On 19 November 2024, the Spanish Ministry of Integration, Social Security and Migration published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) the new regulation of the Law on Foreigners (Reglamento de la Ley de Extranjería).

According to the government, the aim of the new regulation of the Immigration Law is to facilitate legal migration channels and simplify procedures, including the regulation of temporary work and family reunification.

Speaking to the media at the Ministry's headquarters after the second meeting of the Advisory Council on the Gender Gap, the minister, Elma Saiz, said that the modification of the immigration regulations will be published very soon. She also explained that this modification of immigration policy, which prioritises security, order and regularity, offers foreigners in Spain the opportunity to integrate through employment, training and family networks.

In July 2024, the minister also explained that this reform "reduces deadlines, simplifies procedures, eliminates duplicities and provides more guarantees and legal traffic" to a regulation that she described as ‘fundamental’ for the immigration system. To this end, the minister stressed that the new regulation has been simplified to include a specific section on visas. This section will be applicable for an initial period of one year, to avoid visa applicants having to wait longer to prove their legal status in Spain.

She also pointed out that provisional permits will be valid for an initial period of one year and will be renewable for another four years, something that was already contemplated in the regulations in some cases. This, according to the minister, "will allow family reunification after one year and it will only be necessary to renew it once to gain access to long-term authorisation’"

Moreover, the new reform establishes rules to develop talent, promote its employability and retain it. To this end, those who come to study will no longer have to renew their permits every year, but will be issued a permit valid for the duration of their studies. An accelerated procedure for obtaining a work permit at the end of their studies is also established.

A relevant change is the modification of family roots and the homologation of the status of family members of Spaniards. The process of accrediting the economic requirements has also been improved, i.e. the process of accrediting that the necessary resources are available to host the family member has been simplified.

Key change: Visas

The new reform establishes a specific title for visas, which fully clarifies the framework, requirements and authorisation processes. All initial authorisations will be valid for one year, while renewals will be for four years.

In principle, this would avoid subsequent irregularities, which the new reform of the regulation also aims to mitigate by clarifying and streamlining the transition processes between residence statuses.

Minister Elma Saiz said, and I quote: "We must allow people to realise their life project in Spain by facilitating changes of status, for example, if a student comes to train and then joins the labour market, or if a regrouped family member decides to obtain a work permit of his or her own".

The job seeker visa, which was previously a 24-month authorisation, has been reduced to one year. This visa allows job seekers to seek work in certain professions and regions, providing a 12-month period that helps people find jobs that match their professional qualifications, while helping companies find the staff they need.

Five situations of rootedness

In this new revision of the Aliens Act regulations, the concept of "arraigo" deserves a separate mention. 

According to the Minister for Integration, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz: "We are the only country in the European Union that has a specific figure for regularising people on a day-to-day basis through arraigo".

The modification of the reform includes five modalities of arraigo:

• Social,
• Socio-labour,
• Family,
• Socio-educational,
• Second chance.

The latter is one of the most important novelties of this new regulation, aimed at people who have had a residence permit for the last two years and have not renewed it for various reasons.

Minister Elma Saiz clarified that: "The aim is to reinforce and broaden the channels of access to regularisation for immigrants in Spain, so that they can lead a full life as citizens: to have rights and duties".

The reform aims to standardise the concept of ‘arraigo’ and reduce the period of residence in Spain from three to two years. It also aims to make the conditions more flexible, allowing from the outset the right to work both as a self-employed person and as an employee. All permits are valid for one year, except for the family permit, which is valid for 5 years.

Three integration mechanisms

The approved reform of the Regulation facilitates access to a residence permit through three mechanisms: training, work and family. According to the Ministry of Integration, Social Security and Migration: "The Regulation opens doors that were previously closed through three keys: training, employment and family. Three keys that lead us to inclusion, but being very demanding with the legal requirements and exquisite with human rights".

1— Employment

The reformed regulations make it possible for most permits to allow people to start work immediately, without the need to formally apply for an initial paid work permit. This includes those coming for educational purposes, who are allowed to work up to 30 hours a week. This approach, according to government sources, should favour the integration of immigrants and their assimilation into society.

In addition, a specific residence and work permit for seasonal work has been introduced to speed up individual and collective recruitment. Furthermore, the protection of workers' rights will be improved by requiring that workers be provided with explicit written information (in an understandable language) on their working conditions, residence and related costs.

Improvements are foreseen in the living and security conditions of workers from the time they leave their country of origin until they are registered for social security here. As well as improvements in the possibility of changing employer in case of abuse or other circumstances preventing the continuation of the employment relationship (such as the death of the employer or the loss of the harvest).

The amended regulation requires better information for employers throughout the process, which is streamlined and adapted to respond to specific needs, such as fixed-term contracts or the management of collective recruitment. The extension of residence permits provides greater stability and guarantees for businesses.

2—  Education and training

Students obtain a residence permit for the duration of their studies and a simplified process for obtaining a work permit at the end of their studies.

Throughout their studies, they can work a maximum of 30 hours per week, regardless of the course they are taking.

The criteria and responsibilities of study centres have been strengthened to give more guarantees to students. "We are making sure that they receive adequate and quality training, while protecting them from possible fraud", said Minister Elma Saiz.

3—  Family unit

Family reunification has been improved with the common objective of integration. A residence permit has been created for family members of Spanish citizens which, although already in existence, has raised the age limit for children to 26 (previously 21) and addressed circumstances previously excluded, such as the inclusion of unregistered partners who can demonstrate a comparable affective relationship.

Most of the beneficiaries of this strategy are persons who have acquired Spanish nationality in recent years and can be reunited with their family members.

The concept of reunited family members includes children and parents of victims of trafficking, as well as victims of sexual or gender-based abuse.

This reform represents a different process from the negotiations held in 2023 between the Spanish government and the Canary Islands to amend Article 35 of the Law on Foreigners, which sought to establish a reception mechanism for unaccompanied migrant minors in all Autonomous Communities.

It also differs from the widely supported legislative initiative for the extraordinary regularisation of undocumented foreigners, a proposal aimed at helping almost half a million migrants living in Spain without legal status, which has received more than 600,000 signatures and is currently being debated in the Congress of Deputies.

Conclusion

The Spanish Council of Ministers has definitively approved a comprehensive modification of the Aliens Regulation, which will enter into force 6 months after its publication in the Official State Gazette but which, if it is more convenient for the individual, may be applied earlier.

The modification aims to simplify the administration in this area and to facilitate orderly, legal and safe migration channels through employment, education and family networks. According to Elma Saiz, Minister for Integration, Social Security and Migration, ‘our aim is to make it easier for foreigners to find a job in line with their professional qualifications’. According to her calculations, this reform has the potential to regularise an average of 300,000 people per year over the next three years.

In addition to guaranteeing the human rights of all those who wish to regularise their situation in Spain, the reform also aims to reduce delays, eliminate duplication of procedures and transpose several pending European directives.

Despite the government's intention to regularise 300,000 people a year for the next three years, the effectiveness of the measure during its implementation remains uncertain and some immigration groups and lawyers are sceptical. To cope with the expected increase in applications, some experts argue that immigration offices and consulates need to be strengthened.