Spain’s socialist-led coalition government has approved a landmark decree to regularise the status of up to 500,000 undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, positioning the country firmly against the hardening anti-migration rhetoric seen across much of Europe.
The measure, expected to come into force in April, will apply to hundreds of thousands of people currently living in Spain without regular status, as well as asylum seekers. To qualify, applicants must prove they have no criminal record and that they were residing in Spain for at least five months – or had applied for international protection – before 31 December 2025.
A “historic day”, says migration minister
The decision was announced following Tuesday’s cabinet meeting by Elma Saiz, Spain’s minister for inclusion, social security and migration, who described the move as “a historic day”.
According to Saiz, the decree aims to dismantle long-standing administrative obstacles and establish a migration framework grounded in human rights, integration, and social cohesion. She stressed that the initiative would benefit Spanish society as a whole, aligning economic growth with coexistence and inclusion.
The programme will be enacted via royal decree, meaning it does not require parliamentary approval.
Political pressure from the left
The decree follows sustained pressure from the Socialists’ former coalition partners in Podemos, whose relationship with the government has been strained in recent months.
Podemos leader Ione Belarra welcomed the announcement, saying the party had reached an agreement with the Socialists for an extraordinary regularisation process. Writing on social media, she said the measure would ensure that undocumented people are no longer forced to work without rights.
A European outlier on migration
Spain’s move stands in contrast to the increasingly restrictive migration approaches adopted across many EU member states, where political debate has often centred on deterrence and border control.
By advancing a regularisation programme of this scale, the Spanish government is signalling a different model, one that frames migration as a structural reality to be managed through legal pathways, labour rights, and social inclusion rather than exclusion.
The full implementation details of the decree are expected to be clarified in the coming weeks.