Up to 1.3 million migrants in Spain have applied for legalization of their residency status as the government’s program deadline approaches.

Up to 1.3 million migrants in Spain have submitted applications to legalize their residency status under a government initiative led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The program, which began in April, is set to close on Wednesday night. Authorities had initially anticipated around one million applications but confirmed the higher number through the state registration platform Mercurio, as reported by the United Police Union (SUP). Many applicants entered Spain legally with tourist visas but stayed to work.

The legalization program, supported by a citizen initiative from 2024 that gathered over 700,000 signatures, aims to provide a pathway to legal residency for migrants who meet specific criteria. Applicants must have lived in Spain for at least five consecutive months by December 31, 2025, and must not have a criminal record. Asylum seekers are also eligible. The initiative has faced criticism from conservative opposition parties and some EU partners, including Italy, but Sánchez defended the program, citing the economic contributions of migrants to Spain’s GDP growth and workforce sustainability.

The application process has posed challenges for many migrants, including obtaining police clearance certificates from their home countries and documenting their residency without a formal address. Long queues formed at registration offices as the deadline approached. Sánchez announced a national integration plan alongside the program, with investments of approximately half a billion euros. This marks the seventh time Spain has implemented such a legalization initiative, with over 1.2 million people benefiting from similar programs in the past. Most applicants this year are South Americans from former Spanish colonies who initially entered the country legally on tourist visas.