Spain overwhelmed by regularization requests: nearly one million migrants affected

Spain is facing a much larger than expected influx of applications for regularization from undocumented migrants. The government announced it has received approximately 900,000 applications as part of its legalization campaign, nearly double the 500,000 initially anticipated by the authorities.

Launched to help hundreds of thousands of people leave the shadows and enter the formal labor market, this operation has been a massive success. While several European countries have tightened their immigration policies in recent years, Spain continues to advocate a more open approach to immigration.

According to the refugee aid organization CEAR, the total number of applications could even exceed one million before the program closes in two weeks. This strong mobilization illustrates the size of the population affected by the regularization process and the interest it has generated.

The Spanish government views this initiative as a way to address the needs of the national economy. In recent years, Spain has experienced higher growth than many of its European partners, largely due to the influx of migrant workers into sectors facing labor shortages, such as hospitality, catering, and elderly care.

Since the program's launch in April, authorities have already granted approximately 360,000 temporary work permits, representing nearly 40% of applications received. Recipients can begin working legally as soon as their application is officially accepted for review.

Spanish officials believe that this regularization could also strengthen public finances through increased social security contributions and tax revenues. The integration of workers previously employed in the informal economy is seen as an important lever for supporting the labor market and meeting the country's demographic needs.

As the program nears its end, authorities are preparing to process a record number of cases. The final result could make this campaign one of the largest immigration regularization operations ever conducted in Europe.