Spain’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on 1 April that Venezuelan nationals hoping to benefit from the upcoming extraordinary regularisation must file their dossiers before 31 December 2026. The clarification follows a surge in enquiries from Venezuelan community groups worried that their members—many of whom arrived after fleeing economic collapse—might miss out. According to ministry officials, Venezuelans make up the largest undocumented cohort in Madrid and Barcelona metropolitan areas. The government will create dedicated guidance in Spanish and simplified English, and has enlisted NGOs such as CEAR and Accem to run weekend workshops on compiling proof of continuous residence. Consular authorities in Caracas and Bogotá will issue electronic criminal-record certificates to streamline paperwork. For employers in Spain’s care and logistics sectors, where Venezuelan migrants are over-represented, the deadline offers planning certainty. Companies have nine months to convert informal arrangements into formal contracts, thereby avoiding fines under the Labour Inspections Plan 2026–2028. Payroll providers must also prepare for back-dated social-security contributions that will be automatically calculated once a Número de Afiliación is assigned. Immigration lawyers caution that applicants entering Spain after 31 December 2025 will not qualify and could be subject to expedited removal once biometric exit controls under EES become mandatory on 10 April. They urge recent arrivals to explore other pathways such as humanitarian protection or the digital-nomad visa, albeit with higher income thresholds. Venezuelan community leaders welcomed the clarity but appealed for extra staffing at identity-verification appointments, noting that many migrants lack passports and will need emergency laissez-passer documents. The ministry said it is negotiating with airlines to accept expired Venezuelan ID cards as boarding documents on humanitarian grounds.
Source: Catalunya Press
