MADRID: Spain will legalize about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year, starting next May and through 2027, the country’s migration minister said Wednesday.
The policy aims to expand the aging country’s workforce and allow foreigners living in Spain without proper documentation to obtain work permits and residency. Spain has largely remained open to receiving migrants even as other European nations seek to tighten their borders to illegal crossings and asylum seekers.
Spain needs around 250,000 registered foreign workers a year to maintain its welfare state, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said in an interview on Wednesday. She contended that the legalization policy is not aimed solely at “cultural wealth and respect for human rights, it’s also prosperity.”
“Today, we can say Spain is a better country,” Saiz told national broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has often described his government’s migration policies as a means to combat the country’s low birthrate. In August, Sánchez visited three West African nations in an effort to tackle irregular migration to Spain’s Canary Islands.
The archipelago off the coast of Africa is seen by many as a step toward continental Europe with young men from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and elsewhere embarking on dangerous sea voyages there seeking better job opportunities abroad or fleeing violence and political instability at home.
The new policy, approved Tuesday by Spain’s leftist minority coalition government, simplifies administrative procedures for short and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional labor protections. It extends a visa offered previously to job-seekers for three months to one year.
By mid-November, some 54,000 undocumented migrants had reached Spain this year by sea or land, according to the country’s Interior Ministry. The exact number of foreigners living in Spain without documentation is unclear.
Many irregular migrants make a living in Spain’s underground economy as fruit pickers, caretakers, delivery drivers, or other low-paid but essential jobs often passed over by Spaniards.
Without legal protections, they can be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Saiz said the new policy would help prevent such abuse and “serve to combat mafias, fraud and the violation of rights.”
Spain’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the European Union this year, boosted in part by immigration and a strong rebound in tourism after the pandemic.
In 2023, Spain issued 1.3 million visas to foreigners, according to the government.
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Spain will legalize hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants in the next 3 years
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Spain will legalize hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants in the next 3 years
- The policy aims to expand the aging country’s workforce and allow foreigners living in Spain without proper documentation to obtain work permits and residency
- Spain has largely remained open to receiving migrants even as other European nations seek to tighten their borders to illegal crossings and asylum seekers
Ukraine’s Zelensky meets Pope Leo, prepares revised plan on Russia war
- UKrainian leader said that Washington’s 28-point plan had been reduced to 20 points after US-Ukraine talks at the weekend
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV in Italy on Tuesday as he prepared to send the United States revised proposals to end Russia’s invasion.
Zelensky on Monday held talks with European leaders in London and Brussels as US President Donald Trump keeps up pressure on Kyiv for a settlement.
Trump has accused Zelensky of not even reading his administration’s initial proposals, which were judged by Ukraine’s allies to be overly favorable to Russia.
Zelensky said that Washington’s 28-point plan had been reduced to 20 points after US-Ukraine talks at the weekend.
Ukrainian and European officials “are going to work on these 20 points,” Zelensky told an online press conference on Monday.
“We do not like everything that our partners came back with. Although this issue is not so much with the Americans as with the Russians.
“But we will definitely work on it, and as I said, tomorrow evening (Tuesday) we will do everything to send our view on this to the US.”
Washington’s plan involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.
Zelensky pointed to the land issue and international security guarantees as two of the main sticking points.
“Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” Zelensky said.
“The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question,” Zelensky said.
‘Robust security guarantees’
Zelensky met with Pope Leo at his country residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, and is to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later Tuesday.
Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, although one of her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini’s League party, is more skeptical.
Rome has sent weapons to Ukraine but only for use inside the country. Meloni has also ruled out sending troops in a possible monitoring force proposed by Britain and France.
The Italian government last week postponed a decision on renewing military aid to Ukraine, with the current authorization due to end on December 31. Salvini has reportedly questioned if it was necessary given the new talks.
However, Meloni at the time insisted that “as long as there’s a war, we’ll do what we can, as we’ve always done to help Ukraine defend itself.”
On Monday, Zelensky met in London with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany before heading to Brussels for talks with the heads of the EU and of NATO.
“Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected. Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defense for our Union,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after Monday’s meeting.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X after the London meeting that “we are preparing robust security guarantees and measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
Macron said the “main issue” was finding “convergence” between the European-Ukrainian position and that of the United States.
Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.
But he was also frustrated that efforts to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war had failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.
Zelensky on Monday held talks with European leaders in London and Brussels as US President Donald Trump keeps up pressure on Kyiv for a settlement.
Trump has accused Zelensky of not even reading his administration’s initial proposals, which were judged by Ukraine’s allies to be overly favorable to Russia.
Zelensky said that Washington’s 28-point plan had been reduced to 20 points after US-Ukraine talks at the weekend.
Ukrainian and European officials “are going to work on these 20 points,” Zelensky told an online press conference on Monday.
“We do not like everything that our partners came back with. Although this issue is not so much with the Americans as with the Russians.
“But we will definitely work on it, and as I said, tomorrow evening (Tuesday) we will do everything to send our view on this to the US.”
Washington’s plan involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.
Zelensky pointed to the land issue and international security guarantees as two of the main sticking points.
“Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” Zelensky said.
“The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question,” Zelensky said.
‘Robust security guarantees’
Zelensky met with Pope Leo at his country residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, and is to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later Tuesday.
Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, although one of her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini’s League party, is more skeptical.
Rome has sent weapons to Ukraine but only for use inside the country. Meloni has also ruled out sending troops in a possible monitoring force proposed by Britain and France.
The Italian government last week postponed a decision on renewing military aid to Ukraine, with the current authorization due to end on December 31. Salvini has reportedly questioned if it was necessary given the new talks.
However, Meloni at the time insisted that “as long as there’s a war, we’ll do what we can, as we’ve always done to help Ukraine defend itself.”
On Monday, Zelensky met in London with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany before heading to Brussels for talks with the heads of the EU and of NATO.
“Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected. Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defense for our Union,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after Monday’s meeting.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X after the London meeting that “we are preparing robust security guarantees and measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
Macron said the “main issue” was finding “convergence” between the European-Ukrainian position and that of the United States.
Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.
But he was also frustrated that efforts to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war had failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.
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