a pact between the PSOE and Podemos, reviving elements of the 2024 initiative that had stalled. By proceeding via royal decree, the Government can implement the measure swiftly, bypassing extended parliamentary debate.

Eligibility will require documentary evidence of residence, such as municipal registration records, utility bills or other verifiable proofs. Successful applicants are expected to receive provisional residency authorisation, enabling legal work, access to public healthcare and social security registration, followed by a one-year residence permit. They can then transition to standard immigration routes.

Spain has a history of similar mass regularisations, including one in 2005 under a previous socialist Government which benefited more than 570,000 people. Earlier processes in the 1980s and 1990s also regularised large numbers.