Spain exceeds 200,000 temporary protections granted to Ukrainian nationals since March 2022

Up to 26 February, the Office for Asylum for Refugees (OAR) of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Police have processed and granted a total of 200,154 protections. A total of 61.1% of the people who have obtained this temporary protection are women (122,400) and 38.9% are men (77,754). By age group, 31.3% are under 18; 26.6% are between 19 and 35; 35.4% are between 36 and 64; and 6.7% are over 65.

Moreover, the majority of those granted temporary protection, 98%, are Ukrainian nationals, while the remaining 2% are citizens of other nationalities who were legally residing in Ukraine when the war broke out.

The Valencian Community (55,835), Catalonia (45,150), Andalusia (29,588), and Madrid (28,087) are the autonomous communities where most temporary protection has been processed and granted.

Extension of foreigner's identity cards

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs also extended the foreigner identity cards (TIE) issued to Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection, which were due to expire on 4 March for another year, until 4 March 2025. The order, signed by the Minister for Home Affairs Fernando Grande-Marlaska, was published today in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

For reasons of "effectiveness and efficiency", according to the text of the ministerial order published today, instead of issuing new TIEs, the Ministry of Home Affairs is extending the validity of the cards already issued for a further year and it will not be necessary to obtain a new document. The extension also follows the extension of temporary protection until 4 March 2025, agreed by the EU's Council of Home Affairs Ministers on 19 October.

First activation of the European directive

On 9 March 2022, the Ministries for Home Affairs and Inclusion, Social Security and Migration signed the order implementing the emergency procedure for the recognition of temporary protection for citizens from Ukraine. With this procedure, Spain complied with the agreement reached on 4 March 2022 by the Council of Home Affairs Ministers of the European Union to activate, for the first time in history, the European Temporary Protection Directive.

The mechanism activated by the Office for Asylum and Refugees (OAR) of the Ministry of Home Affairs is quick and easy and grants temporary protection to refugees. The procedure begins at the National Police stations throughout the country and at the authorised reception centres, where National Police officers supported by interpreters are responsible for taking identification data from Ukrainian citizens.

Temporary refuge includes a residence permit and always, for adults, a work permit. Additionally, and under the provisions of the Directorate-General for Traffic, displaced persons that have been granted temporary protection can legally use their driving licences in Spain.

Temporary protection by Autonomous Community (until 26/02/2024) / Source: Ministry for Home Affairs

Non official translation