Seven key points to understand Spain's new immigration law

Spain’s new migration law comes into force this Tuesday May 20th. The law introduces several changes to residency, immigration legalisation and family reunification procedures for foreigners wanting to live in Spain.

It aims to unify criteria between Spain's different immigration offices, improve resolution times, address the legal uncertainty facing asylum seekers, and reorganise visa categories. Over 260 changes establish new categories for managing residence and employment statuses of foreigners in Spain.

The law also seeks to comply with the EU regulatory framework relating to the protection of workers and victims of violence.

There is certainly a lot to unpack, so here are seven key points to help you understand Spain's new ley de extranjería.

New rules for the arraigo familiar

One of the most important changes is to the arraigo familiar, which covers the unification of family permit and the EU family permit. It’s for relatives of Spanish citizens which includes spouses, children and ascendants (namely parents), as well as extended family members who can prove they are dependent on a Spanish citizen.

The new arraigo familiar will now allow children up to the age of 26 to be reunited with their families instead of the current age limit of 21. It also introduces restrictions on the reunification of parents and in-laws which means that anyone over 65 years of age who wishes to be reunited with family must prove that they are financially dependent on their Spanish family member, unless they are over the age of 80.

Changes to the status of foreign students (arraigo socioformativo)

Among the most notable changes for students is that they will now be able to work up to 30 hours per week and complete up to 50 percent of their studies online. Financial requirements have also been relaxed, and can be justified through an employment contract or a firm job offer rather than just savings.

Student permits will be granted for the exact duration of the studies and a new list has been created of schools and institutions which qualify for this permit. Non-work internships and research activities have now excluded from this category, which may limit the opportunities for those in academia.

Reduction in length of stay before residence permit

Previously, undocumented foreigners who lived in Spain had to wait three years until they could become legal and obtain a residence permit. This has now been reduced to two years. Permits obtained through this method will be valid for one year and can then be extended for four more.

New arraigo de segunda oportunidad

The second-chance arraigo is intended for those who already have a residence permit but were unable to renew it. This could have been for not having paid enough contributions or losing their jobs etc. If these people have continued to live in Spain for at least two years, despite losing their permit, they will be able to reapply and become legal again.

It's worth noting that Spain now has five types of arraigos which include arraigo social, arraigo familar (which already existed) and the new ones which are arraigo sociolaboral (for people working), arraigo socioformativo (for people studying vocational training), and arraigo segunda oportunidad (second chance for those who've lost residency).

There isn't an exact translation into English of what arraigo means in this legal sense. It's essentially a settlement process that allows any non-European citizen who has been living in Spain without the correct documents for a certain amount of time to obtain residency and legalise their status here due to special circumstances.

Potentially longer waiting times for all residency matters

While the new law aims to make the situation easier for foreigners and reduce times in waiting for permits one of the unintended consequences will be longer waiting times for appointments at foreign offices or extranjería because of the extra workload placed on them.

Catalan authorities alone say they are looking at regularising the residency and work papers of 200,000 migrants in two years. There isn't an official figure for how many migrants could be 'regularised' under the new laws, but there are mentions in the Spanish press of it being as high as 700,000.

The Spanish government has promised to deploy an extra 750 staff members in already overstretched extranjería offices around the country in anticipation of the addition workload.

READ ALSO: Why waiting times at Spain's immigration offices could get even longer

Changes to job-seeker visa

The new legislation will allow foreigners to reside in Spain for up to 12 months, instead of just three, in order to keep looking for a job or start a business, as part of a new

"This will make it easier for people to find a job suited to their professional profile and, at the same time, for companies to find the professionals they need," explained Elma Saiz, Spain's Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration.

The bad part of the new law

The Spanish government approved the new law six months before it came into force and during this time both immigration lawyers and NGOs have been pointing out errors in the law and criticising its finer points.

Crucially, it could leave asylum seekers whose applications are rejected in a legal limbo for two years or longer, and therefore put them in a more vulnerable situation than they are currently. The new regulations have made protected status and arraigo status for these asylum seekers incompatible.

Spanish migration authorities wanted to prevent asylum requests from being used as a sure-fire way to get Spanish residency by those not actually fleeing persecution, but the changes will allegedly end up affecting thousands who have a legitimate reason for seeking protection.

Spain's ombudsman Ángel Gabildondo last week warned in a report about underage migration that the new legislation could be particularly damaging for unaccompanied minors, "condemning thousands of them to an illegal status".

There are reports that the Socialist-led Spanish government has been rushing to include some final amendments to this legislation which would avoid these issues for asylum seekers but it remains to be seen if they are effective.

Furthermore, some migrant workers who are contributing to Spain's social security system may also lose their working rights, NGOs have said.

If problems persist, there's even been talk of a blanket regularisation of all of Spain's undocumented migrants, a measure supported by most political parties with the notable exception of Vox.