Migrants celebrate chance to work legally through new regularization plan

The Spanish government's planned migrant regularization could benefit half a million people already living in the country.

One of them is Merly Arévalo from Colombia, who has lived in Barcelona for four years. 

She hopes to benefit from the regularization, work legally, and obtain residence and work permits. "We want to do our part for society," she told the Catalan News Agnecy (ACN). 

Merly also hopes to continue her training and, above all, find work beyond caregiving and cleaning, in line with her education. 

Her situation is similar to that of many other migrants who could benefit from the extraordinary regularization. Rashid, 39, born in Marrakech, Morocco, arrived in Catalonia two years ago and also hopes to benefit. 

Since April, he has been working without a contract in construction and hopes to keep his job while improving his situation. "Regularization is like a dream, it would allow me to live calmly and have more security," he said.

Rosa, from Ecuador, has lived in a town near Tarragona since 2021. She has never held a formal employment contract and hopes her situation will be regularized by spring. 

She has a son and a daughter and is proud to have formed "a Catalan-Latino family." 

"I feel like just another Catalan, I just need a piece of paper to prove it," Rosa adds.

Leading the ranking of migrants in irregular situations is Colombia. Of the nearly 840,000 people affected, 70% come from South America. 

About 287,955 are from Colombia, roughly one-third of the total, followed by Peru with more than 107,520 people, according to 2026 data from the Funcas Foundation.

Extraordinary regularization to begin in April

The Spanish government will begin processing the extraordinary regularization of migrants that aims to help hundreds of thousands already living in the country who lack access to ordinary channels. 

The process covers those in Spain before December 31, 2025, with at least five months of continuous residence. It also includes applicants with pending or denied international protection requests. 

Eligible migrants will receive a one-year residence permit, allowing them to work immediately in any sector. Minor children residing in Spain will receive five-year permits.

Applications will open between April and June.