legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

exceptional circumstances still prevail, its holders will be entitled to residence permits which are
valid for longer periods.
The 1,425 Kosovo Albanians transferred to Spain under the UNHCR Humanitarian Evacuation
Programme during spring 1999 were considered as displaced persons and were accordingly
issued with a one-year residence permit. At the time of writing (May 2000) 1,065 have already
returned and another group is planning to return in June 2000.
Suspension of removal
Section 17(3) of the Asylum Act states that “[t]he removal or expulsion of the person concerned
shall in no case result in the violation of Article 33(1) of the Geneva Convention relating to the
Status of Refugees, or lead to the removal to a third state in which he/she will lack effective
protection against refoulement to the persecuting country, in accordance which the abovementioned
Convention.”
During recent months, this provision has been applied by the Spanish authorities to asylum
seekers whose asylum applications had been rejected and who do not meet the conditions for
temporary protection, but who cannot be returned to their country of origin due to conflicts, etc. In
such cases, the person is protected against expulsion, but he/she is not granted a residence
permit and thus remains in Spain without legal basis until he/she leaves the country voluntarily or
obtains a residence permit by other means (regularisation, marriage, etc.).
Rejection at the border
In principle, every alien has the right without legal limitations, to apply for asylum in Spain, to
have his/her claim duly processed and to remain in the country until a final decision has been
made on the application. However, the amendments made to the Asylum Act in 1994 put an end
to the automatic right of entry which previously applied to asylum seekers and introduced an
accelerated version of the general admissibility procedure for applications submitted at border
points.
The same admissibility procedure applies to both border and in-country applicants, with the
exception that the border procedure is subject to shorter deadlines (see “Border admissibility
procedure” and “Admissibility procedure within the country” below).
All asylum applications submitted to the Spanish authorities, be it at border points or in the
country, are always examined on both formal and material grounds.
In accordance with the border admissibility procedure, asylum seekers who do not meet the
requirements for entering Spain legally are kept at the border point until the Minister of Interior
has made a decision on whether or not the claim is admissible. If the application is deemed
admissible, the applicant is allowed to enter the country. If not, entry is refused and the applicant
removed from the territory.
Border admissibility procedure
An alien who has expressed his/her intention to apply for asylum in Spain to the border police, is
requested to fill in a uniform questionnaire for asylum seekers and to then undergo an interview.
At land border points, the interview is conducted by an officer of the provincial Aliens Office or the
Aliens Division of the National Police. In Madrid Barajas airport, interviews are conducted by
officers of the Asylum and Refugee Office (“Oficina de Asilo y Refugio” – OAR), an administrative
body under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior. The OAR regularly offers training courses on
asylum law and procedure to National Police and Aliens Offices’ officers.
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Spain