Spain Approves Decree Granting Legal Status to Undocumented Immigrants
Government will use an expedited royal decree to grant up to one-year residency and work permits to immigrants who arrived before Dec. 31, 2025.
Overview
Elma Saiz, Spain's Minister of Migration, announced after the weekly cabinet meeting that the government approved a royal decree to grant up to one-year residency and work permits to immigrants who arrived before Dec. 31, 2025, and said eligible people could begin applying in April.
The expedited decree bypasses parliament and applies to people who can prove at least five months' residence in Spain and no criminal record, Saiz said, and officials said it is aimed at filling labor shortages in agriculture, tourism and the service sector.
Hundreds of migrant rights groups and the Spanish Episcopal Conference welcomed the measure, while Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on social media of using the move to distract from a deadly rail crash and Santiago Abascal of Vox called it 'accelerating an invasion' on social media.
Saiz said the decree could benefit about 500,000 people, other organizations estimate up to 800,000, and campaigners collected 700,000 signatures for a related citizen initiative, records and statements show.
Officials said they expect to start processing applications in April and to keep the application window open through the end of June, and opposition parties have vowed parliamentary and legal challenges, according to party statements.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame Spain’s move positively by using valorizing language ("dignifying," "beacon") and contrasting it with "harsh" U.S./European policies. They foreground government officials, migrant advocates and Catholic endorsements while relegating critics as marginal (labeled "far-right" or quoted with extreme "invasion" claims), producing a humanitarian‑economic narrative.