The Government of Spain plans to offer temporary residence to illegal immigrants who carry out professional training

THE SPANISH government plans to grant temporary residence permits to illegal immigrants in the country if they sign up for vocational training, which is known in Spain as Vocational Training (FP).

This is stated in a draft Royal Decree that develops another FP law that was approved a year ago by the Spanish Parliament.

The new text has not yet been finalized and still needs to be developed and discussed by legislators and stakeholders such as the educational community.

Candidates for these courses must meet a series of requirements, including knowledge of the Spanish language and previous skills in the chosen field.

The plan of the government, a coalition of the Socialist Party and the left Unidas Podemos, was first revealed by the Spanish daily. The worldwhile sources from the Ministry of Education have confirmed the details to the Europa Press news agency.

Although there are no official figures, it is estimated that some 500,000 immigrants live in Spain in an irregular situation.

The objective of the new plan, according to Ministry sources, is “to open the door to vocational training” for this foreign population “and that they have access to this type of training.”

The draft of the planned regulations establishes that “citizens of countries not belonging to the European Union” who have been in Spain for an uninterrupted period of two years “will be authorized” to enroll in these courses.

“The residence authorization will be conditional on passing the corresponding training and presenting an employment contract,” he continues.

Ministry sources explained that this means, in practice, that immigrants will be granted a residence permit while they take these courses and then once they have obtained a job.

In addition, there will be an option for foreign workers to prove their skills, something that was previously only available to Spanish citizens.

Sources from the Ministry of Education added that the idea is to offer shorter training courses, between 600 and 800 hours, which are designed to facilitate quick access to the labor market for migrants.

The same sources clarified that there would be no age limit for applicants, and that the FP system is aimed at the entire population.

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