On April 14, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved a proposal to legalize over 500,000 illegal aliens in the country.
The measure targets individuals who entered Spain by December 31, 2025, resided in the nation for at least five months, and had no criminal record—excluding their initial unauthorized entry. It is expected to grant legal status to more than 500,000 migrants, though opponents estimate up to one million could benefit.
The legalization will be implemented through a royal decree rather than parliamentary approval. Spain’s minister of inclusion, social security and migration, Elma Saiz, announced that eligible applicants may submit requests online starting April 16 and in person beginning April 20, with the deadline set for June 30. Thousands have already begun lining up to apply.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez characterized the initiative as “an act of normalization, of recognizing the reality of nearly half a million people who already form part of our daily life. And, also, an act of justice and necessity.”
This marks Spain’s first legalization proposal since 2005, when the government granted legal status to 577,000 migrants.
The current amnesty originated as a popular legislative effort backed by approximately 700,000 Spaniards and gained support from nearly all political parties. However, the mainstream conservative Popular Party (PP) has vowed to contest the move despite having approved similar legislation in Congress in 2024.
Spain’s government frames the amnesty as addressing critically low native birthrates and labor shortages. Migration expert Jasmijn Slootjes of the Migration Policy Institute Europe noted: “The fertility rate in Spain is the lowest in Europe—so it’s really, really low… There were a lot of skill shortages, labour shortages, and de facto a lot of irregular migrants are working. Through regularising you can get more tax payments and better matching of skills.”
Historically, the decision echoes the Roman Empire’s collapse in 376 AD when Emperor Valens invited a large Goth horde into Roman territory. This action eventually led to the Gothic rebellion and the Battle of Adrianople in 378 AD, widely regarded as the beginning of the Western Roman Empire’s decline.
