As Spain prepares to open a one-off regularisation window for an estimated 500,000-1 million undocumented residents, social-media posts have claimed the beneficiaries will be fast-tracked to citizenship and given power to sway elections. In a 18 February fact-check, Euronews dismantles those assertions, detailing Spain’s layered naturalisation and suffrage rules.
Only Spanish citizens aged 18 plus may vote in national or regional elections. EU citizens resident in Spain may vote in European polls, while non-EU nationals can vote locally only if Spain has a reciprocal treaty with their home country (currently 13 states). A one-year residence permit, the document regularised migrants will initially receive, confers neither citizenship nor electoral rights.
Amid the paperwork and shifting regulations, many individuals and HR departments look for expert guidance. VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) simplifies Spanish visa, residence-permit and eventual citizenship procedures by aggregating requirements, booking appointments and checking documentation—helping applicants stay compliant and avoid costly delays.
![Euronews Debunks Claims Regularised Migrants Will Gain Spanish Voting Rights]()
The pathway to citizenship remains lengthy: ten years of legal residence for most nationalities, five for refugees, and two for nationals of Portugal, Latin America and several former colonies. Applicants must also pass language and integration exams and endure processing queues that often exceed two years. Euronews therefore concludes that portraying the amnesty as a political ploy to fabricate a loyal voting bloc is misleading.
For employers, the clarification is crucial. Regularised workers will obtain legal work status but not automatic long-term stay or voting privileges, meaning HR departments must still plan for renewals and compliance audits. The piece also underlines the importance of combating misinformation that can fuel workplace or community tensions around foreign hires.
The Spanish government has welcomed the fact-check, noting that accurate communication will be key when the application portal opens in April. Business chambers are preparing multilingual FAQs to help companies onboard newly regularised staff without falling foul of payroll or social-security requirements.
Only Spanish citizens aged 18 plus may vote in national or regional elections. EU citizens resident in Spain may vote in European polls, while non-EU nationals can vote locally only if Spain has a reciprocal treaty with their home country (currently 13 states). A one-year residence permit, the document regularised migrants will initially receive, confers neither citizenship nor electoral rights.
Amid the paperwork and shifting regulations, many individuals and HR departments look for expert guidance. VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) simplifies Spanish visa, residence-permit and eventual citizenship procedures by aggregating requirements, booking appointments and checking documentation—helping applicants stay compliant and avoid costly delays.
The pathway to citizenship remains lengthy: ten years of legal residence for most nationalities, five for refugees, and two for nationals of Portugal, Latin America and several former colonies. Applicants must also pass language and integration exams and endure processing queues that often exceed two years. Euronews therefore concludes that portraying the amnesty as a political ploy to fabricate a loyal voting bloc is misleading.
For employers, the clarification is crucial. Regularised workers will obtain legal work status but not automatic long-term stay or voting privileges, meaning HR departments must still plan for renewals and compliance audits. The piece also underlines the importance of combating misinformation that can fuel workplace or community tensions around foreign hires.
The Spanish government has welcomed the fact-check, noting that accurate communication will be key when the application portal opens in April. Business chambers are preparing multilingual FAQs to help companies onboard newly regularised staff without falling foul of payroll or social-security requirements.
