Registration of the asylum application

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The Asylum Regulation provides that the authorities responsible for the lodging of asylum claims on the territory are: the Office of Asylum and Refuge (OAR), any Aliens Office under the General Commissariat for Aliens and Borders (Comisaría Geeral de Extranjería y Fronteras) of the Police, Detention Centre for Foreigners (CIE), Spanish Embassies and Consulates, or police station.^[1] In practice, “registration” and “lodging” of asylum applications entail different procedural steps.

Rules on making (presentación), registering and lodging (formalización)

Persons willing to seek international protection in Spain must make a formal application during their first month of stay in Spain.^[2] When this time limit is not respected, the law foresees the possibility to apply the urgent procedure.^[3] In practice however, the competent authority will reject any asylum application that does not comply with the 1-month deadline when it considers that no valid justification exists for the delay.

The process begins with the presentation (“making”) of the application, which the applicant shall present in person or, if this is not possible, with representation by another person. For persons disembarking in ports, the intention to apply for international protection is registered by the police, usually following the intervention of NGOs.

Upon the registration of the intention to apply for asylum, the applicant receives a paper-form “certificate of intention to apply for asylum” (Manifestación de voluntad de presentar solicitud de protección internacional).

After registration has been completed, the applicant is given an appointment for the formalisation (“lodging”) of the application, which consists of an interview and the completion of a form, and shall be always be realised in the presence of a police official or an officer of the OAR. Upon the lodging of the application, the person receives a “receipt of application for international protection” (Resguardo de solicitud de protección internacional), also known as “white card” (tarjeta blanca). This document is later replaced by a “red card” (tarjeta roja), issued after the asylum application has been deemed admissible by the OAR.

In January 2022, nine persons were detained for forging “red cards” and selling them for EUR 300-400.^[4]

According to the Asylum Act, all registered asylum applications are communicated to UNHCR, which will be able to gather information on the application, to participate in the applicant’s hearings and to submit reports to be included in the applicant’s record.^[5] UNHCR shall receive notification of an asylum application within a maximum period of 24 hours, which is applied in practice.^[6]

Obstacles to registration in practice

Due to the increase in asylum applications in Spain in recent years, which slowed down the functioning of the Spanish asylum system, applicants have to wait long periods of time before getting an appointment to be interviewed by the OAR. Since 2017 and until the end of 2020, there were long queues of asylum seekers waiting to register their application for international protection at the Aluche police station in Madrid. This was further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, rendering it difficult to respect the distancing rules, as pointed out by the trade union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) in the 38 reports it issued in this regard.^[7] In 2021, a telematics system to request an interview was put in place; some problems affecting such system were reported, due in particular to the limited places available for interviews, and to technical problems encountered when operating such system.^[8] As mentioned below, the same problems persisted in 2023.

To shed light on the situation, the Spanish Ombudsperson opened an investigation looking into the measures taken by the General Commissariat for Aliens and Borders (Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras) of the Police to avoid long queues. The investigation further assesses the conditions to which asylum seekers in Madrid are confronted to when lodging their application.^[9] In February 2023, the Minister of Interior informed that the national Ombudsperson started to examine new internal coordination mechanisms aiming at reducing the waiting time between the lodging and the registration of the asylum application.^[10]

The average waiting time for an appointment vary depending on the province. In certain provinces, waiting times could range from 8 months to more than 1 year in practice. Detailed statistics on the average waiting time per province is not available, but practice suggests that they can vary from one month to another or even one week to another, depending on the workload for asylum interviewers have. In 2021, waiting times generally decreased also thanks to the telematics system put in place to ask for the appointment. Even so, in some cases there were no free places for the appointment for the asylum interview, which made waiting times longer for those specific cases.^[11]

In order to reduce timeframes, the administration was set to increase the personnel in charge of registering asylum applications at police stations. However, no significant changes have been observed in this respect.

In May 2022, the UNHCR Representative for Spain expressed concerns for the long waiting time for obtaining an asylum interview appointment, especially in certain provinces, and affirmed that the resources allocated to ensuring access asylum in Spain are not adequate.^[12]

Due to a computer mistake, all asylum applications lodged from the end of January to the end of March 2022 in the province of Valencia went lost.^[13]

In 2022, it was reported that asylum appointments were sold on the black market, with offers published also in Wallapop.^[14] This situation led to gatherings of asylum seekers in different cities to protest, the opening of an investigation by the Provincial Public Prosecutor Office in Valencia^[15], a claim lodged by asylum seekers concerned in front of the Spanish Ombudsperson,^[16] and a call by the UNHCR Representative for Spain to the Government to allocate more resources to solve the problems experienced by individuals wanting to access asylum.^[17]

In order to improve access to the asylum procedure through prior appointment, and to ensure that the waiting time does not exceed 1 month, the Commission of Internal Affairs of Congress approved a legislative proposal at the end of 2022.^[18]

The situation persisted during 2023 and at the beginning of 2024. In January 2023, obstacles and long waiting times to apply for asylum in Burgos was also reported.^[19] Similarly, in Málaga waiting times of up to 20 months were reported.^[20] In February, around 50 persons gathered in front of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration to ask for accommodation while waiting to obtain an appointment for registering their asylum application.^[21] In addition, some NGOs lodged different claims in front of the Ombudsperson, asking to intervene with the competent institutions regarding the situation.^[22] The UNHCR’s Representative defined access to asylum in Spain as critical.^[23]

In April it was reported that the change in the online system to ask for an appointment implemented by the Police in Valencia with the creation of the two telephone lines aiming at ending with the illegal market was collapsed and not working properly.^[24]

In May the Police dismantled a network which used a bot software able to block the telematics system and to create available appointments for the asylum applications, which were later sold between EUR 30 and 200 by intermediaries.^[25]

In April, a representative of the Spanish Ombudsperson met the Director-General of Internal Policy to assess the claims that the institution has received in relation to the asylum procedure, and reiterated the concerns of the institution regarding the access to the asylum appointments.^[26]

In June, around 20 organisations lodged a claim at the European Commission to denounce the collapse of the system of appointments to apply for asylum in Spain.^[27] In August the illegal selling of appointments for EUR 100 was denounced in Valladolid.^[28]

In occasion of the World Refugee Day, the NGO ‘CEAR’ denounced the serious difficulties to access asylum in Spain, estimating that around 70,000-80,000 persons are waiting to access asylum, and asked the Government to solve the deficiencies of the system to ask for the asylum appointment.^[29] Similarly, Caritas called the Government to improve the asylum system and to facilitate the access to the procedure both at borders and the territory.^[30]

In occasion of the World Refugee Day, the UNHCR Representative denounced the gradual worsening of the access to the asylum procedure in the last three years in Spain, and declared the situation very critical.^[31]

In December, it was reported that asylum appointments were being sold for EUR 90 on the platform ‘Milanuncios’.^[32] During the same month, the network of Immigration Lawyers drafted an action protocol regarding the impossibility to obtain appointments to apply for asylum, which includes also the option of suing the Minister of Interior.^[33]

In March 2024, around 100 asylum seekers and 20 NGOs lodged a joint claim in front of the Spanish Ombudsperson.[34] During the same month, around fifty persons in need of international protection started a hunger strike in Chiclana de la Frontera (Andalucía) to ask for their access to the asylum procedure.[35] The same month, a young Moroccan asylum seeker died while in hunger strike to protest against the lack of access to asylum appointments. The Spanish Ombudsperson asked information about the incident to the Public Prosecutor and the State Secretary of Migration.[36] The General Council of Spanish Lawyers denounced the violation of the right to asylum due to the impossibility to obtain an appointment via Internet.[37]

Difficulties in accessing the asylum procedure remained one of the main challenges in the Spanish asylum system in 2023. UNHCR observed a uniform system at state level to access the procedure would be needed. In particular, care should be given to ensure that the system is accessible, secure, and sensitive to all persons wanting to seek asylum in Spain and particularly to those with specific needs. UNHCR also observed that challenges regarding access the asylum procedure impact access to associated rights, in particular access to reception conditions, and increase the risk of asylum seekers’ rights violation, including for those with specific needs.

In 2023, in the context of UNHCR´s collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, UNHCR supported the Spanish Office for Asylum (OAR) with a specialized consultancy to improve access and quality of the asylum procedure. During its development, multiple support documents and proposals were produced to improve access to the asylum procedure and to support the management and processing of asylum cases and decisions with improved quality, efficiency, and greater fairness. Through this consultancy, different tools were also designed to facilitate prompt and safe identification of persons with specific needs and support them through the asylum procedure in conformity with national and EU law, including enhancing coordination with asylum reception authorities to guarantee their referral to adequate reception spaces. Implementation of these tools throughout 2024 is expected to positively impact the system in these areas.[38]

According to practices observed by Accem, asylum seekers have to request an appointment to express their intention to apply for asylum; only after the appointment, they can register their asylum application. Obtaining an appointment resulted however extremely complicated in practice, especially for what concerned long waiting times:

Source: Accem, February 2024.

It has to be noted that waiting times in the table are counted until the applicant obtain the appointment for the manifestation of the intention to apply for asylum. In light of Accem’s practice, we reiterate the existing serious difficulties to obtain the mentioned appointments, especially in those cities where they are given via the Internet, as well as in those cities where appointments are given by phone. It is also deemed necessary to underline that in Madrid and in Barcelona the system implemented doesn’t foresee the necessity of an appointment for the manifestation of the intention to apply for asylum, as the appointments given to applicants (by phone) are directly for the registration of the asylum application.[39]

Source: Accem, February 2024.

Access to the procedure in Ceuta and Melilla

Beyond the mainland, most shortcomings concerning the registration of asylum claims in Spain relate to the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, due to the difficulties in the Access to the Territory. Since November 2014, the Ministry of Interior established asylum offices at the borders’ crossing points in Ceuta and Melilla,^[40] and UNHCR guaranteed its presence starting from mid-2014.

Since its establishment, the border checkpoint in Melilla became one of the main registration points for asylum applications in Spain. ^[41] Conversely, there has been virtually no asylum claim made at the Ceuta border point. This is mainly due to the impossibility faced by migrants and asylum seekers to exit the Moroccan border due to the severe checks performed by Moroccan police, as mentioned in Access to the territory and push backs. This issue also affects Melilla but mainly impacts on the nationalities that can access the Spanish border rather than on the number of asylum claims overall. In fact, most of persons on the Moroccan side are stopped following racial profiling, meaning that nationalities such as Syrians cross the border more easily than persons from Sub-Saharan countries (see section on Access to the Territory).^[42]

Access to the procedure from detention

Shortcomings have also been reported concerning the possibility to claim asylum from administrative detention due to the difficulties faced by detained persons in accessing legal assistance.^[43] In this regard, the Spanish Ombudsperson recommended the General Commissariat for Foreigners and Borders to adopt instructions to establish an appropriate system for registration of asylum applications in CIE in accordance with the law.

In particular, the Ombudsperson highlighted the difficulties faced by detainees in applying for asylum at CIEs. In particular, in Madrid, individuals are instructed to put their written intention to apply for asylum in a mailbox and to wait until the mailbox has been opened for the asylum procedure to start, and the fact that many persons have been expelled without having had access to the asylum procedure.^[44] In July 2018, the General Commissariat for Aliens and Borders of the Police issued instructions to all CIE to adapt their systems for registration of asylum applications to the existing law, following a recommendation made by the Spanish Ombudsperson.^[45] This included establishing a register and provide applications with a receipt of their application for international protection. The Ombudsperson thus reiterated its recommendation to the General Commissariat for Aliens and Borders of the National Police. It seems that the access to the procedure has slightly improved since then, and that detainees are provided information on the right to asylum by the Spanish Red Cross.

Access to the procedure on the Canary Islands

As already explained in the Arrivals by sea section, the Canary Islands were under significant pressure also in 2023 following the increase of arrivals and the lack of available resources. This hindered the access to registration and to the asylum procedure. Some individuals further seem to decide not to apply for asylum because they believe that receiving a pre-expulsion order will facilitate their onward travel to the mainland, as the order contains an identification number that allows access to the irregular migrant reception system and can be used as an identifying document in travel.

In a report on the human rights violations in the Canary Islands published by the NGO Irídia on May 2022, the organisation denounced the practice of detaining migrants who go to police stations to request information on asylum.^[46]

^{[1] Article 4(1) Asylum Regulation.}

^{[2] Article 17(2) Asylum Act.}

^{[3] Ibid.}

^{[4] Avila red, ‘Nueve detenidos por falsificación de tarjetas de asilo, que vendían a entre 300 y 400 euros’, 19 January 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3AdPYmc.}  

^{[5] Articles 34-35 Asylum Act.}

^{[6] Article 6(4) Asylum Regulation.}

^{[7] El Confidencial, ‘Colas eternas y sin distancia: temor a brotes en comisarías por el colapso en extranjería’, 31 July 2020, available in Spanish at: https://cutt.ly/ajaQZ5w.}

^{[8] Information provided by the legal service of Accem in March 2022.}

^{[9] Defensor del Pueblo, ‘El Defensor del Pueblo investiga las dificultades para acceder a la cita previa para solicitar protección internacional en Madrid’, 15 November 2018, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/2StZDxk.}

^{[10] Cope Melilla, ‘Grande-Marlaska anuncia que Interior estudia «nuevos mecanismos internos de coordinación» para reducir el tiempo que media entre la solicitud y la formalización de la petición de asilo’, 15 February 2023, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3ZcShAC.}

^{[11] Information provided by Accem’s legal services in March 2022.}

^{[12] El País, ‘La representante de Acnur en España: “Los recursos para pedir asilo no están a la altura”’, 16 May 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3PwSxFr.}

^{[13] El Periódico de Aragón, ‘Un error informático provoca que se pierdan todas las solicitudes de asilo desde el 28 de enero en València’, 29 March 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3SIl2mm.}

^{[14] Diario Siglo XXI, ‘CEAR denuncia “el mercado negro de citas” para el proceso de asilo, con “ofertas hasta en Wallapop”’, 16 June 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3SF3szL; EL Salto Diario, ‘Personas migrantes y solicitantes de asilo sin cita para acceder a derechos’, 23 November 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3VASpIf.}

^{[15] Valencia Plaza, ‘La Fiscalía investiga el mercadeo de las citas para pedir asilo en València’, 17 November 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3EOZhMN; El Diario, ‘La Fiscalía investiga el mercadeo de citas previas para pedir asilo en València’, 17 November 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3XmruBE; levante, ‘Denuncian ante fiscalía el colapso de las citas de asilo en València’, 2 November 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3FbELpN.}

^{[16] Tercera Informacion, ‘«Sin citas no hay derechos»: Solicitantes de protección internacional sin derecho a serlo registran quejas dirigidas al defensor del Pueblo y se concentran frente al Ministerio del Interior’, 13 December 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3jj2XOk.}

^{[17] El Diario, ‘Sophie Muller, representante de Acnur en España: “El fraude de las citas para pedir asilo es peligroso y debilita el sistema”’, 20 June 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3bNsonY.}

^{[18] Cope, ‘El Congreso pide reformar la cita previa para las solicitudes de asilo’, 19 December 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3FFqvVm.}

^{[19] Diario de Burgos, ‘Atasco en Comisaría para pedir asilo’, 9 January 2023, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3WXvWWV.}

^{[20] Málaga Hoy, ‘Demoras de 20 meses en Málaga para tramitar las solicitudes de asilo’, 6 February 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/4p5a4v4w.}

^{[21] Heraldo, ‘Unos 50 solicitantes de asilo reclaman acogida ante la falta de citas’, 17 February 2023, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3Zk3EGW.}

^{[22] The Objective, ‘Un año casi sin citas para pedir asilo: ONG e inmigrantes piden a Interior el fin del bloqueo’, 25 February 2023, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3kza3zv.}

^{[23] Europa Press, ‘Sophie Muller, representante de ACNUR: “El acceso a la protección internacional en España está en una situación crítica”’, 26 February 2023, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/41z3LjQ.}

^{[24] Levante, ‘El cambio en el sistema de asilo para frenar a las mafias colapsa la oficina de Extranjería de València’, 14 April 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/3fxte64t.}

^{[25] Newtral, ‘Cuando las citas de extranjería se convierten en negocio: la Policía desmantela una red que había hackeado el sistema’, 19 May 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/4pnmxth8; Ministerio del Interior, ‘La Policía Nacional desmantela un entramado que bloqueaba el sistema de citas online de extranjería mediante un bot informático’, 12 May 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/2kne65sz.}

^{[26] Defensor del Pueblo, ‘Patricia Bárcena se reúne con la directora general de política interior’, 12 April 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/mssnt863.}

^{[27] Europa Press, ‘ONG de migrantes denuncian ante la Comisión Europea el “colapso” del sistema de citas para solicitar asilo en España’, 22 June 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/2s3vnn46.}

^{[28] El Norte de Castilla, ‘Las «mafias» venden por cien euros citas de acceso a Extranjería en Valladolid’, 4 August 2023, available in Spanish at: https://rb.gy/7cnx7.} 

^{[29] CEAR, ‘CEAR denuncia las graves dificultades para acceder al asilo en España’, 19 June 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/4y7ck9kx; Canal Sur, ‘CEAR advierte de que unos 80.000 refugiados se quedan sin asilo esperando cita’, 20 June 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/p582857x.}

^{[30] Europa Press, ‘Cáritas reclama “facilitar” el acceso al procedimiento para pedir protección internacional’, 20 June 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/3k4syhra.}

^{[31] Vivir Ediciones, ‘Acnur alerta de que el acceso al sistema de asilo en España está en una situación crítica’, 18 June 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/22k9u4ps.}

^{[32] Diario Vasco, ‘«Mafias organizadas han vendido citas para la solicitud de asilo en ‘milanuncios’ por 90 euros»’, 17 December 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/3b686yaf.}

^{[33] El Periódico de Canarias, ‘Abogados extranjeristas contemplan demandar a Interior ante el colapso de citas de asilo’, 16 December 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/y4f5ft3p.}

^{[34] El País, ‘La desesperación de quienes quieren pedir asilo en España: “Es frustrante poner tu vida en pausa porque no te responden al teléfono”’, 5 March 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/4wy7ae9b.}

^{[35] Canal Sur, ‘Medio centenar de migrantes en Chiclana se declaran en huelga de hambre para pedir asilo’, 8 March 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/4p6sh45r}

^{[36] El Diario, ‘Muere un migrante en un centro de acogida de Madrid tras la huelga de hambre por la falta de citas de asilo’, 15 March 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/ydd7n4k4; 20 Minutos, ‘El Defensor del Pueblo pide investigar la muerte de un migrante en un hostal madrileño’, 16 March 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/55sjkh65.}

^{[37] Consejo General Abogacía Española, ‘La Abogacía denuncia la vulneración del derecho de asilo ante la imposibilidad de obtener una cita por internet’, 26 March 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc2zmpwt.}

^{[38] Information provided by UNHCR in April 2024.}

^{[39] Information provided by Accem in February 2024.}

^{[40] UNHCR Spain, ‘ACNUR da la bienvenida a la creación de oficinas de asilo en puestos fronterizos de Ceuta y Melilla’, 6 November 2014, available in Spanish at: http://bit.ly/1OATaq8.}

^{[41] Oficina de Asilo y Refugio – OAR, ‘Asilo en cifras 2019’, July 2020, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3elpqGn; Oficina de Asilo y Refugio – OAR, ‘Asilo en cifras 2018’, September 2019, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/2Onb39c; Senate, Reply of the Government to question 689/1339, 20 September 2017, available in Spanish at: http://bit.ly/2DHJ1yB.}

^{[42] El Diario, ‘Migrantes que solo pueden pedir asilo si saltan la valla en contra de lo que dice Marlaska’, 6 December 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3BgroCa.} 

^{[43] Human Rights Watch, Spain: Migrants held in poor conditions, 31 July 2017, available at: https://goo.gl/maQ2V7.}

^{[44] Defensor del Pueblo, ‘El Defensor del Pueblo reclama un sistema de registro de las solicitudes de asilo para los CIE que cumpla con la normativa vigente’, 22 May 2018, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/2snaz4j.}

^{[45] Defensor del Pueblo, ‘Interior acepta la recomendación del Defensor para adecuar el sistema de registro de las solicitudes de asilo en los CIE a la normativa vigente’, July 2018, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/2AYji28.}

^{[46] Irídia, ‘Nuevas vulneraciones de derechos humanos a las personas migrantes en Canarias’, May 2022, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3bOrUy1.}