Spain's opposition proposes making it impossible for overstayers to get residency

Spain's main opposition, the centre-right People's Party (PP), has proposed toughening up the arraigo residency process if it returns to government, pledging that overstayers will no longer get residency without evidence of contribution or integration.

Polling suggests the party will win the next general election in Spain, scheduled for 2027, likely in some kind of coalition arrangement with the far-right Vox party.

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.

The PP wants to toughen up the rules on residency via arraigo overstaying as one of the main measures in its broader new Immigration Plan to be presented by party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo in Barcelona on Tuesday.

READ ALSO: Arraigo - How Spain’s residency under special circumstances works

According to reporting by Spanish daily El Mundo, the policy document calls for "recovery" of the "exceptional nature of the 'arraigo' as a legitimate, effective and verifiable mechanism" to regularise migrants in irregular situations, arguing the process has become overused and too permissive.

The proposals form part of wider plans to restructure immigration and promote "the legal way", which the party sees as "the dignified way of arriving in Spain".

"The core of the Immigration Plan is that in order to stay you have to contribute," party sources summarised.

Feijóo has also called for the creation of a "letter of commitment" to be signed by immigrants who want to live and work in Spain and the PP pushes the idea of “integration with conditions”, which includes learning the language, knowing the Spanish Constitution and respecting local values.

READ ALSO: PP proposes foreigners sign 'letter of commitment' to live in Spain

The party is also promising to implement a points-based visa system for migrants which would favour foreigners who adapt "better" to Spanish culture.

With the far-right Vox increasingly tempting traditional PP voters with hardline stances on immigration, both legal and illegal, the new PP policy programme is viewed by many political pundits in Spain as an attempt to differentiate itself from its political rivals on both the left and right and promote a middle-ground.

The PP platform appears to be focusing on targeted, legal immigration routes, including the temporary hiring of immigrants in a "legal and planned" way to cover seasonal work with a "guaranteed return in time", especially in sectors such as agriculture and construction, party sources tell Europa Press.

READ ALSO: Spain's PP calls for points-based visa system for foreigners

The arraigo is seen as contradictory to this regulated, contributory, points-based model. It is one of the quickest forms of regularisation as it does not require a minimum period of previous residence in Spain.

The PP states that the arraigo must stop being used as "an administrative shortcut to residence" and become "an exceptional visa, subject to merit, which must serve to recognise the real effort of those who, living among us, work, respect the law and contribute to their community."

"It should not become a massive automatic visa but an individual opportunity for those who have demonstrated, with actions, their commitment to Spain," states a PP policy document.

Reporting in El Mundo suggests that party leaders feel the arraigo has become so widespread that it effectively discourages legal entry with employment: "As it is easier to enter illegally and then take advantage of the arraigo than to immigrate legally, there is no incentive to immigrate legally to Spain," they say.

If elected, the party does foresee a necessary transition period for those who are currently in an irregular situation, namely "a transitional regime based on the points-based visa, so that their situation can be resolved quickly."

There are four different types of arriago permits in Spain. There are arriago familiar (family), arraigo laboral (labour), arraigo para la formación (for students) and arriago social (social).

READ ALSO: Will Spain's PP protect foreigners' rights if they get into power?