Remember me
The minister for inclusion, social security and migration, Elma Saiz, during the press conference following the Council of Ministers, on 10 March in Madrid, Spain. The Council of Ministers today approved the Royal Decree (RD) that guarantees access to public healthcare for foreigners living in Spain without legal residence, thereby seeking to reinforce the universality of the National Health System (SNS) by eliminating administrative barriers.
Alejandro Martinez Velez/Europa Press via Getty Images
Spain expands free healthcare to undocumented migrants, recognizing their right to medical care for the first time. Policy includes returning Spanish citizens, temporary residents, and family members, bypassing parliament via royal decree. Government defends immigration to address workforce gaps, while critics argue it may encourage illegal migration.Spain’s left-wing government announced on Tuesday it will expand free healthcare to undocumented migrants, bucking a European trend toward stricter immigration policies.
The measure will, for the first time, recognise the right of foreign nationals without legal residency in Spain to receive medical care, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said at a press conference.
The policy will also apply to Spanish citizens returning to live in Spain, those residing abroad who are temporarily in the country, and their accompanying family members, she added.
The measure was approved by royal decree, allowing it to bypass parliament, where Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s coalition government lacks a majority.
The government in January unveiled a plan to give residency and work permits to around 500 000 undocumented migrants.
The measure applies to all foreigners who arrived in the country before 31 December 2025, have lived in Spain for at least five months, and have no criminal record.
READ | Muslim group blames Trump immigration crackdown for record high US Islamophobia
Sanchez has argued that immigrants are needed to fill workforce gaps and counterbalance an ageing population that would disrupt pensions systems and other state programmes.
But the right-wing has lashed out at the government, saying the regularisation will encourage more illegal immigration.
Spain’s stance contrasts with the harsh rhetoric and deportation efforts ramping up elsewhere in the European Union and in the United States.
Health Minister Monica Garcia wrote on X after the plan was unveiled:
In the face of the wave of hatred, we guarantee everyone’s right to healthcare.
Spain is one of the main entry points for migrants seeking a better life in Europe, along with Italy and Greece.
Comments (0)