Spain’s mass regularisation programme for undocumented migrants has already attracted around 900,000 applications, far exceeding the 500,000 initially forecast by the government, with two weeks still remaining before the 30 June deadline.
The scheme, approved by the Spanish government in April, aims to grant residence and work permits to undocumented migrants who were already living in Spain before 1 January 2026, helping to bring thousands of workers into the formal economy. ALSO READ: Spain to commence mass regularisation of undocumented migrants.
According to government sources cited by Spanish newspaper El País, around 900,000 applications have already been submitted. The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has yet to publish updated official figures, but authorities have reportedly accepted 360,000 applications for processing so far.
Spain’s Secretary of State for Migration, Pilar Cancela, said the administration has the capacity to handle up to one million applications during the April-to-June application period. She acknowledged that the number of requests would ultimately exceed the number of permits granted. ALSO READ: Spain granted citizenship to 300,000 foreigners in 2025 – highest annual figure since records began.
Applicants who meet the requirements, including proving they have lived continuously in Spain for at least five months before applying and having no criminal record, can receive an initial one-year residence and work permit. Those whose applications are admitted for processing are permitted to start working immediately.
The programme has generated strong interest in a country that has remained comparatively open to immigration while many other European nations have tightened border controls and migration policies. ALSO READ: Spain stands alone as EU backs tougher deportation rules and overseas return centres.
Spain’s economy has outperformed many of its European counterparts in recent years, with migrants playing a key role in sectors such as hospitality, agriculture, construction and elderly care, helping to fill labour shortages and boost social security contributions. ALSO READ: Confirmed: Spanish economy grew 2.8% in 2025, roughly double eurozone average.
Refugee support organisation CEAR believes the final number of applications could surpass one million before the scheme closes. The organisation says the initiative addresses a long-standing problem affecting hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants living and working in Spain.
According to think tank Funcas, around 840,000 undocumented migrants were already living in Spain at the start of January 2025. Many have spent years waiting for decisions on asylum claims or alternative residency applications, often working in the informal economy while their cases are processed.
Spain’s asylum system has long been criticised for delays, with thousands of applicants from countries such as Colombia and Senegal waiting years for decisions. More than 90% of asylum claims are ultimately rejected.
‘This is an extraordinary programme, but there should be a structural measure to facilitate access to work and residence permits, in order to avoid creating groups of people living on the margins of society,’ CEAR Director Monica Lopez said in a press conference on Monday. ALSO READ: Spain to link newly regularised migrants with jobs amid labour shortages.
However, the scheme has also sparked criticism and concerns about administrative capacity.
Spain’s Union of the National Police (SUP) warned on Monday of ‘the proliferation of fraud related to residency town hall registrations, administrative appointments, and supporting documentation’. ALSO READ: Spanish police alert to sharp rise in ‘lost’ passport reports ahead of migrant regularisation.
‘Around 900,000 regularisation applications have already been submitted, a figure that far exceeds the forecasts that the Government itself publicly shared during the preparation of the process,’ the union said in a statement.
The police union also highlighted what it described as an increasing burden on the system, citing staff shortages, ‘administrative overload, difficulties in obtaining certain international documents, and increasing pressure on the offices and units responsible for managing the process’.
According to the latest available data, around 86% of applicants are from Latin American countries. Colombians account for the largest group by a considerable margin, followed by Peruvians, Hondurans and Venezuelans. Significant numbers of applications are also expected from Moroccan and Algerian nationals.
The Global Citizenship Foundation (GCF) estimates that roughly 60% of applicants will ultimately qualify for legal status, noting that migrants who arrived after 1 January 2026 are excluded from the programme and that many applicants may struggle to obtain all the required documentation before the deadline.
The current initiative is not Spain’s first large-scale regularisation effort. In 2005, the PSOE government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero received 691,655 applications and granted 576,506 residence permits. Earlier administrations led by the right-wing People’s Party (PP) under José María Aznar also approved two regularisation programmes that collectively granted legal status to more than 520,000 undocumented migrants.
With applications continuing to arrive and the deadline still approaching, Spain’s latest regularisation drive is on course to become the largest migrant legalisation programme in the country’s history.
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