Today (June 30) is the last day of Spain's historic mass regularization program. NGOs are scrambling to get as many eligible migrants as possible to submit an application. The documents can be completed later, they say, but this opportunity may not come again.
As Spain's extraordinary regularization campaign enters its final hours today (June 30), migrant organizations are racing to ensure undocumented migrants do not miss what they call a rare opportunity to obtain legal status.
Legal aid groups and migrant rights groups across Spain are making one last push to help people submit their applications even if they are still waiting for documents from their countries of origin.
"We're carrying out a final check of all the people who have come to our offices and who may have been missing some documentation at the start of the process," Elena Muñoz, coordinator of the legal team at the Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR), told Reuters.
"If a case is not yet complete ... we will submit it before June 30, so that they do not miss the opportunity to benefit from the regularization process."
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More than just 'papers'
Under the scheme, migrants who file their applications before the deadline may be able to submit outstanding documents later during the administrative review process, making it crucial not to miss the filing deadline itself.
Spain launched the extraordinary regularization process earlier this year with the aim of granting one-year residence and work permits to hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants. The government and NGOs initially estimated that around 500,000 to 700,000 people would apply.
Demand, however, has far exceeded expectations. Speaking to Reuters, César Pérez, head of the union representing Spain's immigration officers, said thataround 1.27 million applications had been submitted by last Friday (June 26), highlighting both the scale of irregular migration in Spain and the high demand for legal status.
Speaking to InfoMigrants in May, 26-year-old Sunanda, a Bangladeshi musician living in Barcelona, described Spain's regularization process as "life-changing" for undocumented migrants.
Sunanda said legal status would not just improve working conditions but also change how people are treated. "When you have your identity, there is no chance of getting scammed, I think. But if you don’t have an identity, people will keep on treating you badly."
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Outlier in EU migration policy
The mass regularization campaign has set Spain apart from its neighbors in the European Union who are increasingly tightening their border policies and restricting pathways to regularization.
The movement is the culmination of years of advocacy by migrant-led organizations, such as the Regularización Ya movement. The group spearheaded a nationwide campaign calling for the extraordinary regularization of undocumented migrants, lobbying political parties and collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures in support of legislative action.
"We have successfully launched a Citizens' Legislative Initiative, influenced parliamentary activity, and fostered the necessary public debate to culminate in this collective achievement. True to the spirit that characterizes the migrant struggle, we will continue to advocate collectively for the expansion of rights to ensure greater reach," Regularización Ya said in a statement on their website.
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With Reuters