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More than half a million migrants are believed to be living in Spain without legal permission. They do jobs that few Spaniards want to do: picking fruits and vegetables in the fields, caring for children and the elderly, cleaning homes and hotel rooms. Some people end up homeless. “sin” (spanish (“undocumented”) are often exploited, marginalized and invisible.
Now, Spain wants to integrate them. Earlier this week, the government announced that it would issue residence and work permits to all foreigners who arrived in the country before December 31, 2025, lived in Spain for at least five months and had no criminal record. Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a video posted on social media on Friday that the country was forging a legal path for “those who have made progress with us in this country.”
The unexpected move contrasts with harsh rhetoric and deportation efforts from the United States and other EU countries.
The following three people hope to obtain residence and work permits under Spain’s new policy.
a colombian asylum seeker
“A week ago, I was living with anxiety,” said Ale Castañeda, an asylum seeker from Colombia whose temporary permit is set to expire in February. “I didn’t know if I would be able to stay, if I would have to start from scratch, what would happen to me.”
Now, Castañeda has another legal way to stay in Spain if his asylum request is rejected. He just wanted to be able to work and get “the basics” like opening a bank account. One thing he wants to make clear is that he doesn’t plan to rely on public benefits.
Castañeda said he found odd jobs when he could, but is currently unemployed.
Like many Latin Americans who make up the majority of immigrants in Spain, Castañeda arrived in Spain legally on a tourist visa and decided to stay. As a queer man, he fled discrimination in Colombia for the more progressive, gay-friendly Argentina. But after the election of right-wing, anti-woke Javier Mire, the mood in the country changed and Castañeda came under brutal attack. “I had to leave,” he said.
In Spain, he finally felt safe.
Castañeda celebrates Spain’s opening to immigration — “This is the best news for 2026!” — and he and other foreigners know that the devil is in the details. The government has shared the basic requirements but the details are yet to be published in the official state gazette.
Castañeda knows how lengthy the immigration process can be. Even the most basic step, making an appointment at the immigration office, is such an impossible task that criminal gangs sell them for 50 euros ($60). He wondered how the government would process hundreds of thousands of applications in just a few months.
Spanish Immigration Minister Elma Saiz vowed that her department would devote more resources to ensuring everything goes smoothly. “We want this event to be a success,” she said.
former architect from chile
Paulina Valenzuela still can’t believe the news. “I still can’t stop smiling,” she told The Associated Press by phone.
Valenzuela was an architect who moved to Spain after losing his job in Chile. She has spent the past three years trying to legalize her status, falling into expensive scams and being rejected twice without understanding why.
Like many educated Latinos who immigrated to Spain, Valenzuela worked as a cleaner to make a living. “I’d take any job,” she said. At one point, she said, she was responsible for cleaning 40 apartments listed on Airbnb, a job that was intense, stressful and poorly paid.
The booming tourism industry relies heavily on cheap and informal migrant labour. Last year, a record 97 million tourists visited Spain, spending more than 130 billion euros. Immigrants receive only a fraction of these incomes.
Exhausted physically and mentally, Valenzuela resigned in November and turned to social services to make ends meet.
She hopes the new residence permit will lift her out of poverty. Valenzuela can’t help but have doubts about things that seem too good to be true.
“There are always last-minute hurdles,” she said. “But at least I have hope that I didn’t have before.”
A fighter from Pakistan
Hussain Dar, 30, has been in Spain for almost a year but found himself in trouble without documents.
he left his hometown PakistanStudying for a Master’s Degree When Job Opportunities Are Scarce U.K..
But due to the UK’s tougher immigration laws, he was unable to stay in the UK and traveled to Spain. Still unable to work legally, he has used up all his savings, sold his computer and is now considering selling his phone. Due to late payment of rent, he has spent several nights sleeping on the street.
“It’s tough,” he told The Associated Press while waiting in line for eight hours outside the Pakistani consulate. barcelona This week.
Murad Ali Wazir, Pakistan’s consul general in Barcelona, said Dar was one of about 15,000 Pakistani citizens living in the northeastern Catalonia region without permission.
One of the requests – a criminal record certificate – has inundated consulates. Spanish officials say the window to apply for legal residency in Spain is short: only from April to the end of June. In order to help citizens obtain the required documents in a timely manner, the consulate announced that it will also be open on weekends.
“I didn’t expect this country to be so nice, the weather, the people, the culture,” Dahl said. With the license, he said, he and others would be able to work and pay Spanish taxes, contributing to the Spanish economy. They will also be allowed to visit family members they haven’t seen in years, Dahl said with a smile.
“Long live Spain! Long live Pedro Sanchez! We love that man,” he shouted.
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Follow AP’s global migration coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/migration