Policy Document
Organic Law 4/2000, of 11 January 2000, on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration
Benefits & Requirements
Coverage: Eligible groups or beneficiaries
Third Country Nationals, Refugees, Asylees
Read the Law
Original full text source in native language
Boletín Oficial del Estado nº10 del 11 de enero de 2000
Original full text web source in native language
Secondary Literature & Sources
Secondary literature
- Manrubia Costa, I., "Bibliografía sobre extranjería e inmigración". Revista Catalana del Dret Public (40) (2010): 1-13.
- Aja, E. et al. "La nueva regulación de la inmigración en España". Valencia, Institut de Dret Públic, Tirant lo Blanch (2000).
- Alonso Olea, M. "Apuntes sobre las leyes de extranjería del año 2000". Civitas, Madrid (2001).
- Álvarez-Cienfuegos Suárez, J. M. "Reflexiones sobre la nueva Ley de extranjería". Cuadernos de Derecho Judicial (8) (2001).
- López-Muñiz Goñi, M. "La nueva Ley de extranjería". Colex, Madrid (2006).
- Moya Escudero, M. "Comentario sistemático a la Ley de extranjería". Comares, Granada (2001).
- Santolaya Machetti, P. "Comentarios a la nueva Ley de extranjería". Lex Nova, Valladolid (2000).
-Ruiloba García, E. "Spain". In Adam, C., & Devillard, A. "Comparative study of the laws in the 27 EU member states for legal immigration including an assessment of the conditions and formalities imposed by each member state for newcomers". IOM, Geneva (2008).
- Sacristán Romero, F. "Marco legal del contingente de empleados extranjeros estables y temporeros en España". El Amauta (4) (2008)
- CES. "Proyecto de Real Decreto por el que se aprueba el reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 4/2000, de 11 de enero, sobre derechos y libertades de los extranjeros en España y su integración social". CES, Madrid (2004).
- Gutiérrez Espada, C. "El derecho de reunificación familiar del extranjero en España (desde la perspectiva de un internacionalista)". Anales de Historia Contemporánea (19) (2003).
- Abarca Junco, A.P., & Vargas Gómez-Urrutia, M. "El régimen jurídico de los estudiantes e investigadores extranjeros en España". Revista Electrónica de Estudios Internacionales (17) (2009).
- Cuenca Moreno, F. "Materialización: Expulsión, Devolución y Retorno". Estudios Jurídicos (2004): 2906-2940.
- Barros, L. et al. "L´immigration irrégulière subsaharienne à travers et vers le Maroc". Cahiers des migrations internationales 54(F) (2002).
- Pereda, C et al. "Inmigración y vivienda en España". Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, Madrid (2005).
- Álvarez del Cuvillo, A. "La adaptación del modelo español de regulación de las migraciones laborales a los cambios económicos y sociales". Estudios Financieros. Revista de trabajo y seguridad social: Comentarios, Casos Prácticos: Recursos humanos (351) (2012).
- Santaolalla, P. "España". In Aja, E. & Diéz, L. "La regulación de la inmigración en Europa". Fundación la Caixa, Barcelona (2005).
- Red Acoge. "La práctica administrativa en materia de extranjería e integración". Red Acoge, Madrid 2008.
- Quirós Fons, A. "La reagrupación familiar de extranjeros en España: régimen aplicable y propuestas". Universidad de Murcia, Murcia (2006).
- Carrillo Carrillo, B. "Cuestiones Prácticas Relativas a las Condiciones de Entrada de los Extranjeros en España". Anales de Derecho (23) (2005): 145-186.
Links to databases and sources for the analysis or evaluation of this policy field
ImPol is a new database containing information on the immigration policies of different European countries by year, from 1960 to the present. Legal texts are considered to include international treaties, laws, decrees, circulars, instructions, and judgments dealing with the entry of foreigners into France, Italy, Spain, and the UK, through five main channels: short stays, work, family, study, and irregular entry. Information about return policies and distinctions between temporary and permanent migration, as well as between low-, mid-, and high-skilled work, are also introduced.
ImPol concentrates on national policies but European Union Directives are also considered when they are ratified by each Member State. In addition to reflecting the general legal conditions of entry for foreigners in different European countries, the conditions and requirements specific to some national groups, including Argentineans, Moroccans, Indians, Romanians, Ukrainians, and Senegalese, among others, on the basis of bilateral agreements, were taken into account whenever applicable.
The type of information contained in the ImPol dataset can be used for a wide range of both contextual and statistical analyses, as the legal texts have been systematically codified into quantitative indicators. In addition, the dataset, which was conceived during the MAFE Project (Migration Between Africa and Europe), largely remains a work in progress, since both new indicators and new destination countries are continually being added, as part of the research effort funded by the EU Commission through the TEMPER Project (Temporary versus Permanent Migration, http://www.temperproject.eu).
Comments & Clarifications
The major implications of this law relate to:
Article 6: Migrants can vote in local elections.
Article 17: Foreigners can request family reunification for: their spouses; their children and the children of their spouses who are minors or disabled and unmarried; minors or people with disabilities whose legal representative is the sponsor; their ascendants, if they are they are economically dependant on the applicant; other family members when there are humanitarian reasons; and the foreign family members of Spanish nationals.
Article 29: Temporary residence lasts from 90 days to five years and can be renewed if the migrant can demonstrate the economic means to subsist during the stay.
Article 30: Permanent residence can be requested by those who have resided in Spain for five years.
Article 33: Foreigners over 16 can work in Spain if they have a work permit or administrative authorisations.
Article 35: Before issuing the work permit, the State will consider the national employment situation. The work permit will last less than five years and can be limited to a concrete territory, sector, or activity. The permits can be renewed. The renewed permit will not have any limitations. After five years the permit becomes permanent.
Article 39: Foreign technicians and scientists invited or hired by the state do not require a work permit. The same is the case for foreign teachers invited or hired by a Spanish university. Foreign directors and teachers belonging to foreign cultural institutions recognised by the State, who come to Spain to carry out cultural or teaching activities, also do not require a permit. Foreign officials who come to cooperate with the State, foreign media correspondents, artists who come to do specific shows, foreign religious workers, and foreign trade union members also do not need a permit. Those who were Spanish but lost their nationality, foreigners married to Spanish nationals, foreigners who have Spanish ascendants or descendants, foreigners born and residing in Spain, and foreigners with a permanent residence permit also do not need the work permit.
Article 40: Foreigners will be considered upon admittance to an educational centre in Spain; the permit will be valid for the duration of the course and can be renewed if the course lasts for multiple years. Students are not allowed to work, although they can take on a part-time job or fixed-term work that does not interfere with the course. Employment as an 'au pair' is allowed.
Article 53: When foreigners commit a felony they can be deported. Individuals who cannot be deported include: those born in Spain who have resided in the country for the last five years; those who have permanent residence; those who were Spanish at birth and lost their nationality; beneficiaries of a permanent disability pension due to a disease or accident that occurred in Spain; beneficiaries of unemployment benefits; and beneficiaries of a social insertion benefit. Spouses of foreigners, ascendants, minors, people with disabilities, and pregnant women who have resided in the country for more than two years can also not be deported.
Article 56: Foreigners at the border who are not allowed to enter the country will be returned to their departure points. If the return takes more than 72 hours they can be held at a detention centre for foreigners.
Article 58: Migrants in the process of deportation will be held at a detention centre for foreigners. They cannot be held in these centres for more than 40 days.