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No major differences are reported between the situation of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection. See the section on Reception Conditions: Access to Education.
Nonetheless, concerning this topic and many others related to their rights and protection, refugee unaccompanied minors are the most vulnerable collective, and are sometimes excluded from education or vocational training. Obstacles faced by these minors concern the lack of proper attention paid by administrations that have their legal guardianship.
In the past years, several cases were reported concerning unaccompanied minors, highlighting the shortcomings of the public system for minors’ protection, which have mainly been witnessed in the City of Melilla and Madrid. Although none of the reported cases concerned directly refugee children, the system in which they are received faces problems and obstacles concerning their documentation, their integration and their protection. Following the denunciations and calls to the Spanish Government by different bodies (including the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Spanish Ombudsperson, Parliament’s members, the Spanish Commissioner against Child Poverty, etc.).
In a decision taken in June 2024, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child established that the administrative processes impeding school registration of a child in Melilla only on the grounds of her being a Moroccan national constituted discrimination.[1]
In its 2025 World Report, Human Rights Watch reported the concern expressed by the Spanish Ombudsperson about the lack of sufficient places in schools for migrant children arriving in the Canary Islands compared to high numbers of demands.[2]
During 2025, UNHCR supported refugee inclusion in higher education by providing expert advice on the design of initiatives and by connecting refugees with opportunities offered by universities. UNHCR has also supported a feasibility study on the implementation of the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees in Spain (EUQPR) commissioned by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities to the Carlos III University in Madrid.[3]
During the summer of 2025, some Universities (i.e. Universidad de Granda, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) launched calls for financial support for the academic year 2025/2026 addressed to asylum seekers and refugees.[4]
In November, the University of Granada launched a collaborative project with the infant and primary school ‘San José’ in the city, aimed at facilitating the linguistic and social integration of migrant and refugee children and their families in classrooms.[5]
[1] United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Committee on the Rights of the Child, ‘Views adopted by the Committee under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, concerning communication No. 165/2021’, 28 June 2024, available here.
[2] Human Rights Watch, ‘World Report 2025. Spain – Events for 2024’, January 2025, available here.
[3] Information provided by UNHCR in March 2026.
[4] Info Migrantes, ‘Refugiados y solicitantes de asilo podrán optar a ayudas para continuar sus estudios universitarios’, 29 July 2025, available here; Universidad de Granada, ‘Ayudas para estudiantes de grado, máster y doctorado refugiadas/os o demandantes de protección internacional en el curso académico 2025/2026’, 30 July 2025, available here.
[5] Universidad de Granada, ‘Proyecto para favorecer la inclusión lingüística y cultural de niños inmigrantes y refugiados’, 18 November 2025, available here.