The State will exceptionally and temporarily regularize 26,000 immigrants affected by the DANA

MadridThe Council of Ministers will approve this Tuesday the exceptional and temporary regularization of thousands of immigrants affected by the DANA in the Valencian Community on October 29, as has been announced The Country and has confirmed the ARA. According to sources from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, some 26,000 migrants will be able to benefit from an "exceptional" residence permit. The figure would grow to 98,000 beneficiaries if other changes in immigration matters are taken into account, which will also be approved tomorrow Tuesday.

This regularization comes after social entities and organizations such as Oxfam Intermón have denounced the situation of vulnerability and lack of protection of migrants who saw their lives cut short by the natural disaster. "Activating these residence and work permits will mean that many people will go from being invisible to being able to request aid and enter the labor market," stressed this Monday Raquel Checa, head of the NGO's Desigualdad Cero program.

Four measures

Exceptional authorization

A residence permit "due to exceptional circumstances" will be granted to those foreign persons, as well as their relatives, who had their domicile in one of the municipalities affected by the DANA between October 28 and November 4, 2024, and who were not holders of a previous residence permit.

This permit will be valid for one year and will allow the beneficiaries to reside and work in Spain during this time. To apply for it, the affected persons will have a period of 3 months from the entry into force of the instruction. When it expires, the person may request that this "exceptional" authorization be modified by an authorization recognized in the immigration regulations. In the case of foreign relatives of fatal victims due to the DANA, the permit will be valid for up to five years.

Automatic renewal

Authorizations for study purposes and temporary residence or work permits for foreigners living in an affected municipality will be automatically extended and renewed. This will apply to those permits whose validity expired between July 30, 2024, and April 1, 2025. They will only be denied for reasons of public order, security or public health, according to sources from the ministry.

Flexibility with Social Security

Residence and work permits will also be provided when the foreign person was waiting to register with Social Security. The ministry understands that some employers have not been able to carry out the procedures as a result of the DANA. In this way, the foreign worker will be prevented from falling into the supervening irregularity. These authorizations will be effective from the moment of their resolution in the Immigration Office.

Favorable resolution

All applications for initial authorization of residence or work will be resolved favorably; also those for renewal, modification or extension applications that were being processed at the time of the DANA and that, therefore, were left in standby or with some requirements still to be met. Again, they will be denied for reasons of public order, security and public health.

Different social entities of the Valencian Country explain to Europa Press that both state and regional aid require having a DNI or NIE, in addition to other requirements, such as an employment or rental contract or a bank account. This had "excluded some 40,000 residents of the affected areas who are in an irregular administrative situation, one of the groups with the greatest lack of social protection," these entities recall.