The Spanish government has announced plans to legalise the status of half a million undocumented migrants. Many arrive with student or tourist visas but overstay and start working on the black market.

Migration is a polarising issue in western Europe, so why is Spain keen to hurry up the process of regularisation? One reason is that Spain’s economy has been outstripping its European Union partners. In 2024 the economy grew by 3.5% but in sectors that struggle to recruit enough workers, so Spain wants its migrant population to work in a legal way to keep its economic momentum going.

We meet some of the people the Spanish government wants to give legal status to and speak to organisations that are helping them to work legally.

If you'd like to get in touch with the team, you can send us an email to [email protected]

Presented and produced by Ashish Sharma

Business Daily is the home of in-depth audio journalism devoted to the world of money and work. From small startup stories to big corporate takeovers, global economic shifts to trends in technology, we look at the key figures, ideas and events shaping business.

Each episode is a 17-minute deep dive into a single topic, featuring expert analysis and the people at the heart of the story.

Recent episodes explore the weight-loss drug revolution, the growth in AI, the cost of living, why bond markets are so powerful, China's property bubble, and Gen Z's experience of the current job market.

We also feature in-depth interviews with company founders and some of the world's most prominent CEOs. These include the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and billionaire founder Judy Faulkner of Epic Systems, one of the world's largest medical record software providers.

(Photo: View of Madrid city skyline from a sky bar terrace where people are gathered. Credit: Getty Images)