Spanish authorities have launched an emergency administrative legalization process for migrants already in the country without regularized status. The Council of Ministers approved the relevant royal decree on April 14, and the application period began on April 16 and will run until June 30, 2026. The government estimates that the measure could potentially cover approximately 500,000 people.
According to official explanations from the Spanish authorities, foreigners who were in Spain before January 1, 2026, have lived in the country continuously for at least five months, and have no criminal record are eligible to participate. Certain applicants for international protection are also included in the scheme. The measure is framed as an emergency measure and, according to Madrid, is intended to simultaneously reduce the informal labor market and address part of the labor shortage amid an aging population.
The Spanish government explicitly links the decision to the economy. An official Moncloa memo states that regularization should facilitate the integration of migrants already in the country into the legal labor market and the social security system. Experts note that Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet is presenting this initiative as a response to demographic aging and labor shortages in a number of sectors.
The scale of migration in Spain is indeed very large at present. According to data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics, as of January 1, 2025, the country had a population of 49.13 million, of whom 14.1% held foreign citizenship and 19.3% were born outside Spain. As of January 1, 2026, the number of residents born abroad exceeded 10 million for the first time.
Among the largest foreign groups in Spain by nationality as of January 1, 2025, Moroccans led the way with 968,999 people, followed by Colombians with 676,534 and Romanians with 609,270. The INE also notes that in 2024, the largest increases were among citizens of Colombia, Venezuela, and Morocco, while notable decreases were seen among those from Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
There are also separate official statistics regarding Ukrainians. Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration reported that the number of Ukrainian citizens with valid residence permits in the country exceeded 338,000 in December 2025. This is one of the largest national groups among holders of valid residence permits outside the EU system.
In practical terms, this new legalization could further strengthen Spain’s role as one of the few major EU countries that are attempting not only to curb migration but also to bring people already in the country into the legal framework. For the labor market, this means a potential expansion of formal employment, and for the real estate, retail, agriculture, care, and service sectors—an influx of workers and consumers. But at the same time, the burden on immigration offices will increase; employees of these agencies have already threatened to strike due to a lack of resources to handle the new wave of applications.
Spain is among the group of countries that Ukrainians consistently view positively, and recent trends indicate a further strengthening of this image. According to a survey conducted in March 2026 by the research firm Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club information and analytical center, 63.6% of respondents rated their attitude toward Spain as positive, a significant increase from 53.0% in August 2025.
The breakdown of positive perceptions appears quite balanced: 18.9% of respondents reported a completely positive attitude, while another 44.8% described their attitude as mostly positive. This indicates that positive sentiment is not only growing in quantity but also has a fairly deep foundation, as a significant portion of respondents demonstrate a clearly formed positive view of the country.
At the same time, the share of neutral assessments remains relatively high—33.6%. This indicates that for a significant portion of Ukrainians, Spain is not a country that features in their daily news, yet even in this case, its image does not evoke negative associations.
Negative attitudes toward Spain are practically nonexistent: only 0.9% of respondents view it negatively (of these, 0.5% view it mostly negatively and 0.5% view it completely negatively). This figure is one of the lowest among all countries surveyed, underscoring a consistently high level of trust and goodwill.
A comparison with August 2025 also shows not only an increase in positive assessments but also a further decline in negative ones (from 1.0% to 0.9%). This indicates the gradual formation of a stable positive image of Spain in Ukrainian society.
Overall, the data show that Spain is perceived as a friendly and neutral-positive country without significant controversial factors. It is not a central political or security player in the perception of Ukrainians, but at the same time, it is among the countries with a high level of trust.
“In the case of Spain, we see a classic example of a stable positive image that does not depend on situational factors. It is not the most prominent political actor for Ukrainians, but at the same time, it has no negative media coverage. That is precisely why its perception is gradually strengthening and moving into a stable positive zone,” noted Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Thus, Spain occupies an important place in the group of countries with a high level of positive perception, where the key factor is not the intensity of political interaction, but the absence of negative signals and an overall positive image in the public consciousness.
According to a study conducted by the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center based on data from the State Customs Service, Spain ranks fourteenth in total trade volume of goods with Ukraine, with a figure of $2.80 billion. At the same time, Ukraine has a trade surplus with Spain, as exports of Ukrainian goods exceed imports.
The study was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine press center; the video can be viewed on the agency’s YouTube channel. The full version of the study can be found at this link on the Experts Club analytical center’s website.
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SPAIN, SURVEY, UKRAINE, URAKIN
In July–March of the 2025–2026 marketing year (MY), Ukraine exported 48,300 tons of wheat flour, which is 3% less than in the same period of the previous season, when shipments totaled 49,800 tons, the Ukrainian Flour Millers Association reported on Facebook.
The industry association noted that EU countries accounted for about 35% of exports, although in the previous season the European market’s share was significantly higher, reaching 44%.
The top five consumers of Ukrainian flour for the first nine months of the 2025/26 marketing year included Moldova, which imported 14,900 tons, Palestine – 9.2 thousand tons, the Czech Republic – 7.4 thousand tons, Israel – 4.4 thousand tons, and Spain – 4.2 thousand tons.
“Flour Millers of Ukraine” also pointed to an increase in wheat flour imports to Ukraine. Thus, during the reporting period, nearly 2.3 thousand tons of the product were purchased on foreign markets, which is 21% higher than the figure for the same period last year, when 1.9 thousand tons were imported.
CZECH REPUBLIC, FLOUR, ISRAEL, MOLDOVA, PALESTINE, SPAIN, Ukrainian Flour Millers
As of the end of 2025, there were 7,500,944 foreigners in Spain with valid residence permits, which is 4.5% more than a year earlier. These figures were published by the Permanent Immigration Observatory (OPI) under Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration.
Of this number, 3,804,191 individuals held an EU or EFTA citizen registration certificate, 3,497,284 resided in the country with a residence permit under the general migration regime, and another 199,469 people were in Spain on a TIE card under the Brexit agreement for British nationals and their family members.
Among holders of EU registration certificates and related documents, the largest groups were citizens of Romania—1,136,518 people, Italy—514,054, and the United Kingdom—382,474. Together, these three nationalities accounted for 51% of this category of foreigners with residence permits.
In the segment of foreigners with residence permits outside the EU regime, the largest national groups, according to OPI, were citizens of Morocco, Colombia, and Argentina. At the same time, the total number of foreigners in this segment increased by 9% over the year, or by 288,253 people.
Separately, Spain updated its statistics on Ukrainians. According to OPI data, as of December 31, 2025, 338,576 Ukrainian citizens with valid residence permits were living in the country. The figure was published in January 2026 in a special report on Ukrainian citizens.
Thus, Spain continues to host one of the largest populations of foreign nationals with legal residency status in the EU, and Ukrainians remain one of the most prominent national groups within this demographic.
In 2025, the Spanish housing market reached its highest level since 2007: according to data from the Spanish Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, 752,098 home sales were completed in the country, which is 5% more than in 2024.
Foreign demand remains one of the key drivers of this growth. According to preliminary data from Spanish registrars, foreigners bought almost 97,300 houses and apartments in Spain in 2025, which was a new high and accounted for 13.8% of all transactions in the housing market. At the same time, according to notarial statistics for the first half of 2025, foreigners accounted for 71,155 transactions, or 19.3% of the total number of home sales during this period. Notaries separately note that the growth in 2025 was mainly driven by foreign residents, while purchases by non-residents declined slightly.
The main groups of foreign buyers in Spain are now primarily Europeans and people from countries with high migration to Spain itself. According to registrars’ data for the fourth quarter of 2025, the largest shares among foreign buyers were British (8.57%), German (6.67%), Dutch (5.91%), Moroccans (5.30%), French (5.28%), Romanians (5.17%), and Italians (4.76%). Notarial statistics for the first half of 2025 also show the UK leading the way with 5,731 transactions, followed by Morocco with 5,654 and Germany with 4,756.
Ukrainians also occupy a prominent place in this structure. According to data based on Spanish notarial statistics, in January-June 2025, Ukrainian citizens made 2,165 home purchases in Spain, which was a record for the entire series of observations. In the official Notariado review, Ukraine is also named among the countries that showed growth in the first half of 2025: the number of purchases by Ukrainians increased by 5% year-on-year. The average price paid by Ukrainian buyers was around EUR 1,832 per square meter.
Russians, on the contrary, are losing weight in the Spanish market. According to notaries, in the first half of 2025, home purchases by Russian citizens decreased by 17.4% compared to the same period in 2024, and Russians are no longer among the largest foreign groups in terms of the number of transactions. At the same time, Russians are still among the buyers with above-average purchase prices for foreigners.
Geographically, foreign demand is most noticeable on the coast and islands. According to registrars, the share of foreign buyers is particularly high in the Balearic Islands (32.8%), the Valencian Community (29.6%), the Canary Islands (24.5%), Murcia (22.8%), Catalonia (16.5%), and Andalusia (14%). Notaries also highlight Alicante, the Balearic Islands, Malaga, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife as the main areas of concentration for transactions with foreigners.
Thus, the Spanish housing market is currently being fuelled by two foreign flows: non-resident buyers, especially from Northern and Western Europe, and migrants who already live and work in Spain. According to notarial statistics, it is the second group that will be the main factor in maintaining record demand for housing in 2025.
The Tea&Food division of Biosphere Corporation, represented by the Graff and Ritz Barton brands, increased its production and sales by 2.5 times compared to the previous year, according to the company’s press service.
According to the report, sales volume increased from 1.4 million packs in 2024 to 3.5 million packs in 2025. Monthly turnover at the end of the year exceeded UAH 35 million, and the Graff brand entered the top 4 tea brands in Ukraine in terms of sales volume in retail chains. The company’s share of the domestic tea market is estimated at 5%.
“The growth of our tea business was driven by a strong marketing strategy and the development of relationships with major retail chains. The next step in our development is international expansion,” said Andriy Zdesenko, founder and CEO of Biosphere Corporation.
CupSoul CEO Iryna Broslavtseva emphasized the brand’s readiness to compete in foreign markets.
“The quality of our tea has been recognized not only by Ukrainian consumers, but also by numerous awards, including international ones. This proves that we are creating a European-quality product in Ukraine that can be competitive in foreign markets,” the press service quoted Broslavtseva as saying.
CupSoul, which is responsible for the tea division within the corporation, added that at the end of 2025, it began exporting Graff tea to Spain. During 2026, it plans to enter the Canadian market and further expand in Europe, particularly in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, where the trademark has already been registered.
Despite a rocket attack on the production complex in Dnipro in the spring of 2025, which damaged the workshop and destroyed raw material stocks, the company resumed production within a month. Currently, the tea range includes 124 items. Over the past year, the brand has received a number of professional awards, including the Red Dot Award for packaging design and bronze awards at the Effie Awards Ukraine.
Biosphere Corporation is a leading manufacturer and distributor of household and personal hygiene products in Ukraine and one of the leaders in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Its production facilities consist of six modern factories in Ukraine and two in Europe. Its portfolio of 25 brands includes Freken BOK, Smile, Novita, Lady Cotton, PRO service, Alufix, Vortex, Graff, and others, with about 2,000 SKUs. According to the release, Biosphere products are represented in more than 25 countries and over 100 retail chains, including METRO, Auchan, Spar, Billa, Carrefour, Albert, and Hofer.
The founder and CEO of the corporation is Andriy Zdesenko.
