While Western countries, including the United States, are taking various anti-immigrant measures, the European country of Spain is taking immigrant-friendly measures.
The Spanish government has announced plans to legalize illegal immigrants living in the country, which is expected to benefit at least half a million illegal immigrants.
Foreign nationals who have no criminal record will be eligible for this benefit, provided they have been in Spain for at least five months before December 31 of the previous year.
"This is a historic day for our country," said Elma Saiz, Spain's Minister of Social Security and Immigration.
As part of the legalization, permission to stay in Spain will be granted initially for one year. This period may be extended later. From next April, illegal immigrants will be able to apply for legalization. Applications can be made until next June.
"We are emphasizing a migration model based on human rights, cohesion and coexistence, which is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion," said Elma Saiz.
In recent years, a large number of immigrants have arrived in Spain, most of them from Latin America.
According to statistics from the think tank Funcas, there were 107,409 undocumented immigrants in Spain in 2017. In 2025, that number increased almost 8-fold to 837,938.
Most of the illegal immigrants currently living in Spain come from Colombia, Peru, and Honduras.
Spain's Socialist-led coalition government is taking a different approach to immigration than major European countries, taking steps to give immigrants a greater say in the economy.
Spain has been doing better than advanced economies in the European Union (EU) in recent years, with growth expected to reach around 3 percent in 2025.
Unemployment, a long-standing weakness in Spain's economy, has fallen below 10 percent for the first time since 2008, according to data released Tuesday.
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