Spain offers hundreds of thousands of immigrants a way to stay legally. But who are they?

BARCELONA, Spain — More than half a million immigrants are believed to live in Spain without legal permission. They work jobs that few Spaniards want: picking fruits and vegetables in the fields, caring for children and the elderly, cleaning homes and hotel rooms. Some wind up homeless. The ''sin papeles'' (Spanish for ''without papers'') are often exploited, marginalized and invisible.

Now, Spain wants to integrate them. Earlier this week, the government announced it would grant residency and work permits to all foreigners who arrived in the country before Dec. 31, 2025, have lived in Spain for at least five months, and have no criminal record. Pedro Sánchez, Spain's socialist prime minister, said the country was opening a legal path for ''people who have, together with us, built progress in this country '' in a video posted to social media Friday.

The unexpected move contrasted with harsh rhetoric and deportation efforts ramping up in the United States and other European Union countries.

Here are three people who are hoping to get their residency and work permits under Spain's new policy.

A Colombian asylum-seeker

''A week ago, I was living with constant anxiety,'' said Ale Castañeda, an asylum-seeker from Colombia whose temporary permit was about to expire in February. ''I didn't know what would happen to me, if I would be able to stay or not, if I would have to start from scratch again.''

Now, if his asylum case gets rejected, Castañeda has another legal pathway to remain in Spain. He just wants to be able to work and get access to ''basic things," like opening a bank account. One thing he wants to make clear is that he doesn't plan to rely on public benefits.

Like many of the Latin Americans who make up the majority of immigrants in Spain, Castañeda arrived legally on a tourist visa and decided to stay. A queer man, he fled discrimination in Colombia to more progressive, gay-friendly Argentina. But after right-wing, anti-woke Javier Milei was elected, the mood in the country changed and Castañeda was brutally attacked. ''I just had to leave," he said.

In Spain, he finally felt safe.

While Castañeda celebrated Spain's immigration opening — ''It's the best news of 2026!'' — he and other foreigners know that the devil is in the details. The government has shared the basic requirements but the fine print has yet to be published in the official state bulletin.

Castañeda knows how lengthy immigration procedures can be. Even the most basic step, getting an appointment at the immigration office, is such an impossible task that criminal groups are selling them for 50 euros ($60). He wonders how the government will process hundreds of thousands of applications in only a few months.

Spain's Minister of Migration Elma Saiz vowed that her ministry will dedicate additional resources to make sure things run smoothly. ''We want this to be a success,'' she said.

Paulina Valenzuela still can't believe the news. ''I still can't stop smiling,'' she told The Associated Press by phone.

A former architect, Valenzuela moved to Spain after losing her job in Chile. She's struggled to legalize her status for the past three years, falling for costly scams and getting her immigration applications rejected twice without understanding why.

Like many educated Latinas who have moved to Spain, Valenzuela has taken up cleaning jobs to make a living. ''I'll work in anything,'' she said. At one point, she was responsible for cleaning 40 apartments listed on Airbnb, an intense and stressful job that paid little, she said.

The booming tourism sector depends heavily on cheap and informal immigrant labor. A record 97 million tourists visited Spain last year and spent more than 130 billion euros. Immigrants see only a tiny fraction of that revenue.

Physically and emotionally drained, Valenzuela quit in November and has resorted to social services to get food on the table.

''There's always an obstacle at the last minute,'' she said. ''But at least I have hope I didn't have before.''

A struggling man from Pakistan

Hussain Dar, 30, has been in Spain for almost a year and is struggling without papers.

He left his native Pakistan, where jobs are scarce, inflation is high and corruption is rampant, to pursue a master's degree in the United Kingdom.

But he was unable to stay in the UK due to its harsher immigration laws and headed to Spain. Still unable to work legally, he's used up all his savings, sold his computer, and is now thinking of selling his phone. Late on his rent payment, he's spent several nights sleeping on the streets.

Dar is among some 15,000 Pakistani citizens living in the northeastern region of Catalonia without permission, according to Murad Ali Wazir, Pakistan's consul general in Barcelona.

One of the requirements — a certificate of clear criminal record — has swamped the consulate. The window to apply for legal residency in Spain will be short: from April and to the end of June only, Spanish officials say. To help its citizens get the required documents in time, the consulate announced it will even open on weekends.

''I didn't expect that this country was going to be so good, the weather, the people, the culture,'' Dar said. With permits, he and others will be able to work and pay Spanish taxes, contributing to the Spanish economy, he said. They'll also be allowed to visit family back home that they haven't seen in years, Dar said with a smile.

''Viva España! Viva Pedro Sánchez! We love that guy,'' he exclaimed.

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