Abdou Gueye was so determined to get to Spain that he made the dangerous boat journey from his native Senegal to the Canary archipelago twice. The first time, 25 years ago, authorities sent him back. The second time they more or less turned a blind eye. So he stayed, in legal limbo, and for the past five years has been eking out a living as a cleaner, a cook and a farmhand.
The 60-year-old wasn’t able to get a residency permit all that time, but saw an opportunity when last week a rumor spread among the migrant community on the island of Tenerife: The government wanted to roll out a “mass regularization” of undocumented laborers, including from Africa. The rumor turned out to be true. Gueye is now rushing to collect documents that prove he’s been living in Spain, and has never committed a crime. While details are still being negotiated among political parties, he hopes he’ll qualify and access full civil and social benefits once he retires.
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In contrast to some counterparts across Europe and the US, Spanish officials champion migration as a way to enrich society, boost a collapsing birthrate and keep the economy growing. Elsewhere opposition to new immigration has become a feature of mainstream politics, sparking a wave of support for populist parties. The Spanish public has been largely approving so far but there are risks for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Vox, while relatively new and not as strong as far-right parties in countries like Italy, Germany and France, has latched onto the issue that public pollster CIS said has become a major concern among voters.
This isn’t Spain’s first push to regularize the status of undocumented workers — there have been six others between 1986 and 2002 that benefited 1.2 million people — but this is part of its most ambitious effort so far. Through the scheme, and another that applies mostly to Latin Americans, Spain is set to add close to 1 million new residents in the next three years. A system of visas for seasonal laborers, meanwhile, is being expanded.
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Historically a country of emigration, Spain only became a country of immigration in the early 2000s as the economy grew, with foreigners taking jobs that Spaniards couldn’t do, or didn’t want. It has, as a result, experienced one of the fastest demographic shifts in developed nations this century, OECD data show, with the share of foreign-born rising from 1.6% to 14% of the population in less than 30 years.
Roughly 94% of migrants who arrive in Spain do so legally, Sánchez said. National Statistics Institute data from 2023 shows that more than 40% of them are Spanish-speaking Latin Americans, who share a similar religious and cultural background as Spaniards, and don’t need a visa thanks to agreements between Spain and their home countries. Around 23% come from other parts of Europe. And 15% come from Africa. About half of those who arrive via irregular routes, like Gueye, will be deported; the rest will be allowed to stay, usually because they are minors or due to complications related to finding out where they are from.
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Even as it opens up paths for migrants to live and work in the country, Spain continues to aggressively police its physical borders, exposing authorities to accusations of hypocrisy and racism. Tighter controls in North African countries — where the European Union and member states including Spain and Italy made deals aimed at blocking irregular migration — have pushed more West Africans to take the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. More than 10,000 people died trying to reach Spain this way last year alone, according to a report by the advocacy group Caminando Fronteras.
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