MADRID (AP) — Spain will legalize about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year from May 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 residence permits. Spain has largely remained open to receiving migrants other European countries are trying to tighten their borders against illegal crossings and asylum seekers.
Spain needs about 250,000 registered foreign workers annually to maintain its welfare state, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said in an interview on Wednesday. She argued that legalization policies are not solely about “cultural wealth and respect for human rights, it is also prosperity.”
“Today we can say that Spain is a better country,” Saiz told national broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has often described his government’s migration policy as a means to combat the country’s low birth rate. In August, Sánchez visited three West African countries 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, where young men from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and elsewhere embark on perilous sea voyages in search of better job opportunities abroad or fleeing violence and political instability at home.
The new policy, approved on Tuesday by Spain’s left-wing minority coalition government, simplifies administrative procedures for short- and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional employment protection. It extends a visa previously offered to job seekers for three months to one year.
According to the country’s interior ministry, some 54,000 undocumented migrants had reached Spain by sea or land by mid-November this year. The exact number of foreigners living in Spain without documentation is unclear.
Many illegal 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 protection they can be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Saiz said the new policy would help prevent such abuse and “serve to combat mafia, fraud and 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 recovery in tourism after the pandemic.
According to the government, Spain will have issued 1.3 million visas to foreigners in 2023.
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