A Catalan pro-independence party said on Wednesday that it intends to require foreigners to demonstrate proficiency in Catalan as a condition for obtaining residency in the northeastern Spanish region.
The comments follow the announcement by the pro-independence party Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) that it had reached an agreement with Spain’s ruling socialists (PSOE) to transfer control of migration policies to the Catalan government.
The agreement, which will still need approval from the Spanish Congress, would grant Catalonia the power to manage migrant detention centres and oversee the deportation of undocumented migrants. Additionally, the region’s police force (the Mossos d’Esquadra) would assume responsibility for security operations at airports, ports, and other strategic locations, working alongside Spain’s national law enforcement agencies – both the Spanish Policía Nacional and Guardia Civil.
When asked whether foreigners would be required to demonstrate knowledge of Catalan to obtain residency, JxCat spokeswoman Miriam Nogueras told Spanish public television: ‘Of course.’
‘We are in Catalonia, and in Catalonia, there is an official language, which is Catalan. In the same way that if you go to live in France, the condition is to learn French,’ she added.
Nogueras did not clarify whether this requirement would apply equally to EU migrants – who are entitled to freedom of movement without any language conditions – and to non-EU migrants.
When asked by the TV presenter if Spanish (Castilian) would also be a requirement for residency status in Catalonia, Nogueras said: ‘Castilian is already protected. Catalan is in a linguistic emergency.’
Online newspaper El Diario.es has said that ‘neither the doctrine of Spain’s Constitutional Court nor the law agreed by the PSOE and JxCat requires immigrants to know Catalan’.
It also reported: ‘In 2017, the Constitutional Court challenged part of the Catalan law on the reception of immigrants, considering that it required foreigners to reach a certain level of Catalan as a condition for access to Spanish-language training.’
‘Junts argues that Catalan will be a requirement for migrants despite the fact that the law agreed with the Spanish government prevents it,’ El Diario.es said.
Catalan is a Romance language closely related to Spanish, French, and Italian, with approximately 10 million speakers according to the Catalan government. It is spoken alongside Spanish (or Castilian) in Catalonia and is also used in parts of southwest France, Andorra and other regions such as the Balearic Islands and Valencia.
The plan to shift migration control to the Catalan government is the latest in a series of concessions made to pro-independence groups by Spain’s central government. These moves have sparked criticism from right-wing parties and led to public protests.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of the PSOE leads a minority coalition government with the left-wing Sumar group and which depends on the backing of Catalan pro-independence parties and Basque nationalists to pass legislation.
The left-wing Podemos party has criticised the migration agreement, describing it as ‘legitimising institutional racism’, and has expressed uncertainty over whether its four MPs will support the bill – votes that would be crucial for its passage.
JxCat placed second in the Catalan regional elections in May 2024, ending more than a decade of pro-independence rule. ALSO READ: Catalan pro-independence parties lose majority, as PSC socialists win elections.
The region is now governed by the Catalan Socialists (PSC) led by Salvador Illa. ALSO READ: New Catalan government sworn in, ending a decade of pro-independence rule.
🏛️ Míriam Nogueras @JuntsXCat assegura que el català serà “requisit” per obtenir el permís de residència a Catalunya | @LaHoraTVE @RTVECatalunya pic.twitter.com/qldKU4xVNI
— RTVE Notícies (@rtvenoticies) March 5, 2025
…i el “castellano” ? pic.twitter.com/rANjlrWmXT
— Miriam Nogueras 🎗 (@miriamnoguerasM) March 5, 2025
Click here for all our reports related to Catalan independence.
ALSO READ: A new era in Catalonia, as socialist Salvador Illa is elected president.
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ALSO READ: Catalan police acknowledge errors in failed plan to detain Carles Puigdemont.
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