The Spanish government will grant one-year residence and work permits to 25,000 migrants affected by the Valencia floods to facilitate their regularisation in the country.
The emergency measure, approved by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, is designed to ease the procedure for those living illegally in dozens of affected localities, mainly in the Valencian Community.
It is part of a plan to recover and rebuild after the October 29 disaster, which killed 227 people and destroyed many homes and businesses. The news, reported by El País newspaper, was confirmed by the Ministry of Integration, Social Security and Migration.
Help for migrants and employers
According to the ministry, due to the chaos caused by the heavy rains, many immigrants were unable to fulfil the requirements needed to legally live, study and work in Spain. Similarly, many employers have been unable to go through all the necessary bureaucratic procedure to hire foreign workers.
The new permits, which are granted in exceptional circumstances, can be rejected in cases of threat to public order, security or health, the ministry said. In addition, foreigners who lost family members in the floods will receive a five-year residence permit.
Spain is an exception in European migration policy
While other European countries are tightening their migration policies, Spain continues to emphasise the importance of foreign workers as a key driver of economic growth and job creation.
Foreigners currently make up 15.9% of Spain’s registered labour force, although many more of them work in the black economy, in sectors such as agriculture, domestic work or elderly care.
Regularising more immigrants
With low birth rates, the Spanish government is pushing the need to regularise more migrants to guarantee contributions to social security and pensions.
While Spain has agreements with African countries to limit illegal immigration, it is also pushing for measures to regularise immigrants already living in the country without permits. Most of them come from Latin America, entering the country legally on visas and then staying.
At the end of October last year in Spain due to severe flooding in Spain, entire neighbourhoods and villages in the south-east of the country were turned into ruins. The cause of such a devastating disaster was a DANA-class hurricane that came to the region; it provoked the atmospheric phenomenon of “cold drop,” which often turns into natural disasters. The flood was the deadliest in Spain since 1957.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez later requested funds from the European Solidarity Fund to help his country recover from what he said was the worst flooding the continent had seen this century.
Spain’s king was pelted with mud and stones in Valencia. However, Felipe VI wanted to continue his visit and said he “understands the anger and frustration of many people because of the emergency situation.”
