The vast scheme was predicted to benefit around 500,000 people, most from Latin America, when the left-wing government launched it in April."The more than one million applications submitted... show how necessary this recognition of rights and responsibilities was," Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told an event in Madrid.Sanchez has become a standard bearer of more open immigration policies as his European neighbours -- including some Socialist peers -- toughen measures in response to pressure from ascendant far-right parties.He has long argued that immigrants are needed to sustain the economy, the welfare state and pensions as Spain's population ages and people leave rural regions."When we condemn a person to invisibility, I think we make our country a worse country. We all lose," Sanchez said."We want the world to view Spain as a country that respects, protects and upholds human rights."The number of applications submitted does not necessarily indicate how many migrants will secure their legal status.Applicants must prove they have a clean criminal record and spent at least five consecutive months in Spain before January 1.The authorities have three months to process their paperwork and decide whether to issue a work and residence permit only valid in Spain.'Huge opportunity'Juana Hernandez, a 59-year-old Cuban who has lived in Spain for two and a half years and whose application was recently approved, told AFP the process "is a huge opportunity".Although she was "a little worried" at the start, the English degree holder now aims to work at Madrid airport.A land of emigrants for centuries, Spain, alongside Greece and Italy, is a key entry point into the European Union for tens of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing violence, poverty and persecution.