Immigration to Spain

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According to the United Nations, there were 5,947,106 immigrants in Spain in early 2018, 12.8% of the population of Spain.{{Cite web|url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/inmigracion/espana|title=España - Inmigración 2019|website=Datosmacro.com|access-date=25 January 2019|archive-date=27 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827132954/https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/inmigracion/espana|url-status=live}} According to the Spanish government, there were 5.6 million foreign residents in Spain in 2010; independent estimates put the figure 14% of total population (Red Cross, World Disasters Report 2006). According to the official 2011 census data, almost 800,000 were Romanian, 774,000 were Moroccan, 317,000 were Ecuadorian, 312,000 were British and 250,000 were Colombian [http://www.ine.es/en/prensa/np756_en.pdf]. Other important foreign communities are Bolivian (4.1%), German (3.4%), Italian (3.1%), Bulgarian (2.9%), Chinese (2.6%) and Argentine (2.5%). In 2005, a regularization programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people. Since 2000, Spain has experienced high population growth as a result of immigration flows, despite a birth rate that is only half of the replacement level.

According to Eurostat, in 2010, there were 6.4 million foreign-born residents in Spain, corresponding to 14.0% of the total population. Of these, 4.1 million (8.9%) were born outside the EU and 2.3 million (5.1%) were born in another EU Member State.[http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-11-034/EN/KS-SF-11-034-EN.PDF 6.5% of the EU population are foreigners and 9.4% are born abroad] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812185554/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-11-034/EN/KS-SF-11-034-EN.PDF |date=August 12, 2011 }}, Eurostat, Katya VASILEVA, 34/2011.

As of 2005 Spain had the second highest immigration rates within the EU, just after Cyprus, and the second highest absolute net migration in the World (after the USA).[http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-NK-06-001/EN/KS-NK-06-001-EN.PDF Eurostat – Population in Europe in 2005] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819191607/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-NK-06-001/EN/KS-NK-06-001-EN.PDF |date=August 19, 2008 }}. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2011-11-14.

Over 920,000 immigrants arrived in Spain during 2007, in addition to 802,971 in 2006, 682,711 in 2005, and 645,844 in 2004.{{citation|first=Soeren|last=Kern|title=Immigration Policy a Casualty of Unemployment in Spain|url=http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=3750|access-date=2009-06-29|periodical=World Politics Review|date=2009-05-13|archive-date=1 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601010004/https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/3750/immigration-policy-a-casualty-of-unemployment-in-spain|url-status=dead}}

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For nationalities outside of this category,{{clarify|date=February 2024}} in order to stay in Spain for more than 3 months, a residence card, residence visa or work permit is required.{{citation|first=Artis|last=Zelmenis|title=Spanish Immigration Policy|url=http://www.immigration-residency.eu/immigration-to/spain/|periodical=Baltic Legal|date=2013-09-11|access-date=16 September 2013|archive-date=31 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031193244/http://www.immigration-residency.eu/immigration-to/spain/|url-status=live}}

Two distinct groups can be identified: those immigrants (mostly in working age) originating from countries mostly located in Eastern Europe, South America or Africa, with lower purchasing power than Spain, comprising most of the immigrating population, and those (of whom many are retired) originating from northern European or other western countries with a higher GDP per capita than Spain.{{cite journal|last=Membrado|first=Joan Carles|title=Pensioners' Coast. Migration of Elderly North Europeans to the Costa Blanca|journal=Mètode|publisher=University of Valencia|date=May 21, 2014|issue=81|doi=10.7203/metode.81.3111|url=https://metode.cat/revistes-metode/monografics/costa-jubilats.html|access-date=August 10, 2017|language=ca|doi-access=free|hdl=10550/50912|hdl-access=free|archive-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810211350/https://metode.cat/revistes-metode/monografics/costa-jubilats.html|url-status=live}}

Immigrants from Europe make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Spain. The main countries of origin are Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria.

The British authorities estimate that the real population of British citizens living in Spain is much bigger than Spanish official figures suggest, establishing them at about 1,000,000, about 800,000 being permanent residents.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/europe.stm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215044739/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/europe.stm|date=15 December 2007}}

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6161705.stm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408081743/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6161705.stm|date=8 April 2013}}

[https://www.theguardian.com/spain/article/0,,1830838,00.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404184450/https://www.theguardian.com/spain/article/0,,1830838,00.html|date=4 April 2020}}

[http://www.advancemoves.com/blog/removals-spain-uk-many-brits-fallen-love-spain/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120130035/https://www.advancemoves.com/blog/removals-spain-uk-many-brits-fallen-love-spain/|date=20 January 2020}}

{{cite web |title=British Immigrants Swamping Spanish Villages? |url=http://www.byebyeblighty.com/1/british-immigrants-swamping-spanish-villages/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223102348/http://www.byebyeblighty.com/1/british-immigrants-swamping-spanish-villages/ |archive-date=December 23, 2010 |access-date=January 25, 2011}}

[https://www.theguardian.com/spain/article/0,,1588156,00.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404184453/https://www.theguardian.com/spain/article/0,,1588156,00.html|date=4 April 2020}}

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6210358.stm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404184454/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6210358.stm|date=4 April 2020}}

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5237236.stm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404184455/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5237236.stm|date=4 April 2020}} Of these, according to the BBC and contrary to popular belief, only about 21.5% are over the age of 65.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/europe.stm Special Reports | Brits Abroad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215044739/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/europe.stm |date=15 December 2007 }}. BBC News. Retrieved on 2011-11-14.

In fact, according to the Financial Times, Spain is the most favoured destination for West Europeans considering to move from their own country elsewhere in the EU.[http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_1406161495 News.bg – Europeans Favour Spain for Expat Jobs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010033728/http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_1406161495 |date=10 October 2008 }}. International.ibox.bg. Retrieved on 2011-11-14.

Unlike other countries in the EU, Spain has not recorded any relevant anti-immigration about until fairly recently.{{cite news|first=Tobias|last=Buck|title=No right turn for Spanish politics|work=Financial Times|date=17 January 2017|url=https://www.ft.com/content/414246f6-dbe4-11e6-86ac-f253db7791c6|access-date=2017-01-19|archive-date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118140000/https://www.ft.com/content/414246f6-dbe4-11e6-86ac-f253db7791c6|url-status=live}} According to some analysts, the causes behind this are multiple. Drawing from the experience of many Spaniards during the 1960s and then again in the beginning of the 21st century when the crisis struck the country, there may be also a collective understanding that hardships force people to seek work abroad.

A January 2004 survey by Spanish newspaper El País showed that the "majority" of Spaniards believe immigration was too high.{{Cite news|last=Staff writer |title=Immigration time-bomb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060528065305/http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=83&story_id=8794&name=Immigration%2Btime-bomb |archive-date=28 May 2006 |url=http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=83&story_id=8794&name=Immigration+time%2Dbomb |work=Expatica |date=23 June 2004 |access-date=11 August 2010 |url-status=dead }} Small parties, such as Movimiento Social Español, openly campaign using nationalist or anti-immigrant rhetoric as do other small far-right parties such as National Democracy (Spain) and España 2000. These parties have never won national or regional parliamentary seats. However, since its foundation in recent years, the far-right political party Vox has managed to disrupt mainstream politics, favouring tough stance against immigration.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/10/vox-party-puts-menace-of-migrant-children-at-centre-of-election-drive |website=The Guardian |access-date=28 September 2022 |title=Vox party puts 'menace' of migrant children at centre of election drive |date=10 November 2019 |archive-date=28 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928083841/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/10/vox-party-puts-menace-of-migrant-children-at-centre-of-election-drive |url-status=live }}

According to an October 2024 survey for the El País newspaper and Cadena SER radio station, 57% of Spaniards believe there is "too much" immigration to Spain.{{cite news |title=Spain to legalise about 300,000 undocumented immigrants per year |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-regularise-about-300000-undocumented-migrants-per-year-2024-11-19/ |work=Reuters |date=19 November 2024}}

Population by country of birth as of 31 December 2024:{{Cite web |title=Población (españoles/extranjeros) por País de Nacimiento, sexo y año |url=https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Datos.htm?t=56937 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224091340/https://ine.es/jaxiT3/Datos.htm?t=56937 |archive-date=2024-02-24 |access-date=2025-01-29 |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística}}

This chart shows the numbers and difference of foreign nationals in Spain after 2000. European Union member states are indicated with the EU flag in regional European sub-divisions. The number of Latin American immigrants decreased massively after 2009 mostly due to the naturalization of hundreds of thousands of these citizens who achieved the Spanish citizenship and therefore do not count as immigrants anymore on the official statistics.{{Cite web|url = http://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20160613/espana-fue-el-pais-de-la-ue-que-mas-nacionalidades-concedio-5201076|title = Uno de cada cuatro extranjeros que obtuvieron la nacionalidad en la UE en 2014 la lograron en España|date = 13 June 2016|access-date = 12 February 2018|archive-date = 13 February 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022340/http://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20160613/espana-fue-el-pais-de-la-ue-que-mas-nacionalidades-concedio-5201076|url-status = live}} See the chart from below from the "Naturalizations" paragraph for further information.

• [http://www.ine.es/prensa/np503.pdf]

European Union member states are indicated with the EU flag in regional European sub-divisions.

• Source: [https://web.https://www.webcitation.org/5dzZdiz9T?url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do]{{Dead link|date=November 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

According to Eurostat 47.3 million people lived in the European Union in 2010 who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 9.4% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (6.3%) were born outside the EU and 16.0 million (3.2%) were born in another EU member state. The largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (6.4 million), France (5.1 million), the United Kingdom (4.7 million), Spain (4.1 million), Italy (3.2 million), and the Netherlands (1.4 million).

The concept of an "irregular", "undocumented", or "illegal" migrant did not become meaningful in Spain's social imagination until the passing of the {{lang|es|Ley de Extranjería}} in 1985, a year before Spain's entry into the European Communities.{{Cite journal|url=https://revistas.usc.gal/index.php/rge/article/view/6143|first1=Elena|last1=Inglada Galiana|first2=José Manuel|last2=Sastre Centeno|first3=Maria Cristina de|last3=Miguel Bilbao|title=La inmigración irregular en España y Europa: situación y perspectiva|journal=Revista Galega de Economia|issn=2255-5951|volume=28|issue=1|year=2019|doi=10.15304/rge.28.1.6143|trans-title=Illegal immigration in Spain and Europe: Situation and outlook|pages=121–122|doi-access=free|access-date=19 November 2022|archive-date=19 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119230948/https://revistas.usc.gal/index.php/rge/article/view/6143|url-status=live}}

Even though the main paths for the entry of clandestine migration have traditionally been airports and land borders, the sea route has proven to have a "profound impact at the social level" owing to qualitative, rather than quantitative, reasons.{{Sfn|Inglada Galiana|Sastre Centeno|Miguel Bilbao|2019|p=125}}

Regarding the governance of the migration of Sub-Saharan people from Morocco (and Western Sahara) into Spain (which include crossings into the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, as well as a sea route to the Canary Islands), the Moroccan and Spanish authorities follow necropolitical forms of border control which are complemented with the favouring of the idea of "advancing borders" by reaching deals with origin or transit countries such as Guinea Conakry, Mali, Ivory Coast, and Gambia.{{Cite book|title=Border Crossings and Mobilities on Screen|editor-first=Ruxandra|editor-last=Trandafoiu|publisher=Routledge|year=2022|chapter=Physical, affective and symbolic immobility in the videos made by Sub-Saharan migrants at the EU external borders in Northern Africa|doi=10.4324/9781003127703|pages=28–29; 34|first1=Miguel|last1=Fernández Labayen|first2=Irene|last2=Gutiérrez|isbn=9781003127703 |s2cid=248337838 }}

On 9 October 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urged the European Parliament to speed up the implementation of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum to alleviate the migration crisis in the Canary Islands,{{cite news |title=Sánchez to seek urgent fix for Canary Islands migration crisis |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/sanchez-to-seek-urgent-fix-for-canary-islands-migration-crisis/ |work=Euractiv |date=10 January 2024}} which had seen the illegal arrival of a record number of 46,843 migrants, mostly from Senegal, Mali and Morocco (up from 39,910 in 2023).{{cite news |title=Spain's Canary Islands received record 46,843 migrants in 2024: ministry |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250102-spain-s-canary-islands-received-record-46-843-migrants-in-2024-ministry |work=France 24 |date=2 January 2025}} Sánchez tried to push through a law that would introduce mandatory distribution of migrants among Spanish regions in order to alleviate pressure in the Canary Islands.{{cite news |title=Spanish leader Sanchez meets with Canary Islands leader as migrant arrivals soar |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/08/23/spanish-leader-sanchez-meets-with-canary-islands-leader-as-migrant-arrivals-soar |work=Euronews |date=23 August 2024}}

The Sánchez government planned to legalize around 900,000 undocumented migrants by 2027.{{cite news |title=Spain to grant residency and work permits to around 300,000 undocumented migrants per year |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/04/11/eu-countries-not-enforcing-migration-pact-could-face-legal-action-says-johansson |work=Euronews |date=4 November 2024}}

{{See also|External border of the European Union}}

From 2005 to 2022 alone, more than 2.2 million foreigners were granted Spanish citizenship through naturalization.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736177001&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735573002|title=Estadística de adquisiciones de nacionalidad española de residentes. Año 2022|website=INE|access-date=5 July 2023|archive-date=6 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706152612/https://ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736177001&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735573002|url-status=live}}

Since the end of the 20th century the number of foreigners who have obtained Spanish nationality has grown steadily, as Spain has been the EU country with the biggest number of approved naturalizations since 2010 until 2015. 1 out of 4 naturalizations made in the European Union in 2014 were belonging to Spain. Most of these naturalizations went to citizens coming from Latin America (which explains the massive decrease of these citizens counting as immigrants in Spain) mainly from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, although Morocco was amongst the top 3 as well.{{cite news |url=http://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20160613/espana-fue-el-pais-de-la-ue-que-mas-nacionalidades-concedio-5201076 |title=Uno de cada cuatro extranjeros que obtuvieron la nacionalidad en la UE en 2014 la lograron en España |first=Silvia |last=Martínez |date=13 June 2016 |access-date=7 June 2019 |newspaper=El Periódico |language=es |publisher=Grupo Zeta |archive-date=22 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422073838/https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20160613/espana-fue-el-pais-de-la-ue-que-mas-nacionalidades-concedio-5201076 |url-status=live }} After 4 years being the first, Spain dropped to the 3rd position in 2015 due to the stricter laws to naturalize citizens. Still, 114.351 foreigners became Spanish citizens in 2015, the majority being Latin Americans.{{cite news |url=http://www.europapress.es/epsocial/migracion/noticia-espana-fue-tercer-pais-ue-mas-extranjeros-nacionalizo-2015-eurostat-20170421124729.html |title=España fue el tercer país de la UE que más extranjeros nacionalizó en 2015, según Eurostat |date=23 April 2017 |access-date=7 June 2019 |newspaper=Europa Press |language=es |archive-date=8 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408120229/https://www.europapress.es/epsocial/migracion/noticia-espana-fue-tercer-pais-ue-mas-extranjeros-nacionalizo-2015-eurostat-20170421124729.html |url-status=live }}

{{excerpt|Immigration detention|Spain}}

{{excerpt|Immigration and crime|Spain}}

{{Portal|Spain}}

• Opposition to immigration
• Remigration
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• Spanish nationality law
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• [http://www.teranga.jimdo.com ASESER Teranga: Asociación de Inmigrantes Senegaleses Residentes en A Coruña] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219123710/http://teranga.jimdo.com/ |date=19 December 2016 }}

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Category:Demographics of Spain

Category:Ethnic groups in Spain