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Spain’s government is expected to approve a decree on Tuesday that would grant legal status to an estimated 500,000 undocumented migrants, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced.
In a letter posted to social media, Sánchez said the cabinet would pass the measure, which initiates “the extraordinary regularisation process for people living irregularly in our country.”
The decision was first announced in January.
“This regularisation is, above all, an act of normalisation,” Sánchez wrote, adding that those affected already “build the rich, open and diverse Spain that we are and aspire to be.”
He stated that the objective is to “integrate better, organise better, and channel all the potential of those who already live among us.”
Sánchez has previously argued that Spain requires migration to address workforce shortages and an ageing population, which he has said could otherwise affect pensions and the welfare state.
In his letter, he cited “the dynamism of migrants” as a factor in Spain’s economic growth.
El Consejo de Ministros aprobará hoy el Real Decreto que da inicio al proceso de regularización extraordinaria de personas en situación irregular en nuestro país.
Un acto de normalización, de reconocer la realidad de casi medio millón de personas que ya forman parte de nuestra… pic.twitter.com/Es9il0KE59
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 14, 2026
Migration Minister Elma Saiz told Cadena SER radio that migrants could submit applications from this week until June 30, with all administrative channels “protected and strengthened” for the process.
The measure applies to individuals who have resided in Spain for at least five months and who applied for international protection before December 31, 2025.
Applicants are required to have a clean criminal record. The regularisation also extends to their children, who are already living in Spain.
The decree will become law without parliamentary approval, as the Socialist-led coalition does not hold a majority in parliament.
The conservative and far-right opposition have stated that the plan will encourage more irregular immigration.
According to data from the Funcas think tank, approximately 840,000 undocumented migrants were living in Spain at the beginning of 2025, the majority from Latin America.
Spain remains one of Europe’s main entry points for irregular migrants. Tens of thousands of arrivals, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, have landed in the Canary Islands archipelago off northwestern Africa.
