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13 January 2025

Spain: New order for migrant employment and circular migration

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The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration in Spain, through the State Secretariat for Migration, approved the 'GECCO Order' for the employment of foreign workers at their origin and circular migration programmes for the year 2025.

The new order not only addresses labour market needs in Spain but also plays a crucial role in the integration of migrants. By providing structured and secure employment opportunities, the policy helps migrants gain valuable skills and experience, which can be beneficial upon their return to their home countries. Programmes such as the WAFIRA programme (expanded upon below) demonstrate how circular migration can lead to sustainable development and economic empowerment for migrants.

The GECCO Order 2025 introduces changes such as the temporary modification of employment contracts and the possibility of shifting from natural year contracts to contracts based on specific start and end dates. This employment can be carried out to cover seasonal or temporary positions, through circular migration. As was the case for the same order in 2024, the 2025 order also provides for the possibility of collective management of residence and work permits for employment through stable migration.

The GECCO programme contains the necessary regulations for the employment, with rights and guarantees, of thousands of migrants, many of them women, and is an international benchmark within the regular, orderly, and safe migration promoted by the Government of Spain. In the last 2 years, approximately 40 000 people have come to work temporarily in Spain: approximately 19 000 in 2023 and more than 20 000 throughout 2024.

The GECCO Order allows for labour market demands to be met with responsibility and foresight, ensuring the workforce in essential sectors while offering job opportunities and training to people who return to their places of origin. Therefore, as highlighted by Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration Elma Saiz, these circular migration programmes "constitute a tool for mutual growth, strengthening ties with our international partners, and promoting orderly, regular, and safe migration."

One of the most notable programmes is WAFIRA, which will conclude its first edition in January 2025 with an official visit to Morocco by Saiz herself. WAFIRA consists of training and educating seasonal women workers so that, upon their return to Morocco, they can undertake and launch activities that generate economic growth. During the January visit, the various projects undertaken by the Moroccan women participating in the first edition of this successful programme will be evaluated and analysed.

Additionally, the GECCO Order provides measures for the safety of workers, such as the renewal of contracts for the same companies and by the same people each year, as well as containing the requirements for the accommodation that must be provided to seasonal workers and establishing flexibility criteria when the season is extended or when a worker intends to link several successive agricultural campaigns.

In 2025 pilot projects will be launched in additional countries in Africa, such as Mauritania, Gambia, and Senegal, as agreed by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, in August 2024.

Participants in the GECCO programme can obtain a 4-year multi-annual authorisation in which they can work 9 months per year. Once the working period is finished, holders must return to their country immediately and certify return in a timely manner, preferably collectively. To promote job stability, there is the possibility of extending work authorisations after the end of their 4-year validity for equal periods, through an employer's request, having previously met a series of conditions.

To participate in the programme, employers must guarantee the provision of adequate accommodation for the worker that meets the conditions set out in the current regulations, as well as the organisation of their trips, compliance with the contract, and working conditions. Workers must meet a series of requirements, such as fulfilling the commitment to return or not engaging in work activities for companies or activities other than those for which they are authorised.

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Spain
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Posted by
Francesco Pasetti - CIDOB
Country Coordinator

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