Almost 1.2 million illegal immigrants have applied for legal status in Spain under far-left Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s controversial mass amnesty program.
The final number of 1,174,978 was more than double the 500,000 the government originally predicted would take advantage of the scheme, which was announced in January and launched in April.
Secretary of State for Migration Pilar Cancela said on Thursday more than 600,000 applications have already been processed, and revealed 67% of all applications were from Latin America, and 22.9% were from Africa. Colombians alone made up 25.9% of the total.
Spain’s left-wing government bypassed parliament to approve the regularisation, which provides initial one-year residence and work permits to successful applicants.
To apply, illegal immigrants only needed to prove they had lived in Spain for at least five months before the end of 2025 and had no criminal record.
Mr Sanchez defended the policy on the final day of applications, saying the larger-than-expected number of applicants proved the scheme was needed. He also said €505 million would be spent on processing claims and help successful applicants to integrate.
“The more than one million applications submitted show how necessary this recognition of rights and responsibilities was,” he said.
“When we condemn a person to invisibility, I think we make our country a worse country. We all lose.
“We want the world to view Spain as a country that respects, protects and upholds human rights.”
Sanchez further attempted to justify the mass legalisation by claiming the illegal immigrants were needed to support Spain’s economy, welfare system and pensions due to its ageing population.
Business groups have also welcomed the scheme, saying it will help fill labour shortages in key sectors, and Pope Leo XIV endorsed the policy during a recent trip to Spain.
But the move has drawn strong criticism, including from right-wing party Vox, which warned it rewards illegal entry and will act as a pull factor for further unlawful immigration.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal wrote on X: “More than a million strangers now competing with Spaniards for jobs, housing, daycare places, hospital beds, and social assistance. It’s an invasion. And it’s a betrayal.”
Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the centre-right Popular Party, also condemned the mass amnesty, and described it as “inhumane, unfair, unsafe, and unsustainable”, despite voting in favour of it in 2024 when only Vox opposed it.
Spain remains one of the main entry points into the EU for illegal migrants, particularly those arriving by boat from West Africa via the Canary Islands, and the regularisation makes it a clear outlier in Europe, where other countries are tightening border controls and increasing deportations.
On the final day of applications, Spain’s Supreme Court raised questions about whether the regularisation decree is compatible with the European Union’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum, which came into effect last month.
The court is considering whether to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union following legal challenges brought by conservative regional governments.
Header image: Left, a boatload of illegals land on a beach in Spain in September last year (Francis Kinnon). Right, hordes of illegals approach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the Moroccan border in 2023.
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