Spain’s long-awaited extraordinary regularisation – authorised under Royal Decree 316/2026 – has entered its operational phase, and civil-society actors are moving quickly to get reliable information to would-be applicants. In a joint statement released on 31 May, the Brussels-based Jesuit Refugee Service Europe (JRS Europe) and its Spanish affiliate, Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes (SJM), “warmly welcomed” the government’s decision to press ahead with a programme that could give up to 500,000 undocumented people access to residence and work permits. Under the scheme, foreigners who can prove they were already living in Spain before 1 January 2026 – and who have remained in the country for at least five consecutive months – may file applications until 30 June 2026. Successful applicants will receive a renewable one-year residence and work authorisation that regularises their tax and social-security status and opens access to public services. The Ministry of Inclusion has published a detailed FAQ and launched a dedicated web portal, while 371 Correos branches, 60 Social-Security offices and five extranjería hubs are handling in-person submissions.
![Church-backed NGOs hail Spain’s extraordinary regularisation as application window opens]()
For those who would rather navigate the paperwork with expert guidance, VisaHQ’s platform can streamline the process. Its Spain-specific portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) compiles the latest forms, fee schedules and translation resources, offering personalised support to individuals and HR teams dealing with both the regularisation pathway and any related travel-document requirements.
For employers, the measure promises to ease long-standing labour shortages in agriculture, hospitality and home-care – sectors that already rely heavily on informal work. HR departments have been advised to prepare contract offers and social-security registration in advance so that newly-regularised staff can move seamlessly onto the payroll once approvals arrive. Corporate mobility managers should also review whether employees’ family members might be eligible for the same pathway, as dependants can file linked applications. NGOs stress that the decree is a one-off opportunity and warn against paying intermediaries who promise to “guarantee” approvals. JRS/SJM field teams are offering legal clinics in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Seville, and the organisations are lobbying the government to ensure the final implementing order – still subject to the Council of State’s opinion – remains “broad, rights-based and responsive to real-world documentation gaps”. From a European-mobility perspective, Spain’s initiative bucks the recent trend toward tighter migration controls elsewhere on the continent. Advocacy groups say it could become a reference for other Member States looking to align labour-market needs with humane immigration policies. Companies with pan-EU footprints should therefore monitor whether regularised staff will be able to access intra-corporate transfer permits (ICTs) or pursue EU long-term-resident status after five years of legal stay, potentially widening their deployment options in the medium term.
For those who would rather navigate the paperwork with expert guidance, VisaHQ’s platform can streamline the process. Its Spain-specific portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) compiles the latest forms, fee schedules and translation resources, offering personalised support to individuals and HR teams dealing with both the regularisation pathway and any related travel-document requirements.
For employers, the measure promises to ease long-standing labour shortages in agriculture, hospitality and home-care – sectors that already rely heavily on informal work. HR departments have been advised to prepare contract offers and social-security registration in advance so that newly-regularised staff can move seamlessly onto the payroll once approvals arrive. Corporate mobility managers should also review whether employees’ family members might be eligible for the same pathway, as dependants can file linked applications. NGOs stress that the decree is a one-off opportunity and warn against paying intermediaries who promise to “guarantee” approvals. JRS/SJM field teams are offering legal clinics in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Seville, and the organisations are lobbying the government to ensure the final implementing order – still subject to the Council of State’s opinion – remains “broad, rights-based and responsive to real-world documentation gaps”. From a European-mobility perspective, Spain’s initiative bucks the recent trend toward tighter migration controls elsewhere on the continent. Advocacy groups say it could become a reference for other Member States looking to align labour-market needs with humane immigration policies. Companies with pan-EU footprints should therefore monitor whether regularised staff will be able to access intra-corporate transfer permits (ICTs) or pursue EU long-term-resident status after five years of legal stay, potentially widening their deployment options in the medium term.
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