New immigration amnesty requirements to be confirmed Monday

Town halls will have a "definitive list" of documents that immigrants without a certificate of registration will be able to present to prove residence in Spain before the 8th August 2004 when applying to legalise their situation under the terms of the current amnesty. There is an urgent meeting of the town hall registration commission today with a view to making available a common list of criteria to be applied by town hall staff across the country by Monday morning. 

Government extends immigrant legalisation scheme
Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Employment minister Jesús Caldera (photo, third left) announced yesterday that current amnesty requirements will be relaxed to allow alternative documents -invoices, pay cheque bank receipts, school enrolment papers, etc.- to be accepted as proof of residence.

Previously, applicants were required to provide proof of registration with their local town hall before August 2004 as well as a valid contract of employment dating back at least six months, or three for agricultural workers.

The scheme, which will end on the 7th May, is targetted to legalise the situation of 800,000 immigrants in an effort to take them out of the so-called "black economy" and oblige them to pay taxes and social security contributions. Since the scheme started back at the start of February, just 313,000 immigrants, mostly from South America, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, have applied.

The opposition PP party has criticised the initiative, alleging that the new regulations could open the flood gates to potential criminal or mafia organisations, and that the government should define exactly which documents will be accepted as proof of residence to avoid confusion.

Barcelona´s immigrant hunger strikers vow to proceed
Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Nearly 300 immigrants on hunger strike since last Saturday said yesterday that they would continue the protest indefinitely and aim to occupy more locations. A spokseman for the Assembly for Unconditional Regularisation, Enrique Mosquera, explained that the five locations currently occupied are full, but they hope to confirm three new ones this week, and indicated that they will be re-occupying Barcelona´s Polytechnic University as they did yesterday and Sunday. There are currently 75 hunger strikers in the Espai Obert, 75 others in the Can Vías social centre, 55 in the Iglesia del Pi, 12 in the Iglesia de Sent Medí, and 60 in the Sant Miquel parish church in Santa Coloma de Gramanet.

The protesters are campaigning for the government´s amnesty for illegal immigrants be extended even to those who failed to register with their local town hall. Many immigrants who have had their applications for legal status turned down claim that they were unwilling to register because they thought the information would be used by the police as a basis for repatriation, or were unable to do so because they had no fixed abode. Many also claim that it is very difficult to obtain a certificate from the police in their own countries to prove that they have a clean police record either due to local political conditions or because their country does not have an embassy or consulate in the town where they reside. Mr Mosquera explained that he has asked Red Cross volunteers to provide water and fruit juice for the hunger strikers, some of whom are already suffering from dehydration.

So far, more than 300,000 immigrants have legalised their situation in Spain. The closing date for applications is the 7th May.