A points-based visa system, ‘national priority’ for Spaniards in housing and welfare, tougher citizenship rules? These are just some of the possible outcomes of a PP-Vox coalition, which polls suggest is possible following next year’s general election.
Spain’s opposition centre-right Partido Popular (PP) is well ahead in polls (Politico has them 7 percent up on the ruling Socialists) and has been for some time, suggesting that Spain will soon be shifting rightward — something could have a significant impact on foreigners in the country.
Judging by their proposals, if the PP were to win an outright majority, immigration would likely become more restrictive and selective whilst maintaining legal routes.
If they were forced to rely on far-right Vox to form a government, however, politics might change quite substantially in Spain. We could see serious talk of repatriating immigrants (whether legal or illegal) and governing on the basis of a ‘national priority’ for Spanish nationals in housing and healthcare.
In 2022 and 2023, the PP and Vox formed coalition governments in five regions (Castilla y León, Aragón, the Valencian Community, Extremadura, and Murcia), but the far-right party unilaterally broke all these agreements in July 2024 over a disagreement regarding the distribution of unaccompanied migrant children. However, Vox still has executive presence in four regional governments in Spain.
The Local has looked at each party’s policy platform – or what we know of them so far ahead of the 2027 general election – to see how a PP-Vox government might affect foreigners in Spain.
PP
Points-based visa system
The PP has suggested that a points-based visa system be introduced to control the entry of migrants seeking jobs in sectors which need more workers, favouring those who adapt ‘better’ to Spanish culture.
It essentially means more priority would be given to those who want to work in positions in-demand, as well as those from Latin America who can already speak Spanish.
READ MORE: Spain’s PP calls for points-based visa system for foreigners
More deportations
The PP has also advocated for a zero-tolerance policy towards immigrants convicted of serious crimes or repeat offenders. It also plans to extend the maximum time migrants can be kept in Foreigner Detention Centres and revoke residence permits for those involved in criminal activities or radicalisation processes.
Strengthening borders
A big part of the PP’s migration agenda is dedicated to strengthening borders and advocating for a new European Pact on Migration and Asylum.
It wants to increase resources and strengthen surveillance in high-pressure areas such as the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla, and the Strait of Gibraltar. They also hope to strengthen the role of the European agencies operating in third countries, such as Frontex, providing training and materials to countries of origin.
Make it impossible for overstayers to get residency
The PP has proposed toughening up the arraigo residency process if it returns to power, pledging that overstayers will no longer get residency without evidence of contribution or integration. Arraigo is the process that allows any non-European citizen who has been living in Spain illegally for a certain amount of time to obtain residency and legalise their status.
This means that it could be impossible for overstayers and undocumented migrants to regularise their residency.
READ ALSO: Spain’s opposition plans to make it impossible for overstayers to get residency
Formal commitment to Spain
PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has called for the creation of a “letter of commitment” to be signed by immigrants who want to live and work in Spain, committing to comply with the law, respect Spanish customs and the Spanish and European values of freedom, tolerance and pluralism.
READ ALSO: PP proposes foreigners sign ‘letter of commitment’ to live in Spain
No permanent residency without integration
Feijóo has also proposed tightening up access to permanent residence permits by linking them to employment and social integration, rather than simply time spent in the country.
“Long-term residence permits will depend on effort, not on calendars. In general, it will be granted based on criteria of contribution, work and integration, not mere permanence in Spain,” a PP policy document stated.
READ ALSO – ‘No permanent residency without integration’: Spain’s PP warns foreigners
Tougher language and cultural exams for Spanish citizenship
They also want to tighten the requirements for immigrants to gain Spanish nationality by raising “the linguistic, cultural, and constitutional standards”.
One of the main parts of this is that the language requirement will be raised to B2 and “a reinforced test of institutional, legal, cultural, and historical knowledge will be implemented”. The B2 level is two-levels above the current A2 requirement.
READ ALSO: Opposition party calls for tougher language and culture exams for Spanish citizenship
Golden visa
Another way in which a PP government could significantly impact foreigners is in property, with experts predicting that “Spain’s golden visa will return with a change of government”.
Maria Luisa de Castro from CostaLuz Lawyers told The Local that she believes that cancelling the golden visa was a political decision.
“The golden visa was not responsible for Spain’s housing problems, and its cancellation has done nothing to solve them,” she explained. “I’m convinced that once there is a change of government, the golden visa – or a similar programme – will return.”
The Golden Visa, which offers residency to wealthy foreigners who invest or buy property in Spain, was first introduced by the previous PP government in 2013.
READ ALSO: INTERVIEW – ‘Spain’s golden visa will return with a change of government’
VOX
If the polls are right and the PP will need Vox’s support to govern, we can expect the new government to take a more hardline – at least rhetorically – on several policy issues that directly impact foreigners in Spain.
Taken charitably, the Vox approach can be best understood as: Spaniards first.
The hard-right party has previously proposed a bill in Congress that would see citizenship through residency take 15 years instead of ten, a move reportedly targeting North Africans but which would affect other foreigners.
With the far-right party stealing PP voters in the polls, Vox’s rhetoric in recent years has, analysts say, dragged the PP rightward on migration and culture.
In fact, many of the PP’s migration proposals – border reinforcements, citizenship crackdowns, toughening up the ‘arraigo’ process, among others – were originally pushed by Vox, albeit in less diplomatic language, so a coalition government would likely see many of the policies implemented.
At a time when immigration is dominating public debate in Spain, in early-2026 the PP and Vox remade regional pacts on the basis of a ‘national priority’ policy, something that gives us an idea of how Vox might govern, as well as how it can extract concessions from the PP.
What is the ‘national priority’?
According to the text, where prioridad nacional appears six times, it is the “priority assignment of public resources to those who maintain a real, lasting and verifiable link to the territory”.
Vox leader, Santiago Abascal, summed up the underlying motivations when speaking with the Spanish media at the time. Spaniards, he said, are currently being “discriminated against’” in access to benefits and housing, adding that “that is what is illegal”.
The party’s national spokesperson, José Antonio Fúster, has argued that “Spaniards first in benefits, housing and services”.
Looking at the regional deal in Extremadura, Point 6 of the agreement states: “A system for accessing social housing and social rent will be established, based on the principle of national priority and in accordance with current legislation, which ensures that public resources are allocated as a priority to those who have a genuine, long-standing and verifiable connection to the region.’
This connection, it adds, is based on being registered as a resident in Extremadura and they will require a minimum of 10 years for buying a home and 5 years for renting one.
It also mentions that other criteria will be assessed, such as employment status or “the presence of first-degree relatives” living in the region.
This principle of “national priority” also appears in Chapter 7 and applies to “access to all public aid, grants and benefits”.
