The extraordinary regularization process, driven by a popular legislative initiative from the RegularizaciónYa platform, could benefit up to 840,000 people, according to updated data from Funcas. This figure is projected by taking the list of registered residents provided by the INE and subtracting those who already hold residence, study, or asylum permits.
The majority profile of potential beneficiaries is a person originally from Latin America, already living in Spain and supported by a social network of family or friends. María Miyar, Director of Social Studies at Funcas, notes that the most numerous were born in Colombia, Peru, and Honduras. They are young, in active working ages, and mostly already employed in the informal economy in low-paid jobs.
“"I am already waiting for the papers to be able to start working. I have acquaintances in the hospitality industry who need people and they keep asking me: ‘Do you have them yet?’ If they give me regularization tomorrow, the day after tomorrow I will be working with a contract."
Many migrants, such as the Egyptian friends Mahmud and Mahmud, suffer the precarious working conditions of the submerged economy, earning between three and five euros per hour for jobs like moving. These cases illustrate the need to obtain minimum rights and exit a system that relies on volatile and precarious sectors, as pointed out by Claudia Finotelli, a researcher at Fedea.
“"Sánchez has learned the lesson from Zapatero and has given more time to submit papers and does not require a prior employment contract, which previously left regularization in the hands of employers. We cannot afford an underground economy given the demographic challenge we face."
The regularization is welcomed by sectors such as construction, hospitality, and caregiving, which complain about staff shortages. Experts agree that the measure will not create competition for the native population, as migrants fill professions that those born in Spain are often unwilling to take.
