In order to avoid the labour crisis in the agricultural sector that hit Spain during the general sanitary lockdown last February – which has in turn, led to a significant shortage of food products – the Spanish Secretary of State for Migration announced, On Wednesday, young farmers aged between 18 and 21 who worked legally in Spain during sanitary lockdown will get two-year work and residence permits. These permits will not be restricted to specific regions.
Last February, the shortage of seasonal workers, stranded in their country of origin during the harvest season in Spain, led to the issuing of a Royal Decree on 7 April to recruit unemployed and young immigrants who legally reside in Spain but do not have a work permit.
The Secretary of State for Migration explained that conditions for obtaining these permits will soon be published. Among these conditions is the absence of a criminal record. However, the interpretation of this point must be flexible: if the sentence has been served, cancelled or if the individual has been pardoned, he is considered to have no criminal record.
The Spanish Secretary of State for Migration Affairs, Dr. Hana Jalloul, said in this context: “We believe in work as a tool for integration. Regardless of their nationality, young people need a project for life. We believe in ending fundamental inequalities. We cannot ask immigrants to take courses and trainings if we do not
accompany them at the end of the road with public policies designed for their social and professional integration”.
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