Migrant regularization starts on April 16: how will it work?

MadridGreen light for the regularization of migrants. After the public hearing process and the mandatory reports, the Spanish government approved this Tuesday the royal decree that will serve to regularize the situation of more than half a million people who are already in the State but do not have their rights recognized. "It is an act of coherence and social justice," proclaimed the spokesperson and head of this portfolio, Elma Saiz, this Tuesday. "It is a historic measure and has all the legal guarantees," she added. How will the procedure work, however?

Start

On Wednesday, April 15, the royal decree will be published in the BOE and on April 16, the process will begin. Regularization can be requested via telematic means and, at the same time, an appointment can be requested to carry out the process in person (submit the application at Social Security offices, Correos, or Immigration offices). It will be essential to request this appointment to be able to go physically to an office starting April 20. This procedure, which is mandatory to enter the process, can be done until June 30.

Requirements

Under the measure, asylum seekers who arrived before January 1, 2026, or individuals in an irregular administrative situation who also arrived in the State before that date can be accommodated. In fact, one of the requirements is to have been in Spain since before January 1, 2026. Furthermore, it will be necessary to have resided uninterruptedly in the Spanish state for at least five months from the time of application, not have a criminal record, and, at the same time, not pose a "threat" to public order and safety. Registration is a document proving current residence in the State, but it is not mandatory. Finally, stateless persons are excluded from this measure.

Documentation

When making the application, the interested person must fill out and submit the form available on the Regularization web portal and must present a copy of their passport, registration card, or travel document. Also, a document proving that they have been in Spain since before January 1, 2026, as well as a minimum stay of five months prior. A criminal record certificate from the country of origin will also be necessary.

Furthermore, if not applying for international protection, one of the following circumstances must be proven (which are essentially requirements): having had a contract or having worked as a self-employed person, having a family unit, or being in a situation of vulnerability, a new circumstance. This situation of vulnerability must be proven through a certificate issued by entities collaborating with immigration services – for example, the Red Cross or Caritas – or social services, and the regulations consider that the same situation of administrative irregularity implies vulnerability.

Ministry sources explain that the staff of the Immigration File Processing Units will be reinforced, and they will be responsible for analyzing regularization files one by one. Currently, these units have about 200 workers, but approximately 400 civil servants from the Ministry of Migration will be added as part of a shock reinforcement plan. "It is an unprecedented measure, but the bureaucratic procedure is similar to other procedures. We have experience," defend sources from this department.

What about the issue of criminal records?

Regarding the issue of criminal records, the executive has had to toughen the conditions after the State Council's report, as the initial bill required a responsible declaration stating that there were no criminal records, but it did not end up being mandatory to provide proof. The Spanish government gives applicants one month to request a certificate from their countries of origin (no criminal records will be allowed in the five years prior to the application). If they cannot obtain it, they must notify it through a responsible declaration and the state executive will open a diplomatic channel to obtain the document within a maximum of three months. If after these three months there is still no response from the country of origin, the migrant person will have to reapply, but will have a maximum of fifteen days. If it is not obtained after all this time, the regularization process will not proceed.

This issue had been introduced by the PP in the Senate and Junts was going to back it in Congress, but the Spanish government vetoed it at the last minute, alleging that it would entail an extra outlay of public money, a total of 16 million euros.

How do extensions work?

The authorization granted is temporary and has an initial validity of one year: it will allow residency and work. After this period, individuals must integrate into the ordinary figures provided for in the immigration regulations. To do so, they will have to meet a series of requirements, including having worked.

If this requirement is not met, the extraordinary permit can be extended for one more year on an exceptional basis. However, it will be necessary to demonstrate that one is actively seeking employment and, therefore, registered with the public employment service or has obtained a "favorable integration effort report" issued by the autonomous community.

How many people will it affect?

The regularization is expected to affect approximately 500,000 people, according to estimates from the Spanish government. Around 250,000 people would be asylum seekers who would make the jump to this route, while the rest would be people who are in an irregular administrative situation. In any case, the Spanish government admits that they do not know exactly how many people it will end up reaching because it will depend on the processing procedure. They have also not provided data by autonomous communities. What the minister has wanted to make clear is that governments of all colors have carried out regularizations, even though this is the most massive one to date.

In 1986, with the government of Felipe González, a regularization was carried out that affected 38,294 people; the same president launched another in 1991 that affected 114,423 people, and in 1996, one of 21,294 migrants. Also, the PP of José María Aznar executed two: one in 2000 with 264,153 people and another in 2001 with 239,174 people. In 2005, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (PSOE) carried out the broadest one to date, with 576,506 people.

Sánchez defends the regularization and the PP condemns it

The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, has defended this regularization as an "act of normalization": "Of recognizing the reality of almost half a million people who are already part of our daily lives," he said. In a text disseminated on X, the Spanish president also defends the measure as an "act of justice with our own history," in reference to the Spanish emigrants who went to America and Europe "in search of a better life." Sánchez, however, also admits that regularizing about 500,000 people is also a "necessity," although he acknowledges that all migratory processes pose "challenges." "Spain, like other European countries, is aging. Without new people working and contributing, our prosperity slows down, our capacity for innovation weakens, and our public services suffer," he said. The objective of the measure is, according to Sánchez, "to recognize rights, but also to demand obligations."

For its part, the PP has condemned the measure. In an address to the popular parliamentary groups in Congress and the Senate, Alberto Núñez Feijóo positioned himself "absolutely against the massive and irresponsible regularization" and raised the number of potential beneficiaries to "one million immigrants". "It is inhumane, unjust, and unsafe," he said. Although he has not clarified what he will do, the PP will study the text and does not rule out going to court. Vox has already announced that it will ask the Supreme Court for the provisional suspension of the regularization. For its part, Salvador Vergés (Junts) said that regularization is not the solution and has once again called for the powers for the Generalitat to guarantee "integration in values, culture, and language".