Spain moves to regularize immigrants present before end of 2024

The Spanish government has sent a draft proposal to parliamentary groups in Congress regarding the regularization of immigrants who were in the country before December 31, 2024.

The document, seen by the Catalan News Agency (ACN), is based on a citizens' initiative (Popular Legislative Initiative, or ILP) that passed its first hurdle on April 9, 2024, with support from all parties except far-right Vox.

The proposal, which is still subject to negotiation, states that the government will approve – within six months – a royal decree to regulate the procedure and requirements for obtaining a new authorization "due to exceptional circumstances" that "allows residence and employment" for foreign nationals "who were in Spain before December 31, 2024."

The ILP had been stalled in the drafting stage for a year and could now move forward in the coming weeks.

According to government estimates, the measure could benefit around 500,000 immigrants currently residing in Spain.

One-time authorization

The text "urges the government to establish a transitional, exceptional, and time-limited framework" that would "regulate a new, one-time authorization due to exceptional circumstances" for foreign nationals present in the country before December 31, 2024, and who "meet a series of requirements, to be defined by royal decree."

The legal preamble emphasizes that immigration is "crucial" for building Spain's "present and future."

It recalls the history of Spanish emigration to other parts of Europe and Latin America, and notes that Spain is no longer a place of transit, but has become a point of arrival.

"The new international geopolitical situation, the new causes driving human mobility – in addition to traditional ones – instability in many countries affected by armed conflict or institutional crises, along with climate change, have led to the intensification of human mobility around the world," the text states.

The document proposes a new reform of the 2000 law on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners in Spain and their Social Integration, stating that "failing to effectively adapt legal frameworks to the evolving realities of migration flows can create situations of insecurity or lack of protection for migrants," thereby increasing "the risk of social exclusion and vulnerability."

It therefore calls for adopting a "comprehensive approach to Spain's migration policy, in accordance with international frameworks," and "emphasizes the need to prioritize humanitarian care for migrants arriving on our shores" with "full respect for human rights," while promoting "safe, regular, and orderly migration pathways."

Immigration decree

The document also recalls that a decree on immigration was approved on November 19, 2024, and comes into effect on May 20, with the aim of improving regular migration channels, "guaranteeing migrants' rights, providing greater legal certainty for foreign nationals in Spain, and promoting their integration and inclusion."

However, it notes that despite the previous reform’s effort to "improve and ease the requirements" for residence permits, there are still "a significant number of people who will not be able to obtain this authorization, even though they have been in Spain for a long time."