It hasn’t taken long for the regularisation of undocumented migrants to cause a rise in social security affiliates in Spain, as workers getting paid under the table gain rights in return for taxes.
Spain’s regularisation of undocumented workers has already boosted the number of taxable earners in the country, with the controversial measure proving a quick boost to the number of tax-payers.
The mass amnesty process for migrants has resulted in 159,097 new social security registrations as of 30th June, according to an announcement made on Thursday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
Before the chance to regularise their legal status, many of these applicants will have likely been working illegally for cash in hand (en negro in Spanish).
READ ALSO: Which benefits will Spain’s ‘regularised’ migrants receive?
Now they are becoming tax payers and receiving employment benefits.
Spain’s migrant amnesty has gained international headlines and proven polemical at home.
The fiercest critics suggest that it’s a Socialist bid to socially engineer election results and keep Pedro Sánchez in government, while supporters say it’s a common sense (and tried and proven) way of giving migrants a way to legalise their status and contribute to the economy by paying taxes.
Migration Minister Elma Saiz revealed recently 1,174,978 applications have been registered under the regularisation process, several hundred thousand more than initial estimates.
Of these, 79.6 percent relate to applications based on long-term residence and 20.4 percent to those seeking international protection, EuropaPress reports.
The Ministry’s figures also highlight that 102,649 (77.3 percent) have a permanent contract, of whom 55.1 percent work full-time and 30.5 per cent part-time.
Meanwhile, 30,101 (22.7 percent) are on fixed-term contracts – 61.2 percent full-time and 37.2 percent part-time.
The data also shows that 57 percent of applicants in the process are men and 43 percent are women.
Similarly, 81 percent of applicants are under 45 years of age – that is, working age.
As for the origin of those applying for regularisation, 67 percent of applicants come from Latin America with Colombians, Moroccans, Venezuelans and Peruvians topping the list.
By region, Madrid and Barcelona are the provinces with the highest number of applications, followed by Valencia, Alicante and Murcia.
READ ALSO: Will Spain’s amnesty cause a spike in irregular migration?
