Speaking at the Bloomberg CityLab forum in Madrid on 28 April, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called on municipal leaders across Spain to “abanderar”—lead—the country’s extraordinary regularisation of an estimated 500,000 undocumented migrants. The premier argued that town halls hold the keys to turning a political decision taken in Madrid into day-to-day reality because they issue crucial proof-of-residence certificates (empadronamiento) that applicants must submit. Sánchez’ intervention is the government’s most explicit attempt so far to enlist local administrations after reports that some conservative-run city councils were withholding or slowing padrón appointments for political reasons.
![Sánchez urges Spain’s mayors to champion the new migrant regularisation drive]()
For organisations and individuals navigating Spain’s complex residency and work-permit requirements, VisaHQ can streamline the process by providing up-to-date guidance, document checklists and application management for a wide range of Spanish visas and immigration filings. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) simplifies scheduling appointments, tracking status and ensuring that forms like the empadronamiento certificate are correctly prepared—saving applicants and HR teams valuable time during the tight April-June regularisation window.
The prime minister framed the measure as both a moral duty and an economic necessity, stressing that Spain’s ageing workforce needs additional workers in caregiving, construction and hospitality, sectors already suffering vacancies. Under Royal Decree-Law 316/2026, migrants who can prove they were living in Spain before 1 January 2026 may apply between 16 April and 30 June for a one-year residence-and-work permit renewable for two more years. Although the Interior Ministry expects most applications to be filed online, applicants can also present dossiers in 436 Seguridad Social, Correos and extranjería offices nationwide. For mobility managers the message is clear: companies employing irregular workers in Spain have a short window to help staff legalise status and avoid sanctions. Municipal cooperation—or the lack of it—will determine processing times in different provinces, so HR teams should map padrón bottlenecks and factor potential delays into summer deployment plans. If municipalities respond positively, Spain could complete the largest single regularisation in the EU since Italy’s 2020 sanatoria. Success would bolster the government’s case at EU level for more flexible labour-migration schemes and position Spanish cities as what Sánchez called “laboratories of humane mobility policy.”
For organisations and individuals navigating Spain’s complex residency and work-permit requirements, VisaHQ can streamline the process by providing up-to-date guidance, document checklists and application management for a wide range of Spanish visas and immigration filings. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) simplifies scheduling appointments, tracking status and ensuring that forms like the empadronamiento certificate are correctly prepared—saving applicants and HR teams valuable time during the tight April-June regularisation window.
The prime minister framed the measure as both a moral duty and an economic necessity, stressing that Spain’s ageing workforce needs additional workers in caregiving, construction and hospitality, sectors already suffering vacancies. Under Royal Decree-Law 316/2026, migrants who can prove they were living in Spain before 1 January 2026 may apply between 16 April and 30 June for a one-year residence-and-work permit renewable for two more years. Although the Interior Ministry expects most applications to be filed online, applicants can also present dossiers in 436 Seguridad Social, Correos and extranjería offices nationwide. For mobility managers the message is clear: companies employing irregular workers in Spain have a short window to help staff legalise status and avoid sanctions. Municipal cooperation—or the lack of it—will determine processing times in different provinces, so HR teams should map padrón bottlenecks and factor potential delays into summer deployment plans. If municipalities respond positively, Spain could complete the largest single regularisation in the EU since Italy’s 2020 sanatoria. Success would bolster the government’s case at EU level for more flexible labour-migration schemes and position Spanish cities as what Sánchez called “laboratories of humane mobility policy.”
