Spain’s Socialist-led government presented a draft decree on Tuesday to expedite legal status for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
The move is part of its efforts to integrate migrant workers even as other European countries curb immigration
Spain's economic growth has by far outpaced most European peers in the past two years, at least in part boosted by an openness to immigration that has dynamised key sectors like hospitality and care, and bolstered the welfare state.
Migration Minister Elma Saiz told a news conference that irregular migrants who have lived in Spain for at least five months by the end of 2025 and have no criminal record would be eligible for the accelerated residence permit.
She added that migrants who applied for asylum before the end of the year would also qualify.
Some 500,000 people, mostly from Latin America, stand to benefit from the measure, according to government estimates.
The permit will be valid for a year or five in the case of children and renewable. After 10 years, the migrants could become citizens, or even quicker if they are from Latin America countries or refugees.
"We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights and integration, compatible with economic growth and social cohesion," Saiz told reporters.
Research from think tank Funcas suggests that around 840,000 people, a third of all non-EU migrants in Spain, were undocumented at the start of last year, a sharp increase from eight years ago when the figure stood at roughly 100,000.
A citizen-backed proposal to legalise undocumented migrants, signed by 700,000 people and backed by 900 rights groups and the Catholic Church, was filed over a year ago.
It later stalled in parliament, where disputes with splinter parties across the political spectrum have crippled the government’s ability to approve legislation.
In its current form, the decree can be enacted by the cabinet within a few weeks' time without parliamentary approval.
Conservative opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo has vowed to overturn the government's migratory policies if his party wins the next election, taking place at the latest next year.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow ear...
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remai...
Icelanders will vote on Saturday, 29 August, on whether to resume negotiations with the European Union, in a referendum that could reopen...
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
Rescuers in Nepal used helicopters on Thursday to scour for hundreds still missing after a wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border with China's Tibet, sending catastrophic floods through towns and valleys, killing 162 people.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time being”, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have resumed talks on a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 10 prisoners of war each in Belarus, Moscow's Human Rights Commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has said.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow earlier this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO, dismissing them as "scare stories," which had nothing to do with reality.
Icelanders will vote on Saturday, 29 August, on whether to resume negotiations with the European Union, in a referendum that could reopen the country’s long-debated membership question.
Israel is set to return the body of a 15-year-old Palestinian boy more than nine months after he was killed by Israeli forces and his remains were placed in Israeli custody, according to a Palestinian campaign seeking the return of bodies.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 27th of August, covering the latest developments.
Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles apologised to residents of Ceuta on Tuesday over the government’s handling of a mass migrant crossing from Morocco into the Spanish exclave in late July.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment