Spain’s 2026 Immigration Reform: Expansive Regularization Amid New Challenges for Asylum Seekers

In early 2026, Spain implemented a significant immigration reform designed to regularize undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers who have resided in the country for at least five months without a criminal record. This milestone policy, championed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his leftist coalition including Podemos, contrasts with stricter immigration controls seen in other developed countries like Germany, France, and the UK. It is supported by approximately 700,000 citizens and civil society groups, including the Catholic Church.

The reform targets addressing labor shortages in key sectors such as construction and hospitality by formalizing employment and aiming to reduce the underground economy. Spain currently hosts about 850,000 undocumented immigrants, with over half a million potentially benefiting from this measure. The predominance of Latin American immigrants, who make up nearly half the foreign-born population, facilitates smoother integration due to cultural and linguistic ties.

However, despite easing access to legal residency, the reform introduces a contentious change: the time asylum seekers spend waiting for their application decisions no longer counts towards residency calculations. This adjustment disrupts a crucial route for long-term migrants to gain legal status and has been criticized for creating a bureaucratic bottleneck, effectively undermining asylum seekers’ ability to regularize. Many were reliant on this pathway while awaiting decisions, often negative, on their asylum claims.

Opposition leaders, including right-wing figure Feijoo, have framed the reforms as a strain on public services, arguing for stricter immigration enforcement. Conversely, critics note that the government’s timing and policy motives align more with political strategy than migrant needs, especially since the reform no longer mandates employment for regularization, differing from previous regulations.

The reform arrives amid Spain’s broader economic recovery, with the nation ranked 12th globally by GDP, surpassing 2 trillion euros. It reflects a progressive immigration stance seeking to reconcile labor market demands and social integration against a backdrop of rising unemployment concerns and housing pressures.

In summary, while Spain’s 2026 immigration reform offers a historic path toward legal status for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, it simultaneously imposes new obstacles for asylum seekers. The evolving policy landscape underscores the complex balance between progressive regularization efforts and political, social, and bureaucratic challenges faced by migrants in contemporary Spain.