BARCELONA — Spain is conducting an extraordinary regularization process expected to legalize the status of more than 500,000 undocumented immigrants, with applications open until June 30, 2026. The Spanish government announced the program in January, and within a month of its launch on April 16, it received 549,596 applications.

Applicants must prove they were in Spain before January 1, 2026, and had resided continuously in the country for at least five months at the time of application. Required documentation includes a passport and proof of residence such as a registration certificate or medical records. The process is expected to take three months after submission.

Adults granted regularization receive a one-year work and residence permit, which can be maintained only if they demonstrate employment. Minors receive five-year regularization status. This marks Spain’s second major regularization program in 20 years.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the measure as “normalization” and said the immigrants who will benefit are already part of Spaniards’ daily lives.

Nariola Romo, 34, and her family fled Colombia in 2024 due to threats and extortion from criminal gangs. They applied for regularization after their asylum claim was denied in November 2025. “Things didn’t work out for us, and we thought it was God’s will that we didn’t get the chance to go there, and, well, here we are,” Romo said. She added, “Look at how things are in the United States with migrants. It seems like God didn’t want us to be there, because with everything that’s happened, we would have been deported already.”

Diadji Nguirane, from Senegal, has applied and recently received confirmation his case is being processed. “I have been in Spain for two years, and when I get my documents, that will be very favorable because I will be able to work and help my family,” he said. Nguirane has worked informally helping a friend with maintenance tasks. His partner, Maimouna Gueye, supports the family as a hospital cleaner in Terrassa.