The Spanish government assumed that half a million immigrants would apply for residence in Spain because of the new law on undocumented migrants. As expected, they were wildly wrong.
Document wrote that several analysts expected a far higher number, and that the number who would apply for residence could be as high as 1.5 million. Reality is now pointing in that direction. Already more than one million undocumented immigrants have applied for legal residence in Spain.
Loven er vedtatt, store mengder papirløse innvandrere kan få lovlig opphold i Spania
This was stated by Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday. The deadline for applying for residence also expires today, 30 June.
– That more than 1 million applications have been received shows how necessary it was to recognise the rights and the responsibility, he says. (NTB-AFP)
Answer to the elderly wave
Spain’s government adopted the new provision in April. Immigrants who were staying in Spain without permission were given the opportunity to apply for residence for a fixed period, which could then be renewed. They were also given the opportunity to obtain work throughout Spain.
The requirement was that they had stayed in Spain for at least five months and had a clean criminal record. The motive behind the decision was the elderly wave and the shortage of labour. As in large parts of Western Europe, politicians do not appear to understand that immigrants also grow old eventually.
Immigration Minister Elma Saiz has previously said that the scheme will give dignity and recognition to many people who are already in Spain. She also believes that it will stem the elderly wave, provide the country with important labour and secure the pension system and the welfare state.
Opposite direction to the EU
Most EU countries are at least trying to pretend that they are trying to limit mass immigration. They can no longer ignore that a clear majority of Europeans want to stop immigration.
Especially Denmark, Austria, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands have pushed for a stricter asylum policy.
In fact, more and more Europeans want to go even further, and support remigration of migrants who commit crime or lack the will or ability to follow our norms and rules and support themselves and their families.
Spain is going in the opposite direction. In a letter to the EU ambassadors in Brussels in May, the Spanish government expressed its opposition to the new policy, writes Politico. They operate with somewhat lower figures than NTB, which may be because Politico’s article was published yesterday.
Sánchez’s team pointed to the serious legal challenges, foreign policy considerations and operational doubts that the return of immigrants would entail.
Instead, the Spanish authorities urged the EU to adopt migration rules anchored in «full respect for international law and EU law».
Although some EU countries, even Sweden, are showing signs of wanting limited immigration, some countries stand out.
This applies especially to the United Kingdom, but also our own government as well as large parts of the Storting appear little inclined to do anything to limit mass immigration and the massive costs this imposes on us taxpayers.
Citizens’ initiative
The decision that gave undocumented immigrants the opportunity to apply for residence in Spain originated from a citizens’ initiative in 2024.
More than 700,000 Spaniards and 900 voluntary organisations then demanded legal residence for undocumented immigrants who had lived in Spain since autumn 2021.
They pointed among other things to the important role that the undocumented played during the coronavirus pandemic, both in elderly care, on fruit plantations and by delivering food to the many who had to stay indoors during the lockdown.
The Sánchez government allowed itself to be persuaded, and the result is what we are now seeing.
Spain’s right-wing opposition has throughout tried to stop the new scheme in the courts, but did not receive support in the Supreme Court in May for the demand that the provision must be set aside for the time being.
It is also interesting to note that while Spain is now opening the doors to non-Western migrants, European tourists are often met by demonstrators who do not welcome tourists.