Overview of the main changes since the previous report update

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The last version of this report was updated in April 2023.

International protection

• Key asylum statistics: A total of 163,220 persons applied for international protection in Spain in 2023. Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Honduras and Cuba were the top five nationalities of applicants. Among them, 53.69% were men, while 47.30% were women. As regards decision making at first instance, a total of 35,392 applications were rejected, while the refugee status was granted to 7,330 persons, subsidiary protection to 3,833 persons and 41,487 were granted protection for humanitarian reasons. The recognition rate remained low, with only around 16.62% of cases being recognised international protection. It should however be highlighted that the overall recognition rate reaches almost the 40% if decisions granting humanitarian protection are taken into account. The top 5 countries of persons granted any form of international protection (refugee status and subsidiary protection) in 2023 were Mali, Afghanistan, Syria, Nicaragua, and Honduras. At the end of the year, 106,546 applications were still pending at first instance (see Statistics).

Asylum procedure

• Access to territory and pushbacks: In 2023, 56,852 migrants arrived to Spain by land and sea, which represents an increase of 82.1% compared to the 31,219 arrivals in 2022.^[1] The vast majority of arrivals were by sea (55,618) and the main route for sea arrivals were the Canary Islands, with 39,910 persons who arrived to the archipelago (see Access to the territory).

• Situation on the Canary Islands and in the Mediterranean: Regarding the number of deaths in the Mediterranean, several figures have been reported. The NGO Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) estimates that 6,618 persons died while reaching Spain in 2023, out of which 6,607 lost their life in the Canary route.^[2] It further reported that 363 of victims were women, 384 were children, and that these 6,607 people died a total of 84 disappeared vessels (see Access to the territory).

• Delays in the appointments for registering the asylum application: During 2023, asylum seekers continued to face many challenges and long waiting times to obtain an appointment to express their intention to apply for asylum, and to formalise the application, mainly due to a lack of appropriate 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, a claim lodged in front of the Spanish Ombudsperson, and to the call made by the UNHCR Representative for Spain to the Government to allocate more resources to solve the problems experienced by individuals wanting to access asylum (see Registration of the asylum application).

Reception conditions 

• Continued support to reception authorities by the EUAA: In June 2023, a new operational plan for 2023-2026 was agreed between Spain and the EUAA, which foresees a set of measures aiming at supporting and reinforcing the national reception authorities for the international protection, the temporary protection and the humanitarian assistance systems. In addition, compared to the previous operational plan, the new one foresees support to national authorities to foster common action in reception of unaccompanied migrant children in the Spanish territory, and to enhance the capacity of authorities and practitioners through training and professional development.

• Enhancing asylum reception capacity: To improve the asylum reception system, the Government established it would allocate a total of EUR 190 million between 2021 and 2023 through funds of the Recovery and Resilience Plan. In 2022, the Government announced the creation of 17 new reception facilities for migrants. The construction of some of these centres started in 2023. Following the municipal and regional elections, the right and right-wing parties which won in some cities and Autonomous Communities started to oppose the construction of new reception centres in their territories.

Detention of asylum seekers

• Poor living conditions and overcrowding at the Madrid Barajas Airport: At the end of December 2023, there were reports regarding the poor living conditions of asylum applicants – due inter alia to overcrowding – held in the border facility at the Madrid Barajas Airport. Three judges asked the Minister of Interior to improve the situation. Due to the conditions, a total of 26 Moroccan asylum applicants escaped from the area of the airport in which they were held by breaking a window. The Spanish Ombudsperson called on the Government to guarantee decent conditions for asylum applicants at the airport, as well as the necessity to set up a proper space to accommodate them. Similarly, UNHCR expressed concerns on the situation and urged the Government to find a solution. The NGO ‘CEAR’ asked the Government to allow the exceptional access for humanitarian reasons of those asylum applicants to Spain. The Spanish Red Cross, which provides the social assistance to asylum applicants at the airport, decided to suspend its operations until minimum conditions and standards will be re-established, a decision not shared by the Minister of Interior. The Spanish Government blamed Morocco for the increasing number of applicants present at the airport, and asked the Moroccan Government to prohibit the boarding in the flights transiting in Spain to those passengers holding a passport from Senegal not in possession of a Schengen transit visa, which helped easing the situation by reducing the number of asylum applicants at the airport. CEAR criticised the request as a form of externalisation of borders management, and also highlighted the risks that migrants and refugees can face in the migratory route following such a requirement. In order to solve the situation, the Ministry of Interior allocated more resources and opened a new space (a fourth room) to accommodate asylum applicants at the airport, which will host 162 persons. At the beginning of February 2024, the Minister of Interior declared that the issue was resolved.

Content of international protection 

• Access to rights: Asylum seekers, migrants and refugees continued to face challenges in accessing rights, especially housing, employment, and financial services, partially due to discriminatory practices. Unaccompanied migrant children and LGTBIQ+ persons continued to face social discrimination.
• Refugee participation: UNHCR reinforced community participation and two-way communication with a consolidated Refugee-Led Organizations Network in Spain, composed of over sixty associations, which met quarterly and continuously communicated through virtual channels. The network plays a pivotal role in identifying protection risks and needs, fostering an environment for information exchange, capacity sharing and networking among organizations. Leveraging their capacity as information and service providers and advocacy actors, these organizations contribute significantly to the inclusion and empowerment of refugees and asylum seekers. Furthermore, UNHCR signed new partnerships with Refugee-led organizations through two grants agreements, supporting projects aimed at promoting the inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers. These initiatives, benefitting over 384 displaced persons, focus on providing training and support to young refugees to foster critical thinking and a deeper understanding of the local context. Additionally, cultural and artistic heritage is used to facilitate the integration of refugees, encouraging their immersion into the local culture and fostering connections with other refugees and members of the local community. 

Temporary protection

The information given hereafter constitute a short summary of the Spain Report on Temporary

Protection, for further information, see Annex on Temporary Protection.

Temporary protection procedure

• Eligibility for temporary protection: In April 2023, the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) issued a decision establishing that temporary protection shall only be granted to eligible individuals who do not already benefit from a different from of international protection.

Content of temporary protection

• Extension of validity: An order issued in February 2024 following the European Council’s decision, extended the validity of residence permits granted to beneficiaries of temporary protection until 4 March 2025.
• Residence permits: Until 31 March 2024, a total of 198,537 beneficiaries of temporary protection were granted a residence permit.
• Access to education: A report published by the MISSM indicates that a total of 37,011 students displaced from Ukraine accessed school so far. 29,470 of them were minors. In addition, 2,830 students applied for admission at the university, with 1,801 registering in practice.
• Access to labour market: According to available data, more than 20,593 (53% women) Ukrainians with temporary protection were employed by 31 December 2023.

^{[1] Ministerio del Interior, ‘Inmigración irregular 2023. Datos acumulados del 1 de enero al 31 de diciembre’, January 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3wpzt6se.}

^{[2] Caminando Fronteras, ‘Monitoring the Right to Life – Year 2023’, January 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yckuv3az.}