Spain Amnesty Offers Hope to Almería Fruit Pickers
Tens of thousands of undocumented migrants working in the greenhouse fields of southern Spain’s Almería province are applying for legal residency under a mass amnesty launched by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government, Reuters reported on Friday. The programme, which runs through June 30, could regularise up to 500,000 people across the country. In Almería — the European Union’s largest concentration of greenhouses — farm workers and charities say the policy may reshape labour conditions in one of Spain’s most economically vital agricultural regions.
Abdelmoujoud Erra, a 27-year-old Moroccan migrant who has spent seven years in Spain without documents, told Reuters that the difference in wages is stark and immediate. “Without documents you work for five euros an hour. With documents, you work legally, with more money — maybe seven or eight euros an hour,” he said in Almería. Erra has spent those years doing day jobs and living in shanty towns, unable to leave Spain to visit his family in Morocco or pursue a professional boxing career. “I’ve lost a lot of time. If only I had had papers earlier,” he said.
Last month, a fire destroyed the informal settlement where Erra lived. His amnesty application documents survived only because he had stored them at a local Red Cross office ahead of the blaze.
Almería’s agricultural sector operates at enormous scale. According to unions and authorities cited by Reuters, the province has more than 30,000 hectares of intensive crops under plastic sheeting, supplying the EU with tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables through the winter months. The region exports produce worth 3 billion euros annually and employs around 80,000 people. Charities estimate that at least 70 percent of that workforce is undocumented and that approximately 10,000 migrants in the area live in substandard housing.
Andrés Góngora, coordinator of farmers’ union COAG, told Reuters that the sector does employ migrants in the country illegally and that the amnesty would provide stability. A larger legal workforce could allow for the planting of more labour-intensive crops and help build social cohesion, he added.
Michael Aymaga, a 35-year-old Ghanaian migrant who lives in a settlement outside the town of Nijar with intermittent power supply and limited water access, said he was overjoyed by the amnesty. “I would definitely use all my skills and everything I have to help Spain become a better Spain,” he told Reuters.
Regional and Global Impact
The amnesty places Spain at odds with the prevailing political direction across much of Europe and the United States, where governments have moved to tighten immigration controls. Spain’s economy has been among the fastest-growing in the EU for two consecutive years, and Migration Minister Elma Saiz has framed the policy explicitly in economic terms. “Our prosperity is demonstrably linked to our management of migration and the contributions of foreign workers,” Saiz told reporters in April, according to Euronews. “Their contribution allows us to grow economically, generate employment and wealth and maintain our welfare system.”
Agriculture and tourism sector groups told Reuters they hope the amnesty will ease a persistent shortage of workers. The ultimate impact on production volumes and labour costs remains uncertain, Reuters reported.
Domestically, the policy has drawn sharp opposition. The People’s Party has warned it will saturate public services. The far-right Vox party has accused the Sánchez government of seeking to replace Spanish nationals, Reuters reported.
Background
Spain’s population of 50 million has grown significantly in recent years, driven by migration. Think tank Funcas estimates approximately 840,000 undocumented migrants are currently in the Spanish workforce. The government approved the amnesty through Royal Decree 316/2026 on April 14, bypassing parliament, where an earlier attempt at regularisation stalled and where Sánchez’s minority government lacks a majority, according to Euronews. Spain has conducted immigration regularisations six times previously, between 1986 and 2005. To qualify, applicants must have arrived before January 1, 2026, demonstrate at least five months of continuous residence through documents such as rental contracts or municipal registration records, and have no criminal record, the Migration Ministry confirmed. Successful applicants receive a one-year renewable residency and work permit valid across all sectors.
What Happens Next
Applications remain open until June 30, 2026, according to Spain’s Migration Ministry. The government expects many applicants to be people who entered Spain legally and later overstayed visas. Officials have said the amnesty does not confer citizenship, voting rights, or automatic permanent residency. Agriculture groups told Reuters they will monitor whether the regularisation translates into measurable increases in available legal labour ahead of the next planting cycle. The People’s Party has indicated it will continue to oppose the measure through parliamentary channels.
