The spoils of Laurentiu Barldamu's two years in Spain are modest: €1,500 ($2,000, £1,000) in savings and a 10-year-old Ford Escort with dented doors. But the 24-year-old Romanian, who earns €800 a month delivering fish, is optimistic that one day he will upgrade his vehicle and buy a house back home.

For many of the 4m immigrants who have flooded into Spain in the past five years, the country holds the promise of a living that would take months or years to earn in their country of origin.