12 October is Columbus Day or Spain's National Day, commemorating the discovery of America by the navigator Christopher Columbus in 1492. This event marked the first contact between two worlds.

This date was declared a national holiday by Law 18/1987, which highlights its historical and solemn importance. It is a national holiday, with a paid day off and no need to make up for lost work time. But why is Hispanic Heritage Day celebrated in Spain?

Previously, this national holiday was known as Hispanic Heritage Day or Columbus Day. It was declared a national holiday during the reign of Alfonso XII in 1918 and was officially established as such during the Franco regime. In 1982, a royal decree changed the name of this holiday to ‘Fiesta de España y la Hispanidad’ (Spain and Hispanic Heritage Day). Subsequently, in 1987, Law 18/1987 came into force, establishing the ‘Fiesta Nacional de España’ (Spanish National Holiday) and the military parade held every 12 October. Furthermore, in 2014, the UN established that 12 October would be a day to commemorate the Spanish language, ‘which represents an element of cohesion and consolidation of the Hispanic world’.

Taking advantage of the date, we ask ourselves: is there a relationship between Hispanic culture and immigration?

Relationship between Hispanic Day and immigration

Hispanic Day can be linked to immigration in Spain in two main ways: on the one hand, immigration from Latin America, which shares the same language and values, is considered a factor of cultural integration; on the other hand, there is a political and social debate on how to manage immigration, with different positions that prioritise the integration of Spanish-speaking immigrants or seek to select immigrants who may have other characteristics.

The relationship between Hispanic Day and immigration involves:

• Latin American immigration: Migration from Latin American countries is considered a form of natural immigration that integrates more easily due to the shared language and values.
• Debate on assimilation: There is a debate about whether Hispanic American immigration is better for Spain due to its greater capacity for cultural and social assimilation, or whether priority should be given to immigrants from other regions.
• Identity and future: Some argue that Hispanic identity is a “passport to the future” for Spain and that Hispanic American immigration contributes to that future by strengthening the country's cultural foundations.

Context of immigration in Spain

The phenomenon of migratory flows is neither recent nor an invention of modern society. Throughout human history, migration has systematically manifested itself in varying degrees and forms. It is an integral part of the processes of development and progress. It has persisted indefinitely and shows no signs of ceasing at present.

However, it is fair to say that migration patterns in Spain have increased significantly in recent decades, with the exception of the most severe years of the economic recession (2008-2014), during which a significant number of people who had previously arrived decided to leave a country facing economic difficulties. The aforementioned events have led to various transformations or exerted pressure for change in the legislative, ethical and social spheres.

Despite the resumption of migration flows, there is a lack of thoughtful analysis of this crucial aspect of society. Given that migration is a process of displacement with the aspiration of stability, the return of migrants in the short and medium term is not always predictable or common. Let us examine these points in more detail.

Immigration: facts and realities

It has been almost thirty years since Spain began to attract significant numbers of foreign immigrants. Recent events, such as the arrival of boats in the Canary Islands and the impact of immigrants on demographic and economic growth, have reignited the social debate on immigration, which has gone through various stages over time.

With 18.2% of its population born abroad, Spain finds itself in a similar situation to countries with a long history of migration, such as Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, and has become one of the main migration destinations in Europe, second only to Germany.

Latin America stands out as the source of these flows, as Latin American countries have long benefited from European visa regulations and Spanish legislation granting nationality to people from these countries.

It is worth noting the increasingly important role that immigration plays in the Spanish labour market. Of the 5.2 million people who joined the Spanish labour force between 2002 and 2024, 75% have dual nationality or foreign nationality. Catering, personal services, security and retail are some of the unskilled service sectors that depend on this young workforce. Although there are variations depending on the origin of the migrants, there has been an increase in the presence of women, who are more concentrated in the working age group.

Between the mid-1990s and 2008, Spain experienced its first migration boom, which, in my opinion, was poorly managed due to a lack of adequate administrative resources. More functional administrative tools are now available, largely thanks to continuous demands from the business world. However, given that Spanish companies and administrations have limited administrative capacity and prefer to hire people from their own environment, this legal entry channel has had limited development. The process involves prior authorisation, which is granted through a selection process in the country of origin.

The Spanish immigration system has pragmatically adapted to the reality of irregular immigration and has established mechanisms that allow for the orderly absorption of immigrant labour, regardless of their situation, and their eventual regularisation within a few years. However, this has not changed the fact that irregular immigration remains the main route of access to the labour market. Royal Decree 1155/2024 further consolidated the system that allows people with ‘roots’ in Spain to obtain a residence permit after two years, as well as the government's decision to approve occasional mass regularisations.

Along the same lines, for years the government has chosen to facilitate the registration of immigrants without residence permits, which will allow them to access essential public services and alleviate some of the initial difficulties of their irregular situation.

Within the framework of their bilateral cooperation with third countries, Spain and Italy have offered quotas of workers to those countries willing to participate in the fight against irregular immigration, with the aim of combining recruitment at source with the fight against this phenomenon. However, many analyses consider that the quota system would be ineffective in both Italy and Spain, so the governments have focused their attention on bilateral cooperation linked to development aid, as in the case of Italy with Libya and Spain's plans with Mauritania.

The percentage of people with negative or very negative opinions about immigration has increased. For example, most believe that Spain's immigration policies are ‘quite’ or ‘too’ tolerant, that the fiscal balance is unfavourable to the interests of citizens, and that the government gives preferential treatment to immigrants to the detriment of Spaniards.

However, a large majority recognise the value of immigrant workers' contribution to the economy. So far, it seems that most agree that poor countries should continue to welcome immigrants, as long as the influx does not pose too great a problem. Those who are hostile towards immigrants are in the minority, although their opinions on the matter vary widely.

Immigration: legislative activity

In any case, despite this increase in migratory flows, the initiatives adopted at the legislative level have not been excessive. Quite the contrary. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the approval of Law 12/2009 of 30 October, which regulates the right to asylum and subsidiary protection, as well as several partial reforms of Organic Law 4/2000 of 11 January on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration, and its implementing regulations. Also noteworthy is Law 14/2013 on Support for Entrepreneurship and the Internationalisation of Companies, as well as the recent Royal Decree reforming the regulations of the Organic Law on Foreigners.

Finally, another law with a certain effect on migration and immigration policies has been the Grandchildren Law, which began its journey towards approval in the summer of 2022 by the coalition government. Although this ‘Democratic Memory Law,’ as it is officially known, is not explicitly a law focused on the regularisation of migration flows, it does have a certain effect on the descendants of Spaniards who can apply for the nationality of their ancestors. In this regard, the law broadened the spectrum of people who could apply for nationality to include the grandchildren of Spaniards in cases where their grandparents or parents had lost their nationality due to exile for ideological, religious or sexual orientation reasons, and even extends to great-grandchildren.

Furthermore, the latest Strategic Plan for Citizenship and Integration 2011-2014 expired without a new general strategy having been established in this area. And it is precisely during these years of economic and employment crisis that the vulnerability of households composed of people of foreign origin has become apparent.

Therefore, it seems the right time for Spain to adopt a comprehensive approach to the reality of the new migration scenario in Spain, from the point of view of its effects and its contribution in different areas. A broader perspective is needed, covering everything from the origin of immigrants settling in Spain to the factors triggering the migration processes themselves, among which family reunification has become increasingly important.

You may be interested in our Basic guide to obtaining Spanish citizenship.

It should be noted that Spain already hosts thousands of children and young people born or socialised at a very early age — the so-called second generation — as well as more than a million new Spaniards as a result of the intensification of naturalisation processes. Not only that, but the passage of the pandemic seems to mark a further increase in the trend of immigrants heading to Spain.

Conclusion

All of the above requires a new approach to assessing the effects and opportunities of migration flows, as not all people of foreign origin in Spain have directly experienced migration or fit perfectly into the category of “immigrants”. In fact, it is difficult to find a single term that defines the people involved in migration flows. There are many definitions of immigration in Spain.

Perhaps, beyond the term “immigrant”, a broader sociological concept, we should also start talking about the legal category of “foreigner”. This term refers, on the one hand, solely to people's nationality and, on the other, to legislation on “foreigners”, which in Spain is mainly associated with the General Regime applicable to non-EU citizens.

Immigrants would be all those people whose biography includes a migratory background that has a decisive influence on their life trajectory, regardless of whether they have personally experienced displacement from one country to another. Or, as in the case of children born or arriving at an early age in the destination country, they may not have done so, but they grow up in a bicultural context marked by the journey undertaken by their parents or even their grandparents.

In this sense, acquiring Spanish nationality or that of another EU country does not necessarily erase this background in terms of its consequences on people's lives. Similarly, its impact on the more than two million residents of Spanish nationality who were born abroad cannot be ignored.

For example, if I acquire Spanish nationality through residence, do I lose my nationality of origin?

In short, Spain faces a double challenge on Hispanic Heritage Day in the field of migration: on the one hand, integrating immigrants; on the other, creating new legislation for all those foreigners who wish to cease being foreigners.