In November 2024, Spain approved an immigration regulation to improve migrants’ integration in the work, education, and family areas.
With the new law, authorities intended to adapt the country regulations to the actual migration trends. Also, they seeked to meet the domestic labor market needs, by also protecting the migrant’s rights.
Main updates
The law (Real Decreto 1155/2024) entered into force starting from May 20, 2025. It affects visa issuance by delimiting authority competences and reducing bureaucracy. Also, it facilitates entry to work, deepening the migrant workers’ rights and addressing the national market needs.
Visas
The reform introduces new visa options for short-term and long-term stays, transit visas and jobseekers. Specifically, it extended validity of the job seeking visa from three months to one year.
Moreover, the decree sets a longer visa duration. Visas will now have at least a one-year validity, renewable for four years, with exceptions.
Finally, the law simplifies the rules for long-term residence acquisition. For instance, applicants need not leave the country to qualify for long-term residence after previously holding temporary residence.
Regularizations
Authorities implemented new procedures for the so-called arraigo – to allow irregular migrants to obtain legal residence and integrate in Spain. The reform includes five types of integration, namely the social, socio-labor, family, socio-educational and the so-called “second chance” arraigo. The last one is for those who have had a residence permit in the last two years but have not renewed it.
The minimum period of residence required changed from three to two years. Additionally, the criteria are now more flexible and those with permits will be able to both work as an employee and be self-employed from the first moment.
The government estimates that approximately 300.000 foreigners could regularize each year over the next three years, thanks to this new system.
Work
The reform facilitates entry to work and deepens the right of migrant workers by addressing also the national market needs.
As a result, most of the permits presented in the decree will allow individuals to work immediately. As such, they won’t have to expressly request an initial work authorization as employees. This is beneficial for instance for holders of study permits, who will be able to work up to 30 hours a week. Furthermore, foreign students will now be able to quickly transition from study visa to work permits once their study permit is over.
On employment, it creates a specific work permit for seasonal work facilitating hiring both individually and collectively. Additionally, to protect the workers’ rights, the immigration authorities will have to provide written information about their working conditions, stay, and obligations, in a language they can understand.
Additionally, workers can change employer in case of abuse or for other reasons that prevented the employer relationship development.
Family reunification
The Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration also stressed the importance of the family for the retention of foreign talent.
Therefore, the reform improved family reunification for foreign residents and for citizens with Spanish nationality. In case of family members of Spanish citizens, the reform now contemplates couples who did not formally register but who can prove a similar affective relationship. Furthermore, children’s minimum age for family reunion changed from 21 to 26 years of age.
