The regularization of migrants 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, Elma Saiz, "it is a historic measure and has all the legal guarantees," she added. How will the process work, however?

Start

According to Saiz, tomorrow, April 15, the royal decree will be published in the BOE and on April 16 the process will begin. Regularization can be requested online and, at the same time, an appointment can be requested to carry out the process in person. The minister emphasized that it will be essential to request this appointment to be able to go physically to the administration office from April 20. This procedure, which is mandatory to enter the process, can be carried out until June 30.

Requirements

The requirements to be eligible for migrant regularization include being in Spain before January 1, 2026, having resided uninterruptedly in the Spanish state for at least five months from the moment of application; not having a criminal record and, at the same time, not posing a "threat" to public order and security. The census registration is an accrediting document on current residence in the State, but it is not mandatory.

What about criminal records?

Regarding criminal records, the executive has had to toughen the conditions after the Council of State's report, as the initial draft required a responsible declaration assuring that there were no criminal records, but it did not end up being mandatory to provide an accreditation document. Now, as reported by El País and confirmed by ARA, the Spanish government gives applicants one month to request a certificate in their countries of origin, and if they cannot obtain it, the state executive itself will request this documentation. This issue had been introduced by the PP in the Senate and Junts was going to support it in Congress, but the Spanish government vetoed it at the last minute, alleging that it would involve an extra outlay of public money, a total of 16 million euros. Finally, a three-month process is established to obtain the documents through diplomatic channels; and, if the papers do not arrive, the regulation gives interested individuals an extra 15 days to obtain them on their own. If they do not obtain them, they will not be able to enter the regularization process.

How many people will it affect?

This regularization of migrants is expected to affect around 500,000 people, but the Spanish government admits they do not know exactly how many people it will ultimately cover because it will depend on the processing of applications. They have also not provided data by autonomous communities. What the minister has made clear is that governments of all colors have carried out regularizations, even though this is the most massive to date. In 1986, under 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 for 21,294 migrants. The PP party of José María Aznar also carried out two: one in the year 2000 with 264,153 people and another in 2001 with 239,174 people. In the year 2005, José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero (PSOE) carried out the largest to date with 576,506 people.

Sánchez defends the regularization and the PP condemns it

Sánchez defends regularization and the PP condemns it

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 has positioned himself "absolutely against the massive and irresponsible regularization" and has raised to "one million immigrants" the possible beneficiaries. The popular leader has criticized that the Spanish government does not have a real estimate of how many people will actually be welcomed or an "economic report" of the impact on education or healthcare. According to Feijóo, it will mean an "unsustainable overload" for the system and he added that, moreover, the regularization is "inhumane", "unjust" and "insecure". In the PP's opinion and despite the last-minute toughening, there is still "not enough control" in the procedure —reports Andrea Zamorano.