The government said new rules could give legal status — and work permits — to about 300,000 people a year over the next three years to address gaps in the labor market.

MADRID (AP) — Spain will legalize about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year, starting next May and through 2027, the country’s migration minister said Wednesday.

Spain has massive labor problems and hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants. The Prime Minister has taken the unusual step of combining these issues.

Spain's new immigration rules will allow for the regularisation of some 300,000 undocumented migrants per year over the next three years as the country seeks to expand its labour force, Migration Minister Elma Saiz told reporters on Tuesday.

Spain will grant residency and work permits each year for the next three years to about 300,000 migrants who are in the country illegally, the country's migration minister said Wednesday. The policy will take effect next May and aims to expand the aging country's workforce.

Spain is to legalise about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year - at a time that many European countries are seeking to limit or deter migration.

Spain will grant residency and work permits each year for the next three years to about 300,000 migrants who are in the country illegally.