Catalan regional officials are rushing to scale up capacity after Madrid confirmed that roughly one in three beneficiaries of the forthcoming nationwide regularisation could be living in Catalonia. Barcelona-based news outlet Catalan News reported on Friday that 120,000 – 150,000 undocumented residents in the region may qualify once the decree is approved.
Catalonia’s Secretariat for Equality has requested emergency funding to hire 400 additional case-workers and translators. Municipal ‘padron’ offices, whose registration certificates are key evidence of length of stay, will extend opening hours and pilot an online booking system to tame expected queues.
![Catalonia braces for 150,000 applicants under Spain’s migrant amnesty]()
Individuals and employers seeking clarity on Spain’s evolving immigration landscape can streamline paperwork through VisaHQ, which offers up-to-date guidance on residency permits, work authorisations and related documentation. Their Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) lets users check requirements, upload forms securely and schedule courier services, easing the administrative load that will spike once the regularisation window opens.
Business lobbies representing the region’s technology and hospitality sectors support the move, arguing it will convert an underground workforce into taxpaying employees at a time of acute labour shortages. Critics, including the opposition Partido Popular, claim the measure will act as a pull-factor and strain social services.
For companies with operations in Catalonia, the takeaway is operational: expect a surge in applicants seeking employment contracts to renew permits after the first year, and review HR compliance to avoid inadvertently hiring workers whose status has not yet been regularised.
Catalonia’s Secretariat for Equality has requested emergency funding to hire 400 additional case-workers and translators. Municipal ‘padron’ offices, whose registration certificates are key evidence of length of stay, will extend opening hours and pilot an online booking system to tame expected queues.
Individuals and employers seeking clarity on Spain’s evolving immigration landscape can streamline paperwork through VisaHQ, which offers up-to-date guidance on residency permits, work authorisations and related documentation. Their Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) lets users check requirements, upload forms securely and schedule courier services, easing the administrative load that will spike once the regularisation window opens.
Business lobbies representing the region’s technology and hospitality sectors support the move, arguing it will convert an underground workforce into taxpaying employees at a time of acute labour shortages. Critics, including the opposition Partido Popular, claim the measure will act as a pull-factor and strain social services.
For companies with operations in Catalonia, the takeaway is operational: expect a surge in applicants seeking employment contracts to renew permits after the first year, and review HR compliance to avoid inadvertently hiring workers whose status has not yet been regularised.
