In recent days, the Pedro Sánchez Administration announced two measures regarding immigration: the possible regularization of 500,000 immigrants who the authorities estimate are undocumented and the end of the so-called “golden visas” or “golden visas.” Two different faces of migration on which the Spanish Government has marked the first steps of legal processes that raise voices for and against.
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Changes are expected in immigration matters in Spain.
After the plenary session of the Lower House approved processing a bill that seeks the regularization for 500.00 immigrants who the authorities estimate are undocumented in the country, the parties They now have up to two months to modify the proposal and decide how to legalize to the hundreds of thousands of irregular immigrants living in Spain and launch a final vote.
The green light for the measure to be debated in the Congress of Deputies was given on April 8 with the support of all political parties, with the only exception of the far-right Vox.
By voting against, that movement pointed out that the country must “remain Spain and not Morocco, nor Algeria, nor Nigeria, nor Senegal.”
However, the measure has already been accepted for debate in Parliament and if approved it would lead to an upcoming mass regularization of immigrants.
The project reached the Legislature thanks to a popular initiative after collecting more than 600,000 signatures in support of it. The eventual measure It would benefit those who are in the country at least since 2021.
The Esenciales network, promoter of the popular legislative initiative (ILP) for the extraordinary regularization of immigrants, estimates that 81% of undocumented people in the country come from Latin America, mostly women.
The end of “golden visas”
At the other end of the face of migration, Pedro Sánchez announced the end of the so-called “golden visas”, a residence permit in the country for non-resident foreigners of the European Union (EU) in exchange for the investment of 500,000 euros.
This is a rule in force since 2013 and promoted by the now opposition Popular Party (PP), whose beneficiaries have focused mainly on the purchase of real estate. A situation that, according to the current Government, has contributed to the inflation of housing prices, one of the problems that most afflicts Spanish society in most cities.
Among the main recipients of this type of residence permit are people with significant economic resources from Russia and China, with 61.1% of the total beneficiaries, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But also some originating from countries like Venezuela and Mexico.
Since that law was passed, The authorities have granted 14,576 residence permits for real estate investments.
“We are going to start the process to eliminate the so-called 'golden visa' process that allows access to the residency regime when more than half a million euros are invested in real estate. We are going to take the necessary measures to guarantee that housing is a right and not a mere speculative business,” said the ruling leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), on April 8.
Housing is a constitutional right and not a mere speculative business. That is why we are going to eliminate the 'Golden Visa', the law approved by the PP that allows you to obtain a residence visa if you invest more than 500,000 euros in housing in our country.
Having a decent home does not… pic.twitter.com/y2wxZlPXMC
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 8, 2024
The measure was announced after months of debates among the political leaders of his Administration. Although it has not been officially communicated from what date these types of visas would stop being issued, the President of the Government stressed that the decision has been made.
The announcement has received both support and rejection in the country. Some of his opponents indicate that the measure will harm foreign investment and it would not help to end the serious problem of access to housing that exists in the nation, since the beneficiaries of this type of residence usually focus on the purchase of luxury homes, a market that the majority of Spaniards do not usually seek. .
However, those who support the change in the law emphasize that until now, this route has also allowed foreigners to acquire multiple properties, which in a country with little real estate supply, further aggravates the situation. A problem that is no longer exclusive to large cities and has spread to other locations.
The provinces of Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, the Balearic Islands and Valencia account for 90% of all “golden visas” granted, indicated the Ministry of Housing.
Spain has experienced an exponential increase in “golden visas” with the detonation of the Russian war in Ukraine, in February 2022, and the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, which has forced a response, highlighted the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, after the endorsement to begin the procedures to modify the law.
With local media
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