Spain approves extraordinary regularisation of up to 840,000 undocumented residents
Spain’s Cabinet approved the extraordinary regularisation programme on April 14, granting one-year residence and work permits to undocumented migrants who arrived before 31 December 2025. Initial estimates of 500,000 beneficiaries have been revised upward — up to 840,000 may qualify. Online applications open April 16, in-person applications from April 20, with a closing date of June 30. The PP opposition has called the measure “inhuman, unjust, unsafe, and unsustainable.”
Why this matters
This is Spain’s sixth mass regularisation since 1986 and the largest since 2005, when approximately 577,000 people were regularised. For digital nomads and expats already in the system, the immediate concern is the expected “administrative earthquake” in the TIE appointment system. Up to half a million people entering the immigration bureaucracy at once will compound already-strained cita previa availability, where waits of three months or more are already standard in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.
If you are a digital nomad waiting for your physical TIE card, your approval letter explicitly states that your authorisation is “fully effective before the administration and third parties” without the card. You are legal. The plastic card is an administrative formality, not a condition of your residency. Focus on tax compliance — registering as autonomo — rather than chasing a fingerprinting slot that is now part of a 500,000-person queue. If you are new to the Spanish tax system, our autonomo guide covers social security contributions, invoicing requirements, and the key deadlines you need to know.
What to watch
Applications are now live online (April 16) with in-person filing from April 20. The June 30 deadline is tight — three months to process potentially 840,000 applications through an immigration system already under strain. The Interior Ministry’s 120 planned staff redeployments are widely considered insufficient. We are tracking the TIE appointment backlog separately as the situation develops.
For a full breakdown of the current Spain Digital Nomad Visa requirements, including the recently increased income thresholds and processing times, see our comprehensive guide.