The Spanish government has announced a regularization process for immigrants in an irregular administrative situation. It’s a move that could benefit more than five hundred thousand people currently living in Spain without legal status. With this measure, Pedro Sánchez’s broad-left government is swimming against the tide of Europe and the United States. The decision by the Spanish government, formed by his Partido Socialista (PSOE) and the left-wing Sumar, supposes a great success for the citizen-led campaign “¡Regularización Ya!” (“Regularization Now!”), driven by migrant and anti-racist groups, which has collected over seven hundred thousand signatures from Spanish nationals in favor of regularizing all undocumented migrants.
The regularization, which has been approved by decree in order to get around the government’s weak parliamentary position, will apply to foreign nationals who meet three conditions: They must have entered Spain before last December 31, prove a minimum stay of at least five months, and have no criminal record.
The government and the promoters of the “Regularization Now!” campaign estimate the decree will benefit over half a million people, although there could be over eight hundred thousand migrants in an irregular situation in Spain. In previous years, the government loosened the criteria to obtain working and residence permits, but it has not been enough to reduce this figure. Migration has quickly grown in recent years, particularly from Latin America, and almost 18 percent of Spanish residents today are foreign-born — the third-highest figure in Europe.
The extraordinary regularization process will run from April to June, and the government has promised that it will be simple. To prove that they have been in Spain for five months already, applicants will have to provide documentation such as a registration certificate from town hall, records of medical appointments, rental contracts, transport tickets, and so…
Auteur: Pablo Castaño
