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

Language tuition
Refugees have access to free language tuition provided by NGOs, such as FEDORA, ACCEM,
ASTI, Caritas and the Spanish Red Cross. These courses are subsidised by the State.
School attendance and mother tongue tuition
Refugee children have access to the Spanish school system under the same conditions as those of
asylum seekers. No mother tongue tuition is provided for refugee children.
Access to the national health service
Since 1 February 2000 and the entry into force of the new Aliens Act, all aliens who are registered
at a local council have access to the national health system under the same conditions as
Spaniards. Those who have jobs are covered by the Spanish social security system. Those without
work also have access to the health system but under varying conditions, depending on the region
in which they live.
Unaccompanied minors
Unaccompanied refugee children remain under the guardianship of the Regional Child Protection
Services, overseen by the Public attorney (“Ministerio fiscal”)’
As asylum seekers, they may be accommodated at a special centre for refugee minors (one in
Madrid), or together with Spanish children at a centre for unattended children. In 1992, due to the
large number of unaccompanied minors who arrived in Spain from Bosnia-Herzegovina, some had
to be temporarily accommodated with foster families.
Citizenship
Convention refugees may obtain Spanish citizenship after five years, running from the date they
lodged their asylum application. Other foreigners may only apply after ten years of legal residence.
In addition, refugees and legal residents originating from Latin America, the Philippines or
Equatorial Guinea may apply for citizenship after only two years of residence (counted from the
date of their asylum claim if they are refugees).
Repatriation
The Spanish authorities finance voluntary repatriation programmes through different NGOs. The
CEAR currently runs a specific repatriation programme for Kosovo Albanians, under which refugees
who wish to repatriate have their travel and documentation costs covered, in addition to pocket
money.
Refugees who have repatriated lose their residence permit and do not have the option of returning
to Spain, unless the conditions in their country of origin change. If this is the case, they may be
allowed to return to Spain in order to submit a new application for asylum on the basis of these new
circumstances.
The assistance granted includes travel costs (either in planes chartered by the Spanish authorities
or on regular lines), payment of the fees required for obtaining the necessary documentation
(passport, visas, etc.) and a pocket money of ESP 64,000 [EUR 385] for persons over 18 years of
age and ESP 30,000 [EUR 180] for those under 18 years of age.
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Spain