The Spanish government approved on May 14 a law guaranteeing access to healthcare for migrants residing in the country, including undocumented immigrants. This law also covers individuals who came to Spain through family reunification, asylum seekers, and beneficiaries of temporary protection.

The new measure will take effect in several weeks once it is published in the official journal of the Kingdom of Spain, reported the Spanish press. 

This comes after universal health care in Spain was hindered in 2012 by a law promulgated at the initiative of the People's Party, a conservative political group. "We want to ban this health exclusion [...] introduced in 2012" and "close this wound," said the Minister of Health, Mónica García, at a press conference following the Council of Ministers.

Migrants 'will never be denied health care'

Later in 2018, deputies voted for a decree allowing undocumented immigrants to seek treatment "under the same conditions as people with Spanish nationality."

"Health knows no borders, identity papers, work, or residence permits," said the Minister of Health at the time, Carmen Montón. In reality, the decree never fully took hold in all regions of Spain.

Also read: Spain: Network 'profited for years' from families of missing migrants

Until recently, irregular migrants had to request and obtain approval from social services, proving their desire to reside in Spain before consulting a medical practitioner. The procedure could last weeks or even months in certain localities.

With the new law voted in May 2024, migrants will simply have to present their health worker with a signed declaration, thanks to which "they will never be refused health care," said the minister. A third-party payment (an amount left for the patient to pay) may still exist in certain cases.

Upcoming regularization for 500,000 migrants?

Spain is one of the main entry points for migrants seeking to reach Europe from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and South America. Nearly 20,000 people have arrived in the country by sea and land since the beginning of 2024, compared to just under 7,000 throughout the same period last year.

Some of these migrants stay in Spain to try and build their lives there, but not without difficulties: an estimated 500,000 people are undocumented in Spain today. This includes "families with children who cannot access health or education", "victims of a perverse system which keeps them in extreme precariousness," said Lamine Sarr, a former undocumented migrant and a representative of the movement Regularizacion Ya.

Read more: Spain: Parliament votes to consider regularizing undocumented migrants

The movement is at the origin of a citizens' petition with 700,000 signatures, demanding the regularization of undocumented immigrants in Spain. Brought before the Parliament on April 9, it applies to all migrants in an irregular situation who arrived in the country before November 1, 2021.

For the defenders of the project, the text addresses an administrative failure that prevents migrants from accessing fundamental rights and benefiting from public services, including healthcare. "We are part of society and we carry out essential work, but we cannot rent an apartment, sign a contract, or have a health card," declared the group of migrants who are part of the initiative for the new bill.

"We are told that we are essential, but we lack the most basic rights."

Read more: Spanish bishops call for closure of migrant detention centers