The reform of the Aliens Act, ratified by the Spanish Council of Ministers, will come into force on 20 May 2025 and promises to simplify the procedures for obtaining residence and work permits.

In addition, the Spanish government has ratified a major reform of the Immigration Law, which provides for the regularisation of some 300,000 immigrants per year.

On 19 November, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved a new regulation of the Immigration Law that the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elsa Sánchez, had announced at the end of last year. The comprehensive regulation, which will come into force six months after its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE), promises to simplify access to residence and work permits through various formulas, making it easier for many people to obtain the necessary documents.

The Spanish government hopes to regularise 300,000 people a year over the next three years. However, its effectiveness will have to be assessed as it is implemented, and some groups and lawyers specialising in immigration have already expressed reservations. The common suggestion is that immigration offices and consulates will need to be strengthened to cope with the expected increase in applications.

Answers to frequently asked questions

With all this in mind, below we explain in detail the most important aspects of the amendment to the regulations implementing the Immigration Law, with which the Government aims to promote the incorporation of thousands of foreign workers into the Spanish labour market.

1) What is the aim of this reform?

The new regulations aim to simplify the processes by which immigrants obtain their residence and work permits, whether from their countries of origin or in Spain, in order to promote their integration into the labour market. This amendment directly affects the regulations of the Immigration Law, which is the legislation that articulates the implementation of the rights and freedoms of foreign nationals in Spain.

In general terms, it eliminates certain requirements, reduces deadlines and decreases the amount of documentation required, with the aim of simplifying administrative procedures and facilitating access to the labour market for foreigners.

2) When does it come into effect?

Six months after the publication of the new regulations in the Official State Gazette (BOE), i.e. on 20/05/2025.

3) Who is affected?

It will apply both to people residing in Spain irregularly who wish to obtain their residence card and to those who have documentation but need to renew their permits or change from one type of authorisation to another. In addition, the regulations establish changes in initial hiring, visas for job seekers and circular migration programmes, so it will also affect those considering regular migration to Spain.

Asylum seekers who have remained in an irregular situation after the unequivocal rejection of their application will find a more accessible route to exceptional regularisation, which they will be able to access in a simple manner and without minimum periods of stay in Spain. On the one hand, asylum seekers will obtain benefits, but in the long term they will also experience disadvantages. We will clarify this later.

The regime for family members of Spanish citizens is also being modified, with some restrictions that did not previously exist.

It all seems excessively bureaucratic, but it will have a significant impact on the lives of thousands of people, especially those who are living in hiding in Spain. For example, the reduction in the period required for undocumented immigrants to begin the permit application process, from three to two years, will benefit those who arrived in Spain two years ago. They will not have to endure another year without documentation — often in the underground economy — before beginning the process to obtain their permits.

4) If a person is residing in Spain illegally and wishes to obtain a residence and work permit, what is the procedure for applying for one? What changes apply in these cases?

The concept of arraigo (roots) has been used for years to rescue immigrants who were hiding in Spain, and beneficiaries must demonstrate their integration into the country by meeting several criteria. The new regulations aim to restructure the formulas for demonstrating these roots and adapt them to different profiles.

5) What are the different types and their main modifications?

Social roots

This is a variant that does not require a job offer, which would be a potential advantage for many people, but the existence of ‘financial means’ must be demonstrated by other means. Here, social inclusion takes priority over entry into the labour market.

It requires residing in Spain for a period of two years (previously three), as well as having family ties with residents in a regular situation or presenting a report from the autonomous community that ‘certifies the effort to integrate’, which are requirements that are not always easy or quick to meet.

Social and occupational roots

It is more focused on the labour market, although it allows for some flexibility in terms of access. It requires the provision of an employment contract, although the weekly hour limit has been increased from 30 to 20, requiring a period of residence in Spain of two years and the salary must no longer be equivalent to or higher than the minimum wage, but rather proportional to the number of hours worked. This is the former ‘social integration’ programme, which has now changed its name.

Educational roots

This refers to the former ‘training-based settlement’ system established in the 2022 reform, which grants a residence permit linked to a training course. This permit can subsequently be converted into a residence permit for study or for residence and employment for those who obtain the qualification.

Previously, work experience was prohibited while the training course was being followed; however, it is now possible to combine it with 30 hours of work per week.

The transition from authorisation linked to vocational training to another type of permit is being promoted, following the difficulties identified in transferring from one authorisation to another in previous years.

Second chance roots

It facilitates the regularisation of persons who have had a residence permit during the two years prior to the application but who have been unable to renew it ‘for reasons other than public order, security or health’.

An illustrative case is that of persons whose renewal period has expired due to their holiday stay outside Spain.

Family roots

Until now, this measure covered parents and children of Spanish nationals and was one of the measures most used by people to regularise their situation last year.

It is currently restricted. Access will be granted exclusively to parents of minor children and carers of persons with disabilities who are nationals of other countries of the European Union, the European Community or Switzerland.

This residence does not require a minimum period of residence in Spain.

Other cases involving relatives of Spanish nationals will be processed through a specific family reunification scheme for Spanish citizens.

6) What does this family reunification statute mean for Spanish citizens?

Recent legislation limits the scope of family reunification by establishing a specific regime for foreign relatives of Spanish citizens.

According to information provided by the Ministry, spouses and partners of Spanish nationals (in the broad sense), their ascendants and their children under the age of 26 may be admitted. With regard to the procedure, a distinction is made between cases where the Spanish national is in Spain and their family member is not, and cases where both are outside Spain.

This provision also allows for ‘exceptional cases in which both may be within the national territory’. However, it does not specify the specific requirements for each of the options, which usually involve proof of sufficient financial means in some of the cases provided for.

7) Is there temporary regularisation for asylum seekers? How will it be implemented?

Temporary regularisation will allow all asylum seekers whose application for protection has been rejected to apply for any of the types of residence permits available depending on their integration into Spanish society, but in a simpler and faster way. In other words, they will only have to wait six months from the date of rejection to apply for some types of residence.

Therefore, they will have to meet the criteria associated with the type of residence permit based on ties to the country that best suits them, as highlighted by some government sources.

They will be able to apply for a period of one year, which may be extended in specific situations once the regulation comes into force. However, it is essential that beneficiaries submit an unequivocal response of rejection and do not simply voluntarily renounce international protection.

8) What is the justification for implementing this exceptional measure? What would be the future of asylum seekers?

This is a strategy to compensate for a significant legislative change that directly affects asylum seekers. Following the recent ruling 103/2024 of 24 January, ECLI:ES:TS:2024:414 of the Supreme Court, the Government considers that applicants for international protection cannot access the right to remain on the same terms as before, an interpretation that is, at the very least, questionable in light of European legislation on the matter. Until now, regular residence in Spain during the processing of their application counted towards applying for residence on the basis of ties.

However, the new regulations restrict this possibility. Asylum seekers whose applications are rejected and who are in an irregular situation will have to start from scratch. In general, they will have to remain in hiding for two years. This change aims to prevent what is perceived as the ‘instrumentalisation’ of the right to asylum, i.e. the use of the system intended to protect people fleeing persecution or conflict as a means of obtaining a residence permit.

9) What is the maximum number of people that the Government aims to regularise through this reform?

The government has argued that its goal is to regularise 300,000 people per year by implementing the new immigration regulations within two to three years. However, government sources have subsequently clarified that this does not mean that the changes associated with the reform will lead to an increase of 300,000 regularisations per year compared to the residence permits previously granted, but rather refers to the total number of people.

For example, in 2023, 203,969 people residing irregularly in Spain obtained their permits through the arraigo procedure, following the reform of the regulations that broadened the grounds for regularisation and allowed for a considerable increase in the number of regularisations and their incorporation into the labour market.

As a result, compared to the previous year, the government's forecasts indicate an increase of 100,000 permits thanks to this procedure. However, these calculations do not take into account the authorisations associated with the extraordinary regularisation procedure, which will benefit thousands of asylum seekers whose applications have been definitively rejected for one year.

10) What is the difference between this and the Popular Legislative Initiative for the Extraordinary Regularisation of Undocumented Persons, proposed by civil society in Congress?

The legislative proposal promoted by the Regularisation NOW Movement through the collection of signatures is following the relevant parliamentary procedure.

Although the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion is in favour of debating this proposal in Congress, it supports regulatory reforms such as the amendment of the regulations, as it considers them a path towards ‘more stable’ regularisation with greater ‘legal certainty’.

The Regularisation NOW Movement's initiative aims to provide exceptional regularisation without restrictions to provide documentation to all persons residing in Spain without documentation at the time of its approval (or who have resided in the country for a certain period).

11) What is the opinion of the citizen movement that promoted the Legislative Initiative for Regularisation regarding this reform?

El Movimientos Regularización YA, insiste en la necesidad de una regularización generalizada sin restricciones y sin vínculos con el mercado laboral, con el objetivo de favorecer un enfoque humanitario frente a una perspectiva «utilitarista», que perciben como una estrategia que podría dejar atrás a muchas personas.

Conclusion

In summary, significant regulatory progress has been made to facilitate the social integration of foreigners in Spain. The legal recrimination of applicants for international protection is highly questionable, as it violates the Geneva Convention and the legal duty of protection. Furthermore, some categories of visas, such as those intended for job seekers, despite their laudable intention, are not viable in the social reality of the labour market.

Finally, it should be noted that the issue of mass regularisation remains unresolved. This issue was first raised on 9 April 2024, when a popular legislative initiative was presented to Congress calling for the regularisation of some 500,000 people in an irregular situation in Spain. This proposal has been backed by more than 600,000 signatures and the support of several NGOs.

This new legislation could apply to foreigners in an irregular situation who are in Spain before 31 December 2023, provided that they are in a work, socio-educational, family and/or humanitarian situation, according to the PSOE and SUMAR parties. However, other parties such as ERC, Bildu, Podemos and BNG have called for the removal of any date before or after 31 December 2023 and insist that any foreigner who is in Spain when the regulation comes into force should be able to apply for it.

Nevertheless, the most important thing for asylum seekers is that, apparently, they will be able to benefit from this regularisation, provided that they renounce the asylum process in order to obtain authorisation.