The Spanish government announced it will grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants in the country.

The Spanish government on Tuesday unexpectedly issued a decree that gives hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants a path out of legal limbo, putting Spain at odds with many countries around the world that have grown increasingly tough on illegal immigration.

The process will be available to foreign nationals without a criminal record who can prove they lived in Spain for five months prior to 31 December 2025.

Spain's government announced Tuesday it will grant legal status to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in the country without authorization, the latest way the country has bucked a trend toward increasingly harsh immigration policies imposed in the United States and much of Europe.

Spain has started to legalise 500,000 undocumented migrants and give them the immediate right to work in a move “to fight against the advance of the far-Right”.

Spain's left-wing government approved Tuesday a plan to regularise around 500,000 undocumented migrants by decree, the country's latest break with harsher policies elsewhere in Europe.

The measure will affect those living in Spain for at least five months and who applied for international protection before 31 December 2025.View on euronews