Spain's mass regularisation draws over a million migrants into legal status
Spain's first large-scale regularisation since 2005 drew 1,174,978 applications from migrants seeking legal status; about 608,000 are in processing with provisional residency and work permits, and 159,097 have registered with Social Security, while roughly 11,000 have received final approval. The plan, backed by civil society and churches, aims to formalise work—especially in care—amid an ageing population, but critics say it exposes how many live without rights and that processing will take time and face systemic challenges.