MADRID — A sweeping effort by Spain to bring undocumented immigrants into legal standing has drawn an overwhelming response, with close to one million people applying for residency permits since the program launched earlier this year.
The application period, which was announced in January and opened in April, was set to wrap up on Tuesday. The initiative offers immigrants without legal documentation a one-year, renewable residence permit, provided they can show they have lived in Spain for at least five months and have no criminal history.
Spain’s government had originally projected that roughly half a million undocumented residents might take advantage of the opportunity. However, by June 12, more than 900,000 applications had already been submitted. Immigration experts and analysts say the final total is expected to surpass one million.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, widely regarded as one of Europe’s leading progressive voices, described the initiative as “an act of justice and a necessity.” He argued that people already living and working in Spain should “do so under equal conditions” and contribute to the tax system.
The move stands in stark contrast to intensified deportation campaigns underway in other parts of the European Union and in the United States. While Spain has taken similar steps before, this latest round has sparked significant public debate and scrutiny within the country.
By mid-June, the government reported that around 300,000 applications had been successfully processed, with those individuals set to receive temporary work and residency permits. The government has three months from the June 30 deadline to work through all submitted applications, meaning the final processed count will be considerably higher.
Colombian nationals make up the largest share of applicants, according to government figures. Colombians represent one of Spain’s biggest immigrant communities, with nearly 980,000 Colombian-born residents living in the country, according to the National Statistics Institute. Moroccan nationals accounted for 14% of applicants, followed by Venezuelans at 10% and Peruvians at 9%.
Key areas of Spain’s economy — including agriculture, tourism, and the broader service industry — rely heavily on immigrant workers from Latin America and Africa.
Spain’s overall population has expanded significantly in recent decades. Of the country’s roughly 50 million residents, approximately 10 million — or about one in five people — were born outside Spain. Many come from Colombia, Venezuela, and Morocco, having left their home countries due to violence, political instability, or in search of better economic prospects.
This is not the first time Spain has undertaken a large-scale legalization effort. The country has done so five previous times. The first three occurred under Socialist Party Prime Minister Felipe González beginning in 1986, while conservative leader José Aznar’s government carried out two additional rounds in the 2000s. The 2005 effort, the second-largest of those previous measures, resulted in 576,500 immigrants receiving legal status — a number the current program has already far surpassed.
