Samantha Mythen
FAMILIES with children, asylum seekers and vulnerable immigrants will be prioritised in the Spanish government’s move to legalise thousands of immigrants.
The popular legislative initiative (ILP), seemingly stalled in Congress over the last three weeks. Yet, on Tuesday, the Secretary of State for Migration, Pilar Cancela, met with several parliamentary groups to finalise the ‘extraordinary regularisation’ blueprint.
READ MORE: Spain’s parliament moves to legalise nearly half a million undocumented workers
This fine print details the general requirements immigrants must meet to be able to benefit from the law. This includes that immigrants must have been residing in Spain before March 31 this year, and have lived in Spain for at least one year before applying; have no criminal record; pose no threat to public order; and are not facing a non-return order.
Alongside these general requirements, at least one of five specific conditions must be met.
The first condition is one of ‘flexible’ employment. The immigrant must have prior employment in Spain or an offer of future employment on the table.
The second condition is that the immigrant is a parent or grandparent of children enrolled in school or dependent adults. This will then capture the children as well, who would subsequently gain residence from their parents.
A third condition captures those who are ‘particularly vulnerable,’ such as being unemployed, or working and exposed to exploitation.
The fourth condition is for those individuals who have requested international protection before March 31. The immigrant can only have one application for regularisation open.
The last condition considers asylum seekers, specifically those who have requested protection in Spain out of fear of persecution in their home countries, yet their application has been denied. These immigrants are most affected by the new immigration requirements that were enacted on May 20.
Those new regulations were meant to streamline immigration applications, but in reality, some immigration experts have argued that thousands of people, including asylum seekers, will fall outside of the law and be forced into hiding.
The definition of the profiles has been met with political resistance. The left-wing groups want the requirements to be minimal, but parties such as the PP and the Basque National Party want stricter rules, such as requiring immigrants to already have employment contracts.
More specific requirements are still to be defined, including what documentation the immigrants must submit to demonstrate they have met the regulations.
It’s hoped these talks will push the initiative forward before summer recess, but there are still questions on whether it would reach a parliamentary majority when it comes to the final vote.
Spain has previously legalised undocumented migrants through the extraordinary legal process. More than 22,000 migrants were regulated by the Government in the months following the devastating Valencia floods on October 29.
READ MORE: Spain will give work permits and residency to thousands of illegal migrants
