The Diplomat
Colombians are the nationality with the most immigrants who have regularised their situation in Spain through the modality known as ‘arraigo’ since the regulations were made more flexible a year ago, followed by Moroccans, Hondurans and Peruvians. They are followed by Moroccans and Hondurans.
According to data from Spain’s Ministry of Migration, collected by Efe, regularisations based on the ‘arraigo’ (permanent residence permit) have shot up since the entry into force of the reform of the immigration regulations: last June there were 190,414 foreigners with an initial residence permit in Spain thanks to this formula, 98.5 % more than twelve months earlier.
Twenty-one per cent are Colombians (39,584) and 17 per cent Moroccans (32,418). Next come Hondurans, with 17,160 permits and a profile that distinguishes them from the rest, as 73% are women, while the norm is for men aged 25-34.
Next comes Peru with 12,866 authorisations, and in the 10,000 to 5,000 range are Venezuela – which has climbed several places with an increase of more than 200% in authorisations – Nicaragua, Paraguay, Cuba, Brazil, Senegal and Argentina.
In the case of Brazil, Argentina and Cuba, family roots predominate, while among Hondurans, Nicaraguans and Senegalese, social roots stand out.
The average time to obtain their papers is 2.8 years, eight months less than a year ago, but in cases such as that of Bolivians it rises to 3.5.
The vast majority of those who obtained the arraigo -176,328- had never lived in Spain in a regular situation, thus leaving behind what the Ministry calls “a situation of profound irregularity”.
The largest number of authorisations corresponds to social roots (93,971), while the percentage increase of 190 % for family members stands out, with more than 62,000.
