Pedro Sánchez presents the Integration and Citizenship Plan on the day the deadline for the extraordinary regularization of migrants ends

This Tuesday marks the expiration of the deadline established by the Government of Spain to apply for the extraordinary regularization process for immigrants, a measure aimed at foreign individuals who resided in the country before January 1 of this year and who lack residence and work authorization, provided they do not have criminal records. The final number of applications will be known this Wednesday, after the Executive had already counted around 900,000 petitions in mid-June.

The procedure was launched on April 16 and has been accompanied by intense institutional and social mobilization. The Government now plans to close the initial processing phase and begin the evaluation of the received applications, in a context where the Executive defends the measure as a structural response to the country's demographic and labor challenges. Interested individuals still have this Tuesday to complete the process. The procedure can be carried out through the digital platform Mercurio, dependent on the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, or in person by appointment at authorized centers.

Coinciding with the closing of the application process, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, is scheduled to present this Tuesday in Madrid the new Integration and Citizenship Plan, accompanied by the institutional campaign 'Where do they come from? They come from building a country'.

The event will include testimonies from migrant individuals who have participated in different regularization processes and will feature the final intervention of the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, in charge of closing the day.

"Today, again, I feel proud to be Spanish": Sánchez defends regularization as an "act of justice"

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, disseminated a letter addressed to citizens through the social network X, in which he stated: "Today, again, I feel proud to be Spanish." In that message, he announced the approval in the Council of Ministers of the Royal Decree that has made possible the extraordinary regularization process for people in an irregular situation, an initiative that, he stressed, has been driven by "hundreds of organizations" and "more than six hundred thousand people."

In his letter, the head of the Executive defended regularization as “above all, an act of normalization”, considering that it recognizes an already existing reality: that of hundreds of thousands of people who are already part of the daily life of the country. He also described it as “an act of justice with our own history”, recalling that Spain has historically been a country of emigration.

Sánchez also added that “it is not only an act of justice. It is also a necessity”, in reference to the aging population and the importance of integrating these people into the labor market to sustain the contribution system and public services. In his message, he defended that “the path is clear: better integrate, better organize and channel all the potential of those who already live among us”, while ruling out that “neither technology nor automation” can replace this process. The objective, he pointed out, is for regularization to allow “recognizing rights, but also demanding obligations”, guaranteeing participation “on equal terms”.

The visit of Pope Leo XIV reinforces the debate on migration and human dignity

In parallel, the recent visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain, put an international spotlight on the migration debate. During his tour, the pontiff defended “human dignity” and expressed his support for reception policies, also fulfilling the wish of his predecessor, Pope Francis, to visit the Canary Route and meet with migrant survivors of one of the most dangerous routes in the world. In the archipelago, one of his last acts was a visit to the Las Raíces reception center.

In that context, the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, highlighted in a speech the Government's work on migration and vindicated the role of migrants in Spanish society with the expression: "Contribute, work, build and be part of."

Saiz also stressed that "Welcoming with love is also making it possible for each person to give their best. Integration is not giving up who we are but the shared construction of who we want to be", in an intervention in which she defended the Executive's approach to integration and rights.