On April 14, 2026, the Spanish government approved a significant reform to the Immigration Regulation, initiating an emergency legalization process for approximately 500,000 migrants currently residing in Spain without regularized status. This measure was introduced in response to what authorities described as a “social urgency,” aiming to integrate individuals already living and working in Spain into the legal framework.
The reform introduces the extraordinary arraigo (arraigo extraordinario), a new pathway for legalization, alongside a separate mechanism for applicants seeking international protection who submitted their applications before January 1, 2026. This approach extends legalization not only to undocumented migrants with long-term residence but also to some asylum seekers whose cases remain unresolved.
Main Eligibility Criteria:
- The applicant must have been present in Spain before January 1, 2026, and demonstrate at least five months of continuous residence prior to submitting their application.
- A clean criminal record is mandatory.
- The applicant must not pose a threat to public order.
- Applicants must provide evidence of at least one of the following: employment ties or a viable employment plan, family connections in Spain, or social vulnerability.
Applications will open online on April 16, 2026, with in-person submissions beginning on April 20. The application window will remain open until June 30, 2026. Importantly, once an application is accepted for review, migrants will be authorized to work legally on a temporary basis while awaiting the final decision. This provision is a crucial aspect of the reform, enabling individuals to transition out of the informal labor market immediately.
The maximum processing time for applications is three months. If no decision is issued within this timeframe, the application will be deemed rejected under the administrative silence rule.
To manage the anticipated volume of applications, the government is mobilizing not only migration services but also involving Correos (the national postal service), along with the state-owned company TRAGSA and its subsidiary TRAGSATEC, to assist with document intake and technical processing.
This initiative represents one of the most extensive migration reforms in Spain over the past two decades. The previous major legalization effort occurred in 2005, regularizing over 576,000 individuals.