The opportunity to regularize their status in Spain represents a fundamental change for many people residing in Jaén. This process, which has generated over 200 applications in the capital alone, is seen as the definitive step to overcome precariousness and achieve stability after years of administrative invisibility.
For one of the applicants, originally from Equatorial Guinea, this process is a crucial opportunity. She arrived in Spain with a student visa and the goal of training and helping her family. Now, almost three years later, she has initiated the regularization procedures in Jaén, hoping to settle down and, eventually, reunite with her daughter.
“"It's not just about having papers; it's about having your work legally recognized and eliminating opportunities for exploitation."
Community Social Services, the Migra program, and the Homeless Shelter in Jaén are working intensively to issue the necessary vulnerability reports. The extraordinary period for submitting applications ends on June 30, which has prompted many families to begin this process.
Another beneficiary, of Colombian origin, recounts her experience of building a life in Spain, passing through Málaga and Huelva before settling in Jaén. After a denied asylum process, she obtained residency for work reasons. Now, she helps her mother regularize her situation, celebrating family achievements such as one of her children's university studies at the University of Jaén.
A nurse and psychologist from Peru, who came to Spain on vacation, decided to stay after receiving a well-paid job offer. After a period as an live-in caregiver, a job she describes as "modern slavery" due to long hours and low pay, she is now processing the homologation of her qualifications and sees regularization as a turning point for the legal recognition of her work and the elimination of exploitation.
