Spain plans to regularize approximately 300,000 undocumented migrants each year over the next three years as part of new immigration reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s labor force, Migration Minister Elma Saiz announced on Tuesday.
Unlike many European nations with stricter immigration policies, Spain, under its leftist minority coalition government, has maintained a welcoming stance toward migrants.
“Spain must choose between being an open, prosperous country or a closed, impoverished one. We have chosen openness,” Saiz stated. She emphasized the nation’s need for 250,000 to 300,000 additional foreign workers annually to sustain its welfare system.
The reforms streamline legal and administrative processes for obtaining work and residence permits, enabling migrants to work as both employees and self-employed individuals. The changes also strengthen labor rights protections for migrants, fostering greater integration into the workforce.