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The leader of Spain’s conservative Popular Party (PP), Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, has recently promoted a comprehensive, harder-line immigration plan that could fundamentally dismantle the current path to legal residency for long-term undocumented immigrants. Central to his proposal is a drastic tightening of the “Arraigo” (residency by roots) system, with the idea of making it strictly conditional on having regular work and having already integrated to an extent into society. The proposal directly challenges the current Spanish government’s recent reforms that came into effect in May 2025, which sought to liberalise and simplify the regularisation process. The attack on ‘arraigo’ and the contract mandate Under Spain’s current laws, the Arraigo system offers several routes to temporary legal residency. The most common, “Arraigo Social“, traditionally required three years of continuous stay and a job offer or contract. However, recent reforms (RD 1155/2024, for May 2025) have significantly broadened this, reducing the required residence time to two years in certain cases and allowing alternative evidence of financial means or self-employment instead of a mandatory contract. Feijoo’s proposal seeks to reverse this liberalisation. He explicitly stated that the PP would limit residency permits by Arraigo, making them conditional on possessing a work contract or demonstrating an active job search. The logic, according to the PP leader, is that immigrants must “contribute work” and should not be “living off welfare,” citing claims that over half a million immigrants are collecting benefits without working. Work, he argued, should be the “gateway” and the “guarantee for integration”. Introducing the ‘temporary visa’ and expulsion The plan’s core mechanism for labour control is the proposed “temporary visa”. This visa would grant migrants a limited window to get hired. If a job is found and they integrate, they may stay; if not, they face expulsion. This new visa, alongside a points-based entry system for legal migration, is meant to to restore “order” to the current system. A higher bar for Spanish residency Integration, under Feijoo’s vision, extends far beyond a job. The PP proposes to increase the cultural and linguistic hurdles for obtaining Spanish nationality. The current requirement for language proficiency is the A2 (lower intermediate) level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The PP intends to raise the bar to a B2 (upper intermediate) Spanish level, which represents a major jump in fluency and comprehension, requiring substantially more study. This level of Spanish would essentially equate to the ability to maintain whatever basic day-to-day conversation, even with certain grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation issues. Isn’t it just pre-election bluster? There is a low likelihood of this policy having any noticeable effect for those with economic means to support themselves. Learning a B2 level of Spanish in just 3 years, while at the same time maintaining a job or other responsible activities, is unlikely for most. Then, evidence of continuous work would negate the language requirement anyway, as could either of the remaining two routes. Feijóo insists that residency must be a “merit”, not a “simple administrative task”. Under Feijoo’s new arraigo ruling, applicants would need to sign a “Letter of Commitment” agreeing to follow Spanish customs, laws, and values, and they would have to pass a “reinforced test” about the country’s institutions, laws, and history. This would be in the form of a test and is a return to what was already in place pre-May 2025 and is often cited as being far less difficult than its British counterpart. Mike S, a long-term resident in Madrid, took said test recently. The final question, he says, was “Who is Belen Esteban? (popular Spanish chat show guest). Then she told me, “Don’t worry, I’m only joking.” Ultimately, the PP’s proposals signal a major move away from the current humanitarian and labour-market-focused model toward one centred on stringent assimilation into Spanish society. However, little is likely to happen to make a big difference. The PP proposal is simply to ensure that residency by Arraigo is reserved for those who can prove active contribution and commitment to Spanish society and not a drag on it. In any case, for a more detailed assessment on residency applications, always consult a qualified immigration lawyer in Spain before considering residency as there are too many routes to mention here.
