After several years in which anti-migrant discourse has gone from remaining to expanding its space within institutions, the Economic and Social Council (CES) has produced a report commissioned by the Ministry of Inclusion to diagnose the reality of migration in Spain amidst such tumult. After the pandemic subsided, and after years of significant growth in the foreign population, the advisory body concluded that immigration has become a structural driver of economic growth, maintenance of welfare systems, and social cohesion.
The document was submitted to the Ministry of Inclusion by Minister Elma Saiz and CES President Anton Costas. “Spain’s migration model creates shared prosperity, and we are not alone in saying that. Our migration policy is recognized in Europe and abroad as an example of balance, effectiveness and humanity, and part of its success lies in the belief that public policy must be based on knowledge,” said the Immigration Commissioner, who received the document from Mr. Costas.
“Since 2019, Spain’s migration cycle has entered a more mature stage. After reaching a peak in 2024, the growth rate tends to moderate and decline in 2025,” Costas said.
The study confirms that employment is the main motive for most migration projects, estimating that over the course of this century eight out of ten people who arrived in Spain joined the active population. “Migration therefore does not constitute a solution to population aging, but is essential to maintaining our country’s population growth and productive capacity, and is decisive for the functioning of our economy, labor markets and welfare state,” the CES reiterates. Spain will therefore need 2.4 million workers over the next 10 years to maintain production capacity, he added.
The CES report confirms that immigration has been an essential driver of Spain’s growth over the past decade. The council said foreign-born people had contributed to the post-pandemic recovery, expanded the active population and sustained the country’s aging pension system.
“This impact has been particularly important after the pandemic, as the intensity of migration flows into Spain played a decisive role in the recovery of activity and contributed significantly to the continued growth in GDP recorded in recent years,” the document claims. “Beyond the short-term economic effects, migration flows “in the long term contribute to increased dynamism in innovation, technological progress, and entrepreneurship, increasing the potential for long-term growth.”
In the case of Spain, the study argues that prior to the pandemic, recent arrivals had low qualification levels, typically working in labor-intensive sectors and in low-value-added and low-qualified occupations, “either not occupied by locals or abandoned by them for other more qualified, better-paid and socially considered occupations.”
However, post-pandemic, “although the qualification gap with natives remains, higher education levels are observed among new arrivals, and their employment in activities with higher qualifications and greater value added, combined with an assimilation process two decades after the influx of immigrant flows at the beginning of this century, makes it possible to examine the relative productivity increase of foreign workers compared to that of domestic workers.”
Avoid unexpected irregularities
CES devotes much of its analysis to the need to guarantee the regularity of immigration. “Administrative regularity, one of the main vectors of social integration, has become the norm among the majority of foreigners,” the study claims. According to their diagnosis, more than half of non-EU migrants have long-term permits, and a significant increase in nationalization is evident. However, he argues that, although they are a minority, the existence of a population that is volatile and difficult to quantify without proper permission is an important issue from the perspective of social cohesion. In this sense, the Council recalls that “administrative misconduct often involves surviving in a state of vulnerability and the risk of social exclusion.”
In this regard, the report calls attention to “the need to prevent and deal with unexpected abnormal situations that cannot be derived from differences in root shape.” Although the report does not present its evaluation, it highlights national legislative initiatives awaiting further processing in the House of Representatives. “Apart from the course of this initiative and the implementation of new regulations, it is worth remembering the need to continue to structurally improve management processes and support resources in order to guarantee the regularity of management and the social integration of vulnerable groups,” he points out.
He argues that immigration reforms in past parliaments represent “progress in favor of immigration regulations that are mutually beneficial for those who come to Spain in search of better life opportunities, and for Spain’s society and economy.” However, the council reminded the government that “there is still room for improvement in the regulations”, recommending that “roots procedures be made more flexible by increasing legal specificity and clarity and adjusting the requirements and pre-stay regime”.
The study also uncovered other immigration concerns. These include slow processing times, a lack of human resources, and disparities in immigration standards between states. It also warned of the impact of digitalisation, which it said had “improved efficiency in some sectors, but created new barriers for those without the technical means or sufficient knowledge”.
It also warns of the collapse of immigration reservation systems, which create structural barriers to access. The organization condemns the prevalence of practices such as reselling appointments and calls for an urgent increase in human and technical resources to avoid this type of practice, which it considers “illegal”.
“All of this may combine to put many migrants in administrative limbo, putting their migrant status, access to the labor market, and access to certain services at risk. Efforts should therefore continue to end the aforementioned practices that may make it impossible to obtain an appointment and to introduce additional alternative mechanisms for obtaining an appointment,” the document asserts.
His analysis also warns that pro-immigration is a central issue in the national debate. “Although everyday coexistence with immigrants in Spain remains largely positive and accepted, the stigmatization of immigration by certain political currents with xenophobia, xenophobia and exclusive nationalist approaches is becoming increasingly recognized as a problem in the country,” he argues. “This negative vision is not born out of direct experience with immigrants, but in the context of misinformation that positions immigrants as an axis of dissatisfaction, social and political grievances, and reinforces stereotypes and hostile attitudes towards different immigrant groups,” he continues.
In the face of this narrative, CES advises governments that the fight against hate speech “needs to propose an alternative narrative that challenges citizens not only from objectivity and reason, but also from ethics and empathy, based not only on real information and data about economic and social realities, but also on dismantling the emotional frameworks that present migrants as a problem and a threat.”
The CES president added: “However, public perception of migration has deteriorated, probably due to its concentration in some regions and insufficient cooperation between administrations in managing irregular migration flows.” In this sense, Costas pointed out that there are three “necessary actions to maintain the positive impact and improve public perception.” This means strengthening cooperation between governments and improving the social integration of migrant women, children, and young people, regardless of their nationality.
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