More than 900 immigrants have already applied to regularize their situation in Spain, within an extraordinary process opened by the Spanish government on April 16. The majority come from Latin American countries. including Brazil.
The deadline for submitting applications is June 30th. The government estimated reaching half a million people, but the number of applications has already exceeded 900.000, according to the most recent official data.
The process is aimed at foreigners without a criminal record who have entered the country. until December 31, 2025 and prove uninterrupted residence for five months. The initial response is a temporary work visa for one year, which then needs to be certified for renewal.
Brazilian lawyer Thais Camargo, who specializes in immigration and has an office in Madrid, assessed the program as "a very interesting move by the Spanish government." She explains that the regularization affects people who already work in Spain, but who often did not pay all the taxes while using public health and education services.
Camargo states that 100% of the cases she has handled since April involve Latin Americans, with 90% being Brazilians. The Brazilian community in Spain numbers around 180.000 people. According to her, the office is experiencing strong demand, including from Brazilians living in Portugal without legal status who want to move to Spain.
According to the lawyer, this search coincided with AIMA's response difficulties (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) in Portugal and remained in place after the change from a socialist government to one led by the PSD.
Support and criticism of the program
Official entities and NGOs indicate that approximately 80% or more of those benefiting from the program come from Latin America, in line with studies that indicate that the majority of undocumented immigrants are from Latin America. enters Spain by plane.as a tourist.
The process had the support of NGOs, the Catholic Church, trade unions, and business associations, and He was criticized by right-wing and far-right parties.The European Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Brunner, described the measure as a "bad sign".
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez argues that immigration contributes to the performance of the country's economy, one of the fastest growing in the European Union. He stated that those who live in and contribute to economic development "deserve to have the same rights as any other citizen."
(With information from DN/Lusa)
