The Local has spoken to two lawyers to find out if the new decree promising to give the legal right to work and reside in Spain to 500,000 undocumented migrants could apply to ‘under-the-radar’ Brits in Spain who never registered as residents.
The recent news that Spain will give papers to around 500,000 undocumented migrants already living and working in the country has garnered much media attention, both within Spain and around the world.
The new decree aims to “guarantee rights and give legal certainty to an existing social reality”. This largely applies to Latin American migrants who overstayed on their tourist visas and now work as waiters, carers, builders and other low-paying workers in Spain.
Even though they contribute to Spain’s booming economy, without legal residency they receive no public health cover or welfare benefits and are subject to exploitation by their employers.
READ ALSO – Q&A: How Spain’s mass regularisation of undocumented migrants will work
But how about other foreign nationals without legal residency in Spain?
It’s an open secret that there are UK nationals who have lived in Spain for years and never registered as residents.
Even when Brexit was due to come into force, and they probably knew they would become non-EU nationals who couldn’t be in the Schengen Zone for more than 90 days without residency, they never applied for a TIE Spanish residency card.
Some may not have been able to meet the requirements but decided to stay in Spain anyway.
READ MORE: How many Brits live legally in Spain and how many are ‘under the radar’?
The number of undocumented Britons in Spain is unknown, which makes sense given that they’ve been living under-the-radar and potentially getting paid under the table.
Could these Brits now apply for residency under the upcoming mass regularisation of migrants in Spain without papers?
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María De Castro from CostaLuz Lawyers told The Local Spain that the decree could apply to British nationals who never officially registered as residents.
“Brits could apply, but only if they are genuinely considered to be in an irregular/undocumented situation under the terms of the new procedure and can meet whatever proof-of-residence and other requirements are ultimately set out in the published text,” explained De Castro.
“This could potentially be a route for British nationals who did not regularise their status under the Withdrawal Agreement and have remained in Spain (without a criminal record), provided they meet the formal requirements, which still have to be published,” she added.
Barcelona-based immigration lawyer Maryem Essadik of Marfour Law agrees that the mass regularisation would be ideal for British citizens here “since they could all access it and, after one year, change their status, for example, to a residence and work permit if they are offered a job, or to another type of permit depending on their circumstances”.
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If successful, immigrants will be given an initial one-year residency permit with authorisation to work, after that, they can change it for another type of permit, which will be easier to do.
Essadik explained that Brits could also opt for self-employment if they wanted to start a business in Spain, after the initial one-year residency.
“It should be noted that if the requirements are not met after the first year, it will be difficult to maintain residency or renew the residence permit,” she added.
“It’s an opportunity and must be used wisely to avoid losing legal status later.”
Of course, becoming a resident means being on the system and paying tax (usually through work) to get access to public healthcare and other social security benefits in Spain, and this may not suit some UK nationals who have had preferred to be off the grid and ignored other opportunities to legalise their status.
On the Brexpats Facebook group, which provides support to Brits in Spain after Brexit, they have also shared some advice to undocumented Brits who want to take advantage of the situation.
They explain that some of the most useful documents to prove continual five-months residency before December 31st 2025 are:
- Padrón certificate
- Public health system records (appointments, hospital visits, vaccinations)
- Employment or self-employment
- Course enrolment / attendance certificates from town hall or regional govt courses
- NGO or social services records
- Children enrolled in school
- Long term rental contracts
- Private medical records (appointments, reports, invoices)
- Court documents
- Vet bills and pet registration
- School or course certificates
- Car rental docs
- Bank statements showing transactions in Spain, as well as travel receipts and passport entry stamps.
They said the more evidence you show the better your chance for being successful.
Citizens Advice Bureau Spain also posted on their Facebook group confirming that British nationals could be including citing the Spanish government wording saying: “The process will be directed to ALL foreigners who are in Spain before 31st December 2025 and who prove that they have remained at least five months continuously in our country at the time of submitting the application. These circumstances may be accredited with any public or private document, or a combination of both”.
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Some people on certain Facebook groups have also asked about whether this option can be used instead of continuing with the Non-Lucrative Visa path.
De Castro confirmed that “generally, these are two different routes that apply to different situations. If someone has started an NLV process, that normally means they are either applying from their home country or they are already in Spain in a regular situation — not an irregular one — so the two paths don’t usually overlap”.
However, she explained that in hypothetical scenario where someone is currently in Spain without papers (and has no sanction/expulsion proceedings opened) and they were considering returning to the UK in order to apply for an NLV from there, then once the decree is published it could be worth assessing whether this new extraordinary regularisation route is a viable alternative, depending on the final requirements.
