In a surprise step, the Spanish government announced an extraordinary one-off process that can lead to the regularisation of half a million foreign nationals – undocumented migrants and asylum seekers – currently residing in Spain.
Under the time-limited plan, applicants will get a residence permit (valid for one year). The requirements would-be residents need to meet are very low: arrival to the country prior to 31 December 2025, proof of continuous residence for at least 5 months (!), and lack of criminal record. The applicant ‘must not be considered a threat to public order’. Having valid documents is not necessary.
Pedro Sánchez’s government said that the scheme only recognizes an already existing reality across Spanish cities and reduces the shadow economy while guaranteeing basic rights and legal certainty.
The reasoning seems solid.
With extremely low birth rates and shrinking workforce, Spain’s economy is heading for disaster – thus the effort seems to merely tackle a domestic situation and aims at stabilizing the labour market. As Sánchez said, the reason to ‘commit to regularization is purely pragmatic. The West needs people’.
The additional hundreds of thousands of taxpaying foreigners would also help to keep the Spanish budget afloat.
What the decision makers in La Moncloa failed to notice is that the unilateral step contradicts the existing European framework of immigration (beyond being reckless and irresponsible). Deciding to go alone, Madrid ignores the possible effects of its national regularisation policies on the whole system.
Opposition parties immediately argued that the regularisation might in fact encourage illegal immigration, overburden public services and bypass parliamentary processes. Far-right party VOX plans to appeal before the Supreme Council to block the measure.
That’s already a reality: no additional budget or staffing had been earmarked for the expected surge, yet the system is already overloaded with several months-old backlog, with applications submitted in June 2025 being currently processes. And the program hasn’t even started yet.
The response from the EU and other member states wasn’t positive, either.
The European Commission has voiced ‘strong reservations’ and demands that Madrid clarifies the compatibility of the new rules with existing EU regulations, especially regarding freedom of movement within the Schengen Zone.
Once legalized in Spain, immigrants can resort to ‘secondary movement’ – relocating to another member state with stronger labour markets or more generous welfare systems.
According to the Commission the step presents a great risk with sending a different message compared to the one that the EU is currently communicating outside Europe to deter irregular migration. It also contradicts current efforts to harmonize migration procedures.
Finland and Austria both expressed concerns about the unintended consequences of the move.
Finnish interior minister Mari Rantanen denounced the Spanish decision, claiming ‘I wouldn’t ever suggest acts like that’. She pointed out that in the Schengen Area, there was a ‘high risk when some countries are doing basically the complete opposite of the other countries’.
Her Austrian counterpart, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner also expressed concerns that the measure could create ‘a pull effect toward Europe’, thus having a potentially destabilizing power for migration management across the continent.
There are many possible explanations for this level of disregard of the situation within the EU – one is the current political situation in Spain. The right is gaining foothold, while the government has faced disappointing regional election results. The only way forward for Sánchez’s PSOE is to turn to the left.
But the likeliest is Sánchez’s desperate attempt to stay in power amidst the corruption scandals engulfing his government.
When one allegation of graft follows another accusation of ignoring sexual assault cases, mixed with cries of government failure (think: the tragic high-speed train collision near Adamuz or last year’s infamous blackout) – Sánchez needs a distraction. In situations like this, migration is a handy alternative.
