Spain immigration scheme sees 1.2 million apply for legal status
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xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoBy Al Jazeera Staff and AFPPublished On 2 Jul 20262 Jul 2026Almost 1.2 million undocumented migrants have sought legal status in Spain under a scheme that has defied a growing European crackdown on irregular immigration.
The government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a standard-bearer of more open immigration policies, launched the vast plan in April while European neighbours toughen measures in response to pressure from ascendant far-right parties. A total of 1,174,978 applications were submitted between mid-April and June 30 when the window closed, with more than 600,000 already being processed, Secretary of State for Migration Pilar Cancela told a news conference in Madrid on Thursday. Latin America accounted for 67 percent of the submissions, with Colombia alone representing 25.9 percent of the total.
African nationalities followed with 22.9 percent. After Colombia, the most represented countries were Morocco at 13.3 percent, Venezuela with 11.8 percent and Peru at 8.8 percent. An overwhelming majority of applicants were young, with eight out of 10 younger than 45 years old, while 57 percent of the total were males against 43 percent for females.
The application total does not necessarily indicate how many people will normalise their situation. According to government projections in April, there are about 500,000 potential beneficiaries. Applicants must prove they have a clean criminal record and spent at least five consecutive months in Spain before January 1.
The authorities have three months to process their paperwork and decide whether to issue a work and residence permit valid only in Spain.
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