ICMCEUROPE WelcometoEurope.pdf (5.89 MB)

Spain
Criteria related to integration
Spain applies broad selection criteria
related to integration potential and
capacity, comparing the needs of the
resettled refugees with assessments
of resources available both within the
resettlement programme and in other
programmes or services resettled refugees
can access.
Identification and Selection
The national authority responsible for
asylum is the Office of Asylum and
Refugees (OAR) within the General
Sub-Direction of Asylum of the Ministry
of the Interior. UNHCR submits cases
for initial screening by to OAR, and all
pre-selected cases are interviewed
during selection missions. The Ministry
of Employment and Social Security
(ESS) participate in selection missions
and are responsible for assessing integration
potential and capacity.
The first selection mission took place
in June 2012 in Shousha camp in
Tunisia, where refugees were interviewed
by both OAR and ESS. After the
selection mission, cases were referred
to the Inter-ministerial Commission for
Asylum for final decision-making.
For the first caseload from Shousha,
the processing time was approximately
3 months between submission and
final decision, and refugees arrived in
Spain in July 2012.
Refugee Status, Permanent
Residency & Citizenship
On arrival in Spain, resettled refugees
immediately receive refugee status or
subsidiary protection, including all the
rights and benefits detailed in Spanish
asylum law. They are issued with
an identity card and travel and work
permits. Resettled refugees, as all beneficiaries
of international protection in
Spain, are granted five-year permanent
residence in the country.
After a period of five years of legal
residency, those granted refugee status
can apply for Spanish citizenship. For
beneficiaries of other types of international
protection, the required period
of residency is ten years.
Family Reunification
Refugees in Spain, including resettled
refugees, can apply for family
members to join them. Besides the
married partners, children under 18
and parents of children under 18,
other family members who are eligible
for family reunification include are
unmarried partners, parents and other
family members who are dependent on
the sponsor upon proof that they were
already living together in the country
of origin. The Spanish legislation recognises
the right to maintain family
unity through both family reunification
and the extension of international
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CHAPTER VII