Spain’s Council of Ministers has adopted a royal-decree law that will give legal residence and open labour-market access to an estimated half-million undocumented migrants and asylum-seekers already living in the country. Under the measure, published in the official gazette on 27 January 2026, foreigners who can prove they were in Spain or had filed an asylum claim before 31 December 2025, and who have a clean criminal record, will be able to request a one-year residence-and-work authorisation.
The Sánchez government framed the move as both a human-rights obligation and an economic necessity. Spain’s ageing workforce and record job vacancies in agriculture, hospitality and elder-care have left employers scrambling for staff; bringing irregular workers into the formal system is expected to boost social-security revenue by more than €1 billion a year and cut exploitative informal employment. Applicants will be allowed to work “in any sector, in any part of the country,” Migration Minister Elma Saiz told RTVE, stressing that the policy recognises people who are "already part of our streets, our companies and our society.”
For migrants gathering the documents required by the decree—as well as for Spanish employers eager to onboard regularised staff—VisaHQ can simplify every step. Via its dedicated Spain platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/), the company provides document review, appointment scheduling and real-time updates on residence cards (TIEs), giving applicants and HR teams a single, reliable point of contact throughout the new authorisation process.
![Spain green-lights extraordinary regularisation for 500,000 undocumented migrants]()
The decree sidesteps a regularisation bill that had stalled in parliament despite support from 900 NGOs, the Catholic Church and 700,000 citizens who signed a Popular Legislative Initiative. By opting for executive action, the coalition has drawn sharp criticism from the conservative Partido Popular, which accuses the government of creating a “pull factor,” and from the far-right Vox party, which claims the plan will strain public services. Business organisations and Spain’s two largest trade-union federations, however, applauded the decision as a pragmatic response to labour shortages.
From a compliance perspective, employers should prepare for a surge in work-permit filings once the decree takes effect in April. Companies that already employ irregular workers will have a window to regularise staff without facing retroactive fines, provided they register contracts and pay back social-security contributions. Mobility managers should note that successful applicants will receive a TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) valid for 12 months, extendable for up to three years under the standard modification procedure.
Spain’s move stands in stark contrast to the restrictive tone in much of Europe, where several governments are tightening asylum and labour-migration channels. With EU negotiations on the Pact on Migration and Asylum entering their final phase, Madrid’s decision could reshape the bloc’s policy debate by demonstrating an alternative, integration-focused path.
The Sánchez government framed the move as both a human-rights obligation and an economic necessity. Spain’s ageing workforce and record job vacancies in agriculture, hospitality and elder-care have left employers scrambling for staff; bringing irregular workers into the formal system is expected to boost social-security revenue by more than €1 billion a year and cut exploitative informal employment. Applicants will be allowed to work “in any sector, in any part of the country,” Migration Minister Elma Saiz told RTVE, stressing that the policy recognises people who are "already part of our streets, our companies and our society.”
For migrants gathering the documents required by the decree—as well as for Spanish employers eager to onboard regularised staff—VisaHQ can simplify every step. Via its dedicated Spain platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/), the company provides document review, appointment scheduling and real-time updates on residence cards (TIEs), giving applicants and HR teams a single, reliable point of contact throughout the new authorisation process.
The decree sidesteps a regularisation bill that had stalled in parliament despite support from 900 NGOs, the Catholic Church and 700,000 citizens who signed a Popular Legislative Initiative. By opting for executive action, the coalition has drawn sharp criticism from the conservative Partido Popular, which accuses the government of creating a “pull factor,” and from the far-right Vox party, which claims the plan will strain public services. Business organisations and Spain’s two largest trade-union federations, however, applauded the decision as a pragmatic response to labour shortages.
From a compliance perspective, employers should prepare for a surge in work-permit filings once the decree takes effect in April. Companies that already employ irregular workers will have a window to regularise staff without facing retroactive fines, provided they register contracts and pay back social-security contributions. Mobility managers should note that successful applicants will receive a TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) valid for 12 months, extendable for up to three years under the standard modification procedure.
Spain’s move stands in stark contrast to the restrictive tone in much of Europe, where several governments are tightening asylum and labour-migration channels. With EU negotiations on the Pact on Migration and Asylum entering their final phase, Madrid’s decision could reshape the bloc’s policy debate by demonstrating an alternative, integration-focused path.
