While most of Europe builds higher walls, Spain opened the door to 500,000 undocumented migrants.
In late January 2026, Spain’s left-wing government approved a fast-track plan allowing undocumented migrants who’ve lived in the country for at least five months to apply for legal residency. Applications open in April and run through June 30.
It’s one of Europe’s largest regularization programs in years.
Asylum applications fell 23 percent across the European Union in the first half of 2025. EU states backed harsher migration measures in December, including offshore deportation hubs for rejected asylum seekers.
Spain moved in the opposite direction.
The Numbers Tell a Different Story Than the Headlines
Most coverage focuses on the 500,000 figure, but who these people are and where they came from tells a different story.
According to Funcas, an analysis center linked to Spain’s banking association, roughly 760,000 undocumented migrants from Latin America lived in Spain at the beginning of 2025. Another 80,000 came from Africa.
Most undocumented migrants entered Spain legally. They came on visas, overstayed, and found cash-in-hand work in Spain’s “black economy.”
The breakdown shows 290,000 from Colombia, nearly 110,000 from Peru, and 90,000 from Honduras.
The far-right narrative of masses crossing borders doesn’t match the reality: visa overstayers working construction jobs and cleaning hotels.
A Citizen-Driven Policy in an Age of Top-Down Politics
Spain’s regularization didn’t start in a government office.
It started with 700,000 signatures from ordinary citizens. Hundreds of civil society groups backed the proposal, including the Catholic Church.
The movement gained momentum during COVID-19, when immigrants worked essential jobs with minimal rights or protections while keeping society running.
Politicians responded to public demand rather than manufacturing it.
The far-right Vox party announced legal action to suspend implementation, fighting uphill against documented public support.
Spain’s last major regularization happened in 2005 under Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
The Economic Engine Behind the Policy
Spain’s economy grew roughly 3 percent in 2025. That outpaced the eurozone average of 0.8 percent and the U.S. growth rate of 2.8 percent.
Migrants drove half that growth.
Raymond Torres of the Funcas think tank calculated the contribution. Foreign workers filled 45 percent of new jobs since 2022.
The final quarter of 2025 added 76,200 people to employment rolls. Of those, 52,500 were born overseas. That same quarter marked Spain’s lowest unemployment rate in 18 years.
Immigration fuels economic expansion when labor markets need workers.
Spain’s construction employers’ association reports that the industry needs more than 700,000 professionals immediately. Bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters—all in short supply.
Only 9 percent of construction workers are under 30. In 2008, that figure was 25 percent.
Between late 2019 and the first quarter of 2025, average construction wages per employee grew 46 percent—the largest increase among all sectors in Spain’s Quarterly National Accounts.
The Demographic Math That Demands Action
The Bank of Spain estimates the country needs 25 million working-age migrants over the next 30 years—roughly half of Spain’s current population.
That calculation comes from maintaining a stable ratio between workers and retirees. Spain’s pension and healthcare systems collapse without it.
Since COVID-19, nearly all of Spain’s population growth has come from immigration. In 2022 alone, 1.1 million people arrived.
Without continued immigration, too few workers will support too many retirees, making social welfare programs unsustainable.
Perception Versus Reality in Spanish Immigration
Iseak polls reveal a significant perception gap among Spaniards.
On average, people believe migrants make up almost 28 percent of Spain’s population. The actual figure is 16 percent.
Right-wing voters generally estimate that Spain’s foreign-born population exceeds 30 percent.
Spain largely avoided the anti-immigration sentiment that swept through Europe. The country weathered the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic without pushing far-right parties into prominence or power.
That resistance matters now. While anti-immigration platforms gained ground across the continent, Spain maintained public support for a different approach.
Europe’s Diverging Paths on Migration
EU states backed measures in December 2025, allowing rejected asylum seekers to be deported to offshore “return hubs” or countries with which they have no connection.
The European Union Agency for Asylum reportedthat asylum applications fell 23 percent in the first half of 2025, totaling 399,000. Syrian applications dropped by two-thirds following the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024.
Declining irregular arrivals didn’t soften Europe’s approach. Governments hardened their stances.
These migrants already live and work in Spain. Keeping them in legal limbo serves no economic purpose and creates social problems.
Legal status generates tax revenue, strengthens labor rights, and addresses worker shortages.
What This Means for Construction Wages
Regularization doesn’t flood the market with new workers. These migrants already work in construction for cash at below-market rates. Legal status moves them into the formal economy at standard wages.
Wage growth will moderate, not crash. The 46 percent surge since 2019 reflected acute scarcity. With 700,000 positions still unfilled, the industry faces a massive shortage even after regularization.
Long-term, increased labor supply will stabilize wages at sustainable levels, controlling construction costs and housing prices in Spanish cities where both have become critical issues.
The Precedent That Changes European Calculations
Germany, Italy, and other aging European economies face identical demographic math: shrinking working-age populations supporting growing retiree populations.
If Spain’s approach succeeds, it provides a template. If it fails, it reinforces the restrictive policies dominating European capitals.
The application window runs from April through June 30, 2026. Over the following 18 months, several indicators will determine success: processing efficiency, integration into formal employment, tax revenue generation, impact on labor shortages, public opinion shifts, and political stability of the governing coalition.
The Real Test Ahead
Spain has political cover that other countries lack: 700,000 signatures and broad civil society support, driving a policy that acknowledges economic reality. These migrants already contribute to the economy. Legal status brings that contribution into the tax system.
Execution determines whether this model spreads or dies. Bureaucratic delays or excessive requirements will undermine the program. Employers must hire newly legalized workers at fair wages. Success without social friction validates the approach.
The choice Spain made is clearer than most coverage suggests. Europe framed immigration as an invasion requiring walls and deportation hubs. Spain framed it as workers, taxpayers, and economic contributors operating outside a legal framework that serves no one.
The next two years will show which framing matches reality—and whether other European countries facing identical demographic pressures can afford to ignore the answer.