MADRID, June 15 (Reuters) - Spain's government has received around 900,000 applications from undocumented migrants seeking legal status under a programme that initially expected half a million requests, the Migration Ministry said on Monday.
The measure, aimed in part at integrating undocumented migrants into the formal labour market, is seeing strong demand in a country that has remained open to immigration even as other European nations close their borders.
Non-profit refugee aid organisation CEAR expects applications to exceed one million by the time the programme ends in two weeks.
Spain's economic growth has far outpaced most European peers in the past two years, partly driven by migrants who have boosted key sectors such as hospitality and elderly care by plugging labour shortages and increasing social security contributions.
Spain has granted 360,000 temporary work permits since April, representing about 40% of all requests received, the ministry added. People are allowed to begin working as soon as their applications are admitted for processing.
Pilar Cancela, secretary of state for migration, told Reuters the state has the capacity to handle up to one million applications between April and June, noting that requests would outnumber permits granted.
Spain has long suffered from chronic delays in its immigration system, with thousands of migrants from Colombia or Senegal waiting years for asylum, which is rejected in over 90% of cases.
These strict policies have left roughly 840,000 undocumented migrants waiting for years to obtain other forms of residency, while living in the country and working off the books as they go through the process, according to think tank Funcas.
"This is an extraordinary programme, but there should be a structural measure to facilitate access to work and residence permits, in order to avoid creating groups of people living on the margins of society," CEAR Director Monica Lopez said in a press conference on Monday.
(Reporting by Corina Pons; editing by Charlie Devereux and Louise Heavens)
