Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said his government will approve a royal decree to regularize nearly half a million illegal immigrants.
Sánchez, a socialist, said in an April 14 post on X that the Council of Ministers will approve a royal decree launching the extraordinary regularization of people living in the country illegally, a process expected to affect nearly half a million individuals.
A royal decree is a legal measure approved by the government and formally enacted by the king of Spain, allowing policies to take effect without a full parliamentary process, according to Spain’s 1978 constitution (Articles 62 and 97).
He described the move as an act of “normalization” and “justice.”
“Today, once again, I feel proud to be Spanish,” Sánchez said.
Sánchez made the announcement while on an official visit to China, where he said in a April 14 post on X that “Spain is betting on an EU-China relationship based on trust, dialogue, and stability.”
The proposal was first presented on Jan. 27 to allow about 500,000 illegal immigrants already living and working in Spain to get legal status through an accelerated process.
The campaign for the measure began with a 2024 petition that received more than 600,000 signatures, backed by a number of nongovernmental organizations and Spain’s Catholic Episcopal Conference.
Details were shared by La Moncloa, the official seat of the Spanish government, who said in an April 14 social media post that the regularization would apply to individuals who have been in Spain since before Jan. 1, 2026, have remained for at least five uninterrupted months, and do not have a criminal record or “pose a threat to public order, security, or health.”
Irene Montero, a former equality minister and current MEP from the hard-left Podemos party, said in an April 14 post on X that the process could ultimately extend further, stating that up to 800,000 illegal immigrants should be granted papers.
She said that the process will “treat people as people and not as slaves,” and that efforts should continue “so that regularization reaches everyone.”
The government’s plan has drawn criticism from the opposition.
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