Author
The guardianship system in Spain is governed by the Spanish Civil Code, which establishes the conditions and defines the actions foreseen in the following different situations: measures in situations of risk, measures in situations of homelessness/distress, guardianship and family reception. The competence of minors’ protection departments corresponds to the Autonomous Community or city which is responsible for the appointment of a legal guardian to its public entity of children protection. The process of guardianship starts with the Declaration of Abandonment (Declaración de Desamparo) by the Autonomous Communities, which is the declaration of the homelessness/helplessness of the minor, and represents the first step not only for undertaking the guardianship of the child but also to guarantee their access to the minors’ protection system and services. This procedure has different durations depending on the Autonomous Community in which it is requested, but a maximum time limit of three months must be respected for the assumption of the guardianship by the public entity of protection of minors, as set by the Protocol.[1]
After the declaration of Desamparo, the public administration grants the guardianship, and the minor is provided with clothing, food and accommodation. Guardianship is usually left to entities such as NGOs or religious institutions, which are financed by Minors’ Protections Services. It implies the responsibility of protecting and promoting the child’s best interests, guaranteeing the minor’s access to education and proper training, legal assistance or interpretation services when necessary, enabling the child’s social insertion and providing him or her with adequate care. Concerning the specific issues of asylum applications, the Protocol states that the guardians will take care of providing the minor with all needed information and guaranteeing him or her access to the procedure.
Shortcoming have been highlighted regarding the guardianship systems for unaccompanied minors, mostly due to the excessive length of the procedures for issuing an identification document when children are undocumented. Moreover, serious concerns have been reported regarding children who have been under the guardianship of the Autonomous Communities and are evicted from protection centres once they turn 18 even if they have not been documented or have not yet received a residence permit. In these cases, children are left in the street, homeless and undocumented. As previously mentioned, in October 2021 the Regulation of the Immigration Law has been reformed and it facilitates access to residence and work permits for unaccompanied migrant children, as well as those for who arrived as children and “aged out” during the procedure, but are between 18 and 23 years old; moreover, it allows access to work also for children turning 16. So far, the reform is having a positive impact on the lives of children, by making sure they are not left undocumented, as well as to avoid situations of homelessness, and it is hoped that such positive effects will continue.[2]
In its 2023 annual report the Spanish Ombudsperson reiterated its concerns regarding the challenges that UAMs face in the Canary Islands, including the delays in undergoing age assessment procedure, and insisted on the necessity of allocating appropriate infrastructures and specialised personnel in the arrivals for the identification, reception and integration of UAMs.[3]
Concerning the right to apply for asylum, Article 47 of the Asylum Law establishes that unaccompanied children shall be referred to the competent authorities on children protection. In addition to this provision, the National Protocol on unaccompanied children makes specific reference to the cases of children in need of international protection, with the aim of coordinating the actions of all involved actors and guarantee access to protection.
Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that there are very few asylum applications made by unaccompanied children. In 2020, 45 unaccompanied migrant children applied for international protection,[4] while in 2021 they were 50[5], in 2022 they were 94[6], and in 2023 they were 31.[7] Statistics on the year 2024 were not available at the time of writing.
Following a parliamentary request, the Government informed that, from 2019 to 30 September 2024, a total of 20,332 UAM arrived in Spain. In addition, it informed that a total of 318 asylum applications were lodged by UAMs between 2019 and 2023 (98 in 2019, 43 in 2020, 50 in 2021, 94 in 2022 and 31 in 2023).[8]
In relation to the low numbers of asylum applications by UAMs, it is worth mentioning that they are protected under the Law on Child Protection, and that the identification of their international protection needs has represented a significant challenge in Spain since many years. Thus, even though UAMs stay in Spain, the vast majority of them do not apply for asylum, due to multiple factors (i.e. lack of information of the right to asylum they have, lack of identification of their international protection needs by the authorities competent on child protection, etc.). Even though among all the UAMs who arrive to Spain, some of them can decide to move to other countries, the lack of identification of their international protection needs represents the main reasons of such low numbers.
Given the increasing numbers of arrivals in Spain, the low numbers on unaccompanied children seeking asylum highlight the existence of shortcomings concerning their access to protection. This is mostly due to the lack of provision of information on international protection within the minors’ protection systems of the Autonomous Communities. A report published in December 2024 denounced the limited access to asylum granted to UAMs arriving to the Canary Islands, despite the high number of arrivals, underlining the lack of training and information of the professionals working with UAMs.[9]
In 2024, UNHCR observed progresses in the identification of unaccompanied children in need of international protection by competent authorities, and in facilitating their access to the asylum procedure. In some locations, regional child protection authorities promoted priority channels with the police, supported by UNHCR.
In the Canary Islands, where high numbers of unaccompanied children in need of international protection arrived, many coming from Mali, UNHCR continued to work closely with the child protection authorities to strengthen their capacity for identification and referrals of children in need of international protection.
Despite the intense efforts by the Canary Islands government, there is still no agreement for the mandatory relocation of the estimated 5,400 foreign unaccompanied children under the guardianship of child protection authorities. Although an initial agreement was reached for the transfer of 4,400 children from the Canary Islands (4,000) and Ceuta (400) to the mainland, the criteria for relocation have hindered the effective implementation of the agreement. As a result, important challenges related to the lack of resources and overcrowding of child protection centres persist up to the time of writing, impacting on the psychosocial needs of children, and leading in some cases to incorrect assessments of age, so that children are incorrectly registered as adults and then transferred to centres destined to adults. In this context, child trafficking is becoming an increasing concern, with a growing number of children disappearing from some child protection centres.
During the first quarter of 2024, UNHCR interviewed 576 unaccompanied children (502 boys and 74 girls) across 37 centres in the Canary Islands and concluded that 55% were in need of international protection. A report was shared with the relevant authorities, highlighting key areas for improvement, recommendations, and UNHCR’s proposed support.
In addition, the two regional standard operating procedures for the identification and assistance of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Andalusia and the Canary Islands, initiated in 2023, were finalised with the direct involvement of child protection authorities in these regions. UNHCR conducted 74 visits to child reception centres, providing international protection information sessions to 2,000 children (1,900 boys and 100 girls) using UNHCR guidelines, child-friendly materials and the checklist for identifying children in need of international protection. Additionally, 572 professionals received training through 27 sessions on children’s international protection. These efforts have significantly improved the identification and assistance of unaccompanied children in need of international protection, leading to their access to the asylum procedure, resulting in an increase in asylum applications from children (over 751 unaccompanied children registered as asylum seekers in 2024, including 606 in the Canary Islands). Despite these improvements and the agreement by the Office for Asylum to accelerate the procedure for these children, the lack of specialized legal aid in most cases affects children’s procedural safeguards, and consequently the quality of asylum applications and the protection granted by competent authorities.
During the last quarter of 2024, a joint project between Save the Children and child protection authorities was developed to create a needs assessment tool for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the Canary Islands. This tool, that should start being implemented in 2025, will enable early identification of international protection needs and risks, ensuring timely referrals to the asylum procedure, relocation within Spain, and tailored protection interventions, such as family reunification.[10]
[1] Chapter VII, para 1(2) Protocol on Unaccompanied Minors.
[2] PICUM, ‘Spain adopts law to facilitate regularisatuon of young migrants’, 18 November 2021, available here.
[3] Defensor del Pueblo, ‘Informe anual 2023 – Volumen I’, March 2024, p. 75, available here.
[4] Ministerio del Interior, ‘Asilo en cifras 2020’, 2020, available here, 94.
[5] Ministerio del Interior, ‘Asilo en cifras 2021’, 2021, available here, 88.
[6] Ministerio del Interior, ‘Asilo en cifras 2022’, 2022, available here, 105.
[7] Ministerio del Interior, ‘Asilo en cifras 2023’, 2024, available here.
[8] Valencia Plaza, ‘El Gobierno dice que 20.332 menores migrantes no acompañados han llegado a España desde 2019’, 30 November 2024, available here.
[9] Irídia, Novact, ‘Vulneración de Derechos Humanos en Canarias 2024. Infancia Migrante y Criminalización’, december 2024, available here.
[10] Information provided by UNHCR in March 2025.