Spain’s junior coalition partner, Sumar, used the long weekend of 2 November to reignite the political battle over what would be the country’s largest extraordinary regularisation since 2005. Speaking to Europa Press, party sources confirmed that the left-wing group will devote “all parliamentary leverage” during November to force the governing Socialists (PSOE) to move forward the popular legislative initiative (ILP) that would grant residence and work authorisation to an estimated 500,000 people who live and work in Spain without papers.
The ILP obtained more than 700,000 certified signatures early in 2025 but has remained stuck in the Procedure Committee of Congress despite repeated promises from the executive. Sumar insiders accuse the PSOE of “inertia born of fear” that the measure could fuel the anti-immigration discourse of Vox and parts of the conservative PP. Ministerial sources acknowledge that internal polling shows the issue is politically sensitive but insist the party is “looking for the right legislative vehicle”.
![Sumar redoubles push to unblock Spain’s mass-regularisation bill for half a million undocumented migrants]()
From a global-mobility perspective, the reform would radically simplify corporate hiring of talent that is already on Spanish soil but currently in the shadow economy. Human-resource directors note that legalising thousands of workers would widen the labour pool in sectors suffering acute shortages—agri-food, hospitality, construction, home-care and tech start-ups—while reducing compliance risks linked to faux self-employment or subcontracting.
The last comparable exercise—the 2005 Zapatero regularisation—legalised 578,000 people and injected €1.7 billion in social-security contributions in the first year. Business associations say a 2025-26 process could add at least €2 billion annually, provide clarity for intra-EU social-security coordination and ease mobility within the Schengen area once beneficiaries obtain long-term EU residence.
For employers and mobility managers the message is clear: review current head-counts, identify employees who could benefit, and prepare documentary evidence of employment relationships so that applications can be filed rapidly if (or when) Congress unblocks the ILP. Given the fractious arithmetic in Parliament—and Sumar’s warning that it may force separate votes—companies should monitor the legislative calendar closely through Q1 2026.
The ILP obtained more than 700,000 certified signatures early in 2025 but has remained stuck in the Procedure Committee of Congress despite repeated promises from the executive. Sumar insiders accuse the PSOE of “inertia born of fear” that the measure could fuel the anti-immigration discourse of Vox and parts of the conservative PP. Ministerial sources acknowledge that internal polling shows the issue is politically sensitive but insist the party is “looking for the right legislative vehicle”.
From a global-mobility perspective, the reform would radically simplify corporate hiring of talent that is already on Spanish soil but currently in the shadow economy. Human-resource directors note that legalising thousands of workers would widen the labour pool in sectors suffering acute shortages—agri-food, hospitality, construction, home-care and tech start-ups—while reducing compliance risks linked to faux self-employment or subcontracting.
The last comparable exercise—the 2005 Zapatero regularisation—legalised 578,000 people and injected €1.7 billion in social-security contributions in the first year. Business associations say a 2025-26 process could add at least €2 billion annually, provide clarity for intra-EU social-security coordination and ease mobility within the Schengen area once beneficiaries obtain long-term EU residence.
For employers and mobility managers the message is clear: review current head-counts, identify employees who could benefit, and prepare documentary evidence of employment relationships so that applications can be filed rapidly if (or when) Congress unblocks the ILP. Given the fractious arithmetic in Parliament—and Sumar’s warning that it may force separate votes—companies should monitor the legislative calendar closely through Q1 2026.
