ANNUAL REPORT ON MIGRATION AND ASYLUM POLICY

Transcription

1 ANNUAL REPORT ON MIGRATION AND ASYLUM POLICY SPAIN 2012 N.I.P.O.:

2 The (EMN) is an initiative of the European Commission. The EMN has been established via Council Decision 2008/381/EC and is financially supported by the European Union. Its objective is to meet the information needs of EU institutions and of Member States authorities and institutions by providing up-to-date, objective, reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum, with a view to supporting policymaking in the European Union in these areas. The EMN also serves to provide the general public with such information. To that end, the EMN has a network of National Contact Points (NCPs). The Spanish NCP is composed by experts from the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Ministry of Justice and the General Prosecutor s Office. It is coordinated by the Deputy General Directorate for Legal Affairs of the General Secretariat for Immigration and Emigration. Contact Deputy General Directorate for Legal Affairs of the General Secretariat for Immigration and Emigration (Coordinator of the National Contact Point for the European Migration Network) José Abascal, Madrid rem@meyss.es Internet: EuropeanMigrationNetwork/index.html This document is available from: Internet: EuropeanMigrationNetwork/index.html

3 Annual Report on Migration and Asylum Policy Spain 2012 This National Report provides an overall insight into the most significant political and legislative developments, as well as public debates in the area of immigration and asylum that took place in Spain during the year This Report has been developed by the Spanish National Contact Point of the. December 2012

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5 INDEX EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Structure of the Migration and Asylum policies Overview of the Migration and Asylum policies Political developments Overall developments in asylum and migration Legal migration and mobility Economic migration Family reunification Students and researchers Other economic migration Integration Citizenship and nationality Migration and mobility management Visa policy Schengen governance Border control Frontex Irregular immigration and returns Irregular immigration Return International protection including asylum EU developments: Common European Asylum System and European Asylum Support Office National developments

6 5.3. Intra-EU solidarity, including relocation Cooperation with third countries, including resettlement Impact on social media Unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups Unaccompanied minors Other vulnerable groups Action against trafficking in human beings International cooperation and development aid policy Implementation of European Union legislation Transposition of European Union legislation in ANNEXES ANNEX A: Methodology and definitions A1. Methodology A2. Terms and definitions ANNEX 2012 NATIONAL CONTRIBUTION OF SPAIN TO COMMISION AND TO EASO ANNUAL REPORTS

7 Executive summary In 2012, the immigration policy was based on two focal points. Firstly, on the decisive option for a legal, well-organised, responsible and work-related immigration; and secondly, on a two-way integration policy based on recognising the same rights and obligations, focusing especially on the most vulnerable groups. From a legislative standpoint, health access for immigrants was adapted by guaranteeing equality of treatment for foreigners with authorisation to reside in the country and guaranteeing healthcare for the most vulnerable groups such as minors, pregnant women and asylum seekers, as well as emergency healthcare for all foreigners regardless of their administrative situation. In 2012, a diagnosis was made regarding qualified migration and the investor attraction policy in Spain and, as a result, an inter-ministerial task force was set up in order to create a new visa and authorisation system that will help to attract investment and foster business internationalisation. Likewise, the draft bill for reforming the Spanish Criminal Code introduces a new regulation for crimes of incitement to hatred, violence and discrimination and differentiates, among the crimes, trafficking in human beings and the fostering of irregular immigration. In similar areas, we must highlight the new regulations for the domestic workers regime (a sector with a heavy presence of immigrant workers) and the Plan against illegal employment 7

8 and social security fraud; both instruments will help to improve the working conditions of the immigrant workers. As a result of the job market situation, the number of jobs included in the Catalogue of Hard-To-Fill Positions decreased. In 2012, advances were made in modernising the procedures and the e-administration was fostered for both managing immigration as well as providing access to citizenship. This year, the Visa Information System (VIS) was implemented in the second and third region. Moreover, bilateral technical meetings were held with Mexico and Brazil regarding consular and migration issues. As a result of the European Central Bank s meeting in Spain at the end of April, the controls at some of the interior borders were re-established temporarily. In 2012, border control activities continued with the aim of preventing and avoiding their vulnerability. These actions show the ongoing efforts that began more than a decade ago, with the aim of establishing a safe external EU border. In 2012, Spain s activities within the European agency Frontex continued with operational cooperation, by taking in joint operations in Spain and participating in several operational scenarios such as in the Greece-Turkey border. Moreover, Spain increased its participation in joint flights with Frontex organised at a national level or by other member states. In 2012, the number of illegal immigrants who reached the Spanish coastline decreased, thus reinforcing the downward trend of recent years; this is a visible result of the government s ongoing policy in the fight against irregular immigration. This decrease is directly related to the exterior and interior action to prevent and avoid irregular immigration towards the EU that is being carried out by several public bodies and ministries in collaboration with other member states and states neighbouring the EU s external borders. Spain is aware of the permanent risk of migration pressure since, although it is relatively under control at any particular time, there could be significant changes in migration pressure at any time. In international protection, the Ministry of the Interior signed a collaboration agreement with the Spanish Committee for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that guarantees UNHCR s participation in the procedures for determining the status of refugee and granting the right to asylum. 8

9 In 2012, we worked on drafting an Action Framework Protocol in relation to unaccompanied minors. In human trafficking issues, we implemented the Framework Protocol for Protecting Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings and set up internal protocols at the Temporary Immigration Reception Centres (CETIS) and the Spanish Office for Asylum and Refuge. In migration return policies, the voluntary programmes implemented in previous years continued during Likewise, in the case of forced returns, there was an increase in qualified removals, accounting for 87% of the total in Lastly, in international cooperation policy, 2012 was a transitional year as a result of the end of the 3rd Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation ( ) and the drafting of the new Master Plan, approved on 21 December, for the period. The new plan will provide a more efficient distribution of aid, based on a geographical dimension (prioritising certain geographical areas) and multilateral dimension (maintaining a direct dialogue with member countries and continuing with the programmes, especially in countries that are considered to be associated). The aim is to give Spanish cooperation a new profile in line with the new international challenges and the internal economic adjustments. 9

10 1 Introduction This is the sixth Annual Report on Immigration and Asylum for the European Migration Network (EMN). It includes the political and regulatory developments as well as the main political debates that took place within immigration and asylum in each member state. Moreover, the various national reports are aimed at drafting the Annual Report on Immigration and Asylum that the European Commission submits to the European Parliament and Council. The Annual Report on Immigration and Asylum for 2012 covers the period from 1 January to 31 December Structure of the Migration and Asylum policies In order to describe the current situation, we will provide a brief summary of the institutional and regulatory structure and of the main amendments that took place in Institutional structure To provide greater efficiency in our actions, the administration reshuffled the units with functions in migration issues. In the first quarter of 2012, a number of Royal Decrees were approved to implement the organic structure of several ministries 2, thus continuing the rationalisation and simplification of the administrative structures. The migration and asylum competences are divided mainly among three ministries: the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. 1 The s website provides a factsheet, which summarises the political, legislative and institutional organisation of migration and asylum in Spain, and includes a simplified organisational chart of the administrative structures with competences in these issues. Available on the EMN s website: emn.intrasoft-intl.com/downloads/download.do;jsessionid=9ac35fb5e371f6e991537baedc4e7f7a?file ID= The following are related to this study: Royal Decree 343/2012, of 10 February, which implements the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security. Royal Decree 400/2012, of 17 February, which implements the basic organic structure of the Ministry of the Interior. 10

11 The Ministry of Employment and Social Security is in charge of implementing the government s policy on aliens, immigration and emigration. It is also in charge of the functional coordination of the Aliens Affairs Office. It is responsible for the Permanent Observatory for Immigration and the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for border controls and expelling third-country nationals who do not meet the documentary and procedural requirements. In international protection, it has the competence to institute asylum proceedings and grant or reject the status of refugee and other forms of international protection, at the request of the Inter- Ministerial Asylum and Refugee Commission (CIAR). The Interior Ministry is also in charge of recognising the status of statelessness, issuing foreigner identity cards and fighting against irregular immigration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is responsible for the country s foreign policy and foreign development cooperation. In this area, it deals with relations with third countries with the aim of obtaining collaboration from the countries of origin in order to organise and regulate the migration flows and the national visa policies. It is also in charge of protecting Spanish citizens abroad and participates in the proposal and application of the immigration policy. In similar areas, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for processing and granting or rejecting the requests for Spanish citizenship. The Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality is in charge of proposing the regulations and measures to fight against trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation as well as monitoring and assessing them. Finally, the Migration Prosecutor s Office of the General Prosecutor s Office coordinates and supervises the General Prosecutor s actions in the following issues: The persecution of certain crimes such as trafficking in human beings, coactive prostitution, favouring irregular immigration and crimes against foreign workers rights, and the protection of victims of human trafficking. Royal Decree 342/2012, of 10 February, which implements the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Royal Decree 453/2012, of 5 March, which implements the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Justice and amends Royal Decree 1887/2011, of 30 December, which establishes the basic organic structure of the ministerial departments. Royal Decree 200/2012, of 23 January, which implements the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, and amends Royal Decree 1887/2011, of 30 December, which establishes the basic organic structure of the ministerial departments. 11

12 In relation to unaccompanied minors, intervention in the files for determining their age and repatriating them, as well as coordination for registering them. The reports on precautionary internments of foreigners and periodic visits to the Spanish DT (CIES). The authorisations for expelling foreigners instead of using criminal proceedings (article 57, paragraph 7 of the Aliens Act) and removals replacing sentences and security measures. Immigration policy as a State policy is a responsibility that belongs solely to the State. Nevertheless, the regional and local authorities have competences in other sector policies (education, active employment policies, housing, health, social services, etc.) that affect the immigrants. On the other hand, and together with the competences in sector policies, the Catalonia regional authorities 3 have the competence to grant initial work authorisations for nationals of third countries who work in Catalonia. Finally, the main social partners and non-governmental organisations also play a role in the institutional field (on several consultation boards of the Administrations) and in implementing their own migration-related activities. The most representative trade unions and employer organisations also participate in the Forum for the Social Integration of Immigrants and the Tripartite Labour Commission, highlighting both as spaces of participation. Regulations The basic legal framework for aliens is envisaged in Organic Law 4/2000, of 11 January, on the rights and freedoms of aliens in Spain and their social integration 4 (LOEX), and its implementing regulations, approved by Royal Decree 557/2011 of 20 April (RLOEX). Likewise, the regime for citizens of member states of the European Union and other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) is envisaged in Royal Decree 240/2007, of 16 February, on the entry, free movement and residency in 3 Royal Decree 1463/2009, of 18 September, on the transfer of functions and services in immigration matters to the Regional Authorities of Catalonia: initial work permits for foreigners working as self-employed or as employees in Catalonia. Published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) No. 229, dated 22 September. 4 Organic Law 4/2000, of 11 January, on the rights and freedoms of aliens in Spain and their social integration, amended by Organic Law 8/2000 of 22 December, 11/2003 of 29 September, 14/2003 of 20 November, 2/2009 of 11 December, 10/2011 of 27 July, Royal Decree-Law 16/2012 of 20 April, and the Constitutional Court s Ruling of 31 January

13 Spain of citizens of member states of the European Union and other states party to the EEA, amended by Royal Decree-Law 16/2012 and implemented in Order PRE/1490/2012 of 9 July. The main legislation in international protection is Act 12/2009 of 30 October, which regulates the right of asylum and subsidiary protection; no amendments were made in

14 2 Overview of the Migration and Asylum policies 2.1. Political developments The new Spanish government took up office on 21 December 2011, following the elections on 20 November The Ministry of Employment and Social Security is in charge of executing the government s immigration policy notwithstanding the competences of other departments Overall developments in asylum and migration According to the Minister of Employment and Social Security in her first speech in Parliament, the immigration policy of the new government is based on the decisive option for a legal, well-organised, responsible and work-related immigration, as well as a two-way integration policy based on recognising the same rights and obligations, focusing especially on the most vulnerable groups: unaccompanied minors, women and families with children; as well as the programmes and reception centres for immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees and beneficiaries of the subsidiary or international protection. To foster legal migration and adapt the Spanish regulations to those established in other European countries, Spain amended its health access by guaranteeing equality of treatment for foreigners with authorisation to reside in the country, minors, pregnant women during their pregnancy, deliveries and postnatal periods, asylum seekers, as well as emergency healthcare for all foreigners regardless of their situation. Likewise, Royal Decree 240/2007 was also amended in order to effectively transpose article 7 of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 29 April 2004, in its literal meaning. On the other hand, Spain also adopted a new regulatory framework for domestic staff. As a result of the approval of Royal Decree-Law 29/2012, of 28 December, on improving the management and social protection in the special system for domestic staff and other economic and social measures, measures were adopted to encourage domestic staff to register for social security contribution (a sector where there is a large presence of foreign female workers). This reform is aimed at eliminating the black economy in this sector, thus favouring the social integration of female foreigners. 14

15 On 27 April 2012, the Spanish Cabinet approved the Plan to fight illegal employment and social security fraud for the period. The Plan includes the objective to fight the black economy, which may affect foreign workers since they may not be registered for social security contributions or have the corresponding work authorisations and may be involved in labour exploitation. Regarding the fight against discrimination, an especially positive feature was the Draft Organic Law on Reforming the Criminal Code, specifically, the new articles 510 and subsequent, relating to crimes of incitement to hatred, violence and discrimination, in order to adjust its content to that of article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the Framework Decision of the European Union (2008/913/JHA of the Council, of 28 November 2008, on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law). In this sense, we can say that its wording goes beyond the minimum established in Framework Decision 2008/913. The term hostility has been included and the term incitement has been replaced with the expression those who directly or indirectly foster, provoke or incite hatred, hostility, discrimination or violence against Crimes of trafficking in human beings and the fostering of irregular immigration have also been differentiated. In the first case, the government transposed the content of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 5 April 2011, regarding the prevention of and fight against human trafficking and the protection of victims. In the second case, humanitarian actions were exempted from the crime of fostering irregular immigration. 15

16 3 Legal migration and mobility In Spain, the immigration policy focuses on a comprehensive immigration concept based on three action lines: a well-organised migration flow and consolidation of the link between immigration and the labour market; the reinforcement of the fight against irregular immigration; and the fostering of a strategy to integrate immigrants. In 2012, major efforts were made to modernise the management system with the aim of enabling foreign workers and the companies to process the corresponding authorisations, with the possibility of telematic requests for renewing residency and work authorisations and long-term residencies and, in this same line of work, a project was developed for the telematic presentation of documents in immigration procedures. These projects are a major advance in applying, in immigration issues, Act 11/2007, of 22 June, regarding the electronic access for public services to the citizens, benefiting both the citizens and the administration. Specifically, this enables foreign citizens who live in Spain to access the public services, so that they can process their requests in a convenient way and without having to travel, thus reducing the waiting time at the aliens affairs offices and guaranteeing, in any case, the security of the transactions and the protection of the personal data of the interested parties. And for the administration this implies savings in terms of costs (since paper is eliminated from the daily processing of files at the aliens affairs offices) and time (so the files are resolved more quickly) Economic migration In 2012, the government analysed the framework for qualified migration and investor attraction. As a result of this analysis, the conclusion was that a new faster system is needed that specialises in facilitating the entry and permanence of certain categories of foreigners who can contribute to Spain s economic growth. The idea is to conceive the immigration policy as an element of competitiveness. To do this, an inter-ministerial task force was set up that will 16

17 draft a new visa and authorisation system to attract investors, entrepreneurs and qualified migration 5. The current economic crisis, which was already mentioned in the 2011 Annual Report on Immigration and Asylum 6, has had a strong impact on the labour market. The Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of shows that 16,957,100 people were working, down 322,300 people from the previous quarter. Unemployment totalled 5,965,400 people; the unemployment rate of the foreign population accounted for 36.53% and of the Spanish citizens for 24.23%. The effects of the recession can also be seen in the decreasing need for hiring of foreign workers, instrumented through the Catalogue of Hard-To-Fill Positions (published quarterly) and in the Collective Management of Hiring in the Countries of Origin for The number of postings in the Catalogue of Hard-To-Fill Positions 8 decreased with respect to the previous year. In 2012, only the Canaries Islands envisage positions with a territorial limitation. The vacancies announced for all the Spanish territory are positions in the merchant navy and professional athletes. In this sense, Order ESS/2825/2012, of 27 December, which extends the validity of Order ESS/1/2012, of 5 January, which regulates the collective management of hiring in the countries of origin for 2012, limits itself to the effects of hiring workers for seasonal agricultural campaigns and preferably with countries with which Spain has signed agreements that regulate migration flows. 5 At the closing date of this report, on 28 June 2013 the Spanish Cabinet approved the Draft Bill to provide support to entrepreneurs and facilitate their internationalization, which contains a section on international mobility. 6 EMN_ES_National_Report_2011_EN.pdf Resolution dated 30 December 2011 on the State Public Employment Service, which publishes the Catalogue of Hard-To-Fill Positions for the first quarter of 2012, Official State Gazette no. 8 dated 10 January 2012; Resolution dated 30 March 2012 on the State Public Employment Service, which publishes the Catalogue of Hard-To-Fill Positions for the second quarter of 2012, Official State Gazette no. 95 dated 20 April 2012; Resolution dated 28 June 2012 on the State Public Employment Service, which publishes the Catalogue of Hard-To-Fill Positions for the third quarter of 2012, Official State Gazette no. 183 dated 1 August 2012; and Resolution dated 27 September 2012 on the State Public Employment Service, which publishes the Catalogue of Hard-To-Fill Positions for the fourth quarter of 2012, Official State Gazette no. 249 dated 19 October

18 Recognition of qualifications In 2012, the assessment and accreditation processes continued regarding the professional competences acquired by professional experience and informal training methods. These programmes are part of a much larger strategy that will reorient the active employment policies. Within the framework of the Spanish Employment Strategy for , the actions of the PREPARA plan and RECEX programme continued in The programme for the professional requalification of people who have used up their unemployment protection, called the PREPARA plan, was extended by Royal Decree-Law 23/2012, of 24 August, with a duration of six months 9. This programme, which began in February 2011 and has already been extended twice, is aimed at unemployed people whose employment contract was terminated and who registered as job seekers at the Job Centres, used up their contributory unemployment benefit between 16 August 2012 and 15 February 2013 (both inclusive) and they are not entitled to other types of unemployment benefits. The beneficiaries of this programme are entitled to have their own individual and customised employability itineraries, that includes a diagnosis on their employability; participate in active employment policy measures in order to obtain the necessary professional re-qualifications and/or rejoin the labour market; and receive an economic subsidy of 75% of the monthly Multipurpose Public Income Indicator (IPREM), up to a maximum of six months. The procedure to recognise the competences acquired by professional experience continued with the programme called RECEX. During the year, several announcements were made for professional categories and territorial scope so that the interested parties can file the corresponding application. In 2012, the following procedure was opened for qualifications included in the professional categories of physical and sports activities; buildings and civil engineering; administration and management; electricity and electronics; mechanical manufacturing; energy and water; catering services and tourism; food industries; installations and maintenance; wood, furniture and cork; marine fishing; chemicals; healthcare; security and environment; socio-cultural and community services; textiles, clothing and leather; transport and vehicle maintenance In January 2013, the PREPARA plan was extended once again, effective from 16 February 2013 to 15 August 2013, by Royal Decree-Law 1/2013, of 25 January formacion_profesional_para_el_empleo 18

19 Agreements with third countries In the bilateral relations with Morocco, the Official State Gazette published the entry into force of the Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Morocco regarding the circulation of people, transit and the readmission of foreigners who entered illegally, signed in Madrid on 13 February 1992, although it had been applied in a provisional way. Likewise, on 3 October 2012, the 10 th High-Level Meeting between Spain and Morocco took place. These high-level meetings with Morocco are held every year within the framework of the Treaty on Friendship, Good Neighbours and Cooperation between both countries. A Joint Statement was signed which institutionalises the Reinforced Economic Dialogue, reiterates the commitments of both governments in favour of reinforcing the Euro- Mediterranean relations and sets out the bilateral cooperation in issues relating to agriculture, fishing, the environment, industry, energy and tourism, among others. In addition to this statement, eight agreements were signed between both governments, including the strategic association agreement for development and cultural, education and sports cooperation between the Kingdoms of Morocco and Spain, the agreement for the reciprocal elimination of visas in the service passports, and the memorandum of understanding for facilitating visa obtainment procedures. On the other hand, in 2012 we worked on simplifying the processes and providing a better application of the agreements in force with Canada and New Zealand to enable the mobility of young professionals 11. The result of this simplification in 2013 was the SGIE instructions 1/2013 and 2/ Family reunification In 2012, there were no legislative amendments or new instructions in terms of family reunification. The Administration s actions focused on favouring integration of reunited families, e.g. with subsidies to local institutions and NGOs, to facilitate the arrival of reunited family profesional_para_el_empleo/recex.html 11 Published in the Official State Gazette on 2 February and 4 May

20 members and enable them to become integrated into the host society. In this regard, we continued with the various subsidy announcements for the integration of immigrants, focusing especially on reunited families. In 2012, we also continued with the granting of subsidies to municipalities, associations of municipalities and districts for the development of innovative programmes for immigrant integration 12. With the notion of innovative programmes, we make sure that the programmes offer new actions and mechanisms for a positive management of diversity, focusing on reuniting people. On the other hand, the announcement for the subsidies of the programmes funded by the European Refugee Fund and the European Social Fund 13, in relation to the programmes related to the integration priority, includes a number of actions aimed at seekers or persons subject to international protection, including several subsidy actions for family reunification, thus facilitating legal advice for processing this Students and researchers Two systems are differentiated in the Spanish regime for foreigners: one for students and the other for temporary residency and work for researchers. The two legal statuses have different legal treatment (Aliens Act and Aliens Act Implementing Regulation). Foreign students In 2012, there were no changes in the legislation for accepting foreigners as students, pupil exchange, unremunerated training and volunteer services. The procedures for accepting them are stated in the Aliens Act and Aliens Act Implementing Regulation. Although Royal Decree-Law 14/2012, of 20 April, on urgent measures in rationalising public spending in education, envisages that public spending can cover up to 100% of university costs for bachelor and master degrees, this is also possible for foreign students who are not EU citizens notwithstanding the principle of reciprocity. The data provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport for the academic year on international students enrolled in the Spanish higher education system show that they account for 3.6% (53,213). Of these students, 20,515 are from the EU and the rest from other countries. The Spanish universities are immersed in an internationalisation process to attract the international talent of students, teachers and researchers. 12 Resolution dated 13 September 2012, Official State Gazette of 20 September. 13 Resolution dated 30 July 2012, Official State Gazette of 2 August. 20

21 The authorisations to stay for study purposes in force at 31 December 2012 amounted to 42,864. Foreign researchers In the case of researchers, some of the measures introduced by the Aliens Act Implementing Regulation were implemented in 2012, including the residence and work permits that enable foreign researchers to undertake research projects within the framework of hosting agreements signed with research organisations. The arrival of these researchers is not subject to prior consideration of the national employment situation, unlike other groups of foreigners. Order CIN/1795/2011, of 28 June 14, regulates the authorisation requirements for research bodies to sign hosting agreements with foreign researchers and the rules for drafting, updating and publishing the list of authorised research bodies. The regional authorities with competences in these issues must notify the government of the public and private research bodies authorised in their regions. The recognition and accreditation of these research organisations is ongoing, which means the list is regularly updated and published on the website of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness 15. In 2012, the government analysed and assessed the system for attracting foreign researchers. The result of this study is that there is a need to encourage researchers towards RDI through public centres and research and development units of business institutions Other economic migration As stated above, in 2012 the mechanisms for attracting investors and qualified migration were assessed, and the conclusion was that there is a need to establish a new specialist and fast framework focusing on qualified migration and investor attraction extoid=c7d5cc7a9afd0310vgnvcm d04140arcrd 21

22 3.5. Integration Immigrants integration is one of the main cornerstones of the migration policy. It is based on a two-way model in accordance with equality of rights and obligations. Within this framework, a number of initiatives are carried out that are aimed, among other purposes, at the knowledge and understanding of these rights and obligations, of the culture and social customs of the host society, focusing especially on maintaining the fundamental rights and attending to the most vulnerable groups, such as unaccompanied minors, women and families with children. Integration is a process, and therefore the renewal of residence permits required accrediting the schooling of under-age children of the foreign families since education is considered to be essential for integration. Likewise, as an option, the Spanish regulations envisage an optional report on the immigrant s integration efforts when renewing the authorisations. In 2012, a comprehensive review was made of the annual subsidy announcements for integration in order to ensure greater impact and greater management efficiency and effectiveness. With respect to the many actions performed in recent years within the framework of these programmes cofunded by subsidies to NGOs, the project Building integration through employment headed by the Red Cross must be mentioned, whose objective is to delve into the socio-labour reality, equal treatment and social dialogue in the sociolabour environments towards migrants, through training areas, discussion groups and self-expression workshops with the affected persons themselves, together with the development of awareness-raising campaigns such as Look closely and In fact, it s not funny 16. Focusing on this issue, the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (Oberaxe) has carried out, among others, the following awareness-raising and training actions: Actions related to a better knowledge of the situation of racism and xenophobia The 2012 Annual Report for Racism and Xenophobia in Spain was drafted and will shortly be published. This Report details the current evolution and situation of racism and xenophobia in Spain, making it an effective instrument for describing how the Spanish 16 More information is available on 22

23 society s attitudes have progressed towards immigration, whose importance stands out during times of economic crisis. The Report is based on the annual survey Attitudes towards immigration conducted throughout Spain by the Centre for Socioligical Research (CIS); this survey investigates the opinion/perception of Spaniards in terms of racism and xenophobia, enabling it to outline how attitudes towards immigration have evolved in Spain since Training and awareness actions: FIRIR European project (2012) The General Secretariat for Immigration and Emigration, through Oberaxe and in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, implemented the European project FIRIR (training for identifying and recording racist incidents), with the aim of fostering effective implementation of the principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination for reasons of race or ethnic origin through training activities addressed to the law enforcement bodies and agencies in these issues and specifically to detect and, where applicable, record racist or xenophobic incidents. This project also involved the State Secretariat for Security of the Ministry of the Interior and the General Secretariat for Immigration and Emigration of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, the regional police forces and experts in national and international law and social psychology. The training actions were provided to 2,690 specialists from the Civil Guard, National Police Force, Regional Police Forces (Ertzaintza, Mossos d Esquadra and Policía Foral de Navarra) and Local Police Forces regarding equal treatment and non-discrimination for reasons of race or ethnic origin. As a result of the FIRIR project, a training guide was drafted called Handbook for training security forces in identifying and recording racist or xenophobic incidents. It is available in English and Spanish in the following links: Cooperation, consultation and collaboration actions European project: Testing the Toolkit (2012). The Oberaxe participated in the second phase of the European Project Joined-Up Governance ( ) (Testing the Toolkit). The project manages and develops knowledge about methods to reinforce the implementation of fundamental rights through different levels of government. For such purpose, two meetings were held 23

24 in Roquetas de Mar, with the participation of representatives from the municipal social services, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) 17 of the European Union, the civil society and the Oberaxe to advance in the implementation of a Handbook on joined-up governance for fundamental rights. At national level, the Oberaxe actively participates in the consultation, cooperation and coordination processes with the various ministerial bodies and departments to combat racism, race discrimination and other connected forms of intolerance, for example, in the Board for the Fostering of Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination of People for Reasons of Race or Ethnic Origin and in the Board for the Gypsy Peoples (bodies that belong to the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality). Fostering of local actions The local administrations role is absolutely essential in integration. In this sense, the Ministry of Employment and Social Security approved once again the announcement 18 for granting the subsidies to municipalities, associations of municipalities and districts for the development of innovative programmes for immigrant integration. The programmes cofunded through the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals foster the hosting, information and acquisition of sufficient knowledge, they will reinforce the active participation of third-country nationals in the organisations and foster citizen coexistence in their territorial scope, as well as the care and intervention for social inclusion, the comprehensive social intervention in settlements, the programmes aimed at preventing discriminatory, racist and xenophobic conducts, and other types of programmes that foster integration in the local area and the possibility of working in a local network. Cooperation, consultation and collaboration with stakeholders The cooperation, consultation and collaboration with stakeholders at all levels (local, regional, national, European and international) was carried out, as in other years, through 17 The Oberaxe is the contact point with the FRA at European level in Spain. 18 Resolution dated 13 September 2012 of the General Directorate for Migrations, announcing the granting of subsidies to municipalities, associations of municipalities and districts for the development of innovative programmes for immigrant integration, cofunded by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals. 24

25 the Forum for the Social Integration of Immigrants, the Tripartite Labour Commission, the Oberaxe, the Sectoral Conference on Immigration and Emigration, and by arranging collaboration agreements with some regional authorities. Regarding the collaboration with other territorial administrations, the 6 th Sectoral Conference on Immigration and Emigration was held on 27 June. These conferences gather the representatives of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, together with the Departments of the regional authorities with competences in immigration, and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces representing the local authorities. This year, the Minister of Employment and Social Security, Fátima Báñez, raised the need to have a single body to coordinate the administrations actions on migration, so from now on the Sectoral Conference will be called on Immigration and Emigration. The Conference dealt with policy issues related to integration and the future framework protocol for unaccompanied minors. In 2012, Catalonia implemented actions within the framework of the collaboration agreements signed in December 2011 between the General Secretariat for Immigration and Emigration, the Catalonia regional authorities, and the Terrassa, El Vendrell and Salt local councils for developing pilot plans for the comprehensive action in neighbourhoods with significant presence of immigrants. Their purpose is to foster closer relations between the Spanish population and the immigrant population, prevent undesirable conflicts and achieve a harmonious relationship between citizens from different cultures in neighbourhoods of these municipalities with a significant presence of immigrant population and that due to its particular social, demographic and economic characteristics, they are especially sensitive Citizenship and nationality In 2012, an Intensive File Processing Plan was implemented for granting nationality by residence 19. The Intensive Processing Plan forms part of the collaboration agreement 19 A person can acquire Spanish nationality by residence if they have lived legally and continuously for ten years in Spain immediately before the application. There are some cases in which the required residency period is lower: Five years: for people who have obtained the status of refugee. Two years: for nationals of Latin American countries, Andorra, Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and citizens of Sephardic origin. One year for: Those who are born in Spanish territory. 25

26 signed between the Ministry of Justice and the public-sector business entity Red.es for implementing the On-Line Register Office programme, which will transfer, digitalise and record the files for citizenship Migration and mobility management Visa policy On 10 May 2012, the Visa Information System (VIS) was successfully launched in the second region, i.e., the Near East (Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria). On 2 October, VIS began to operate in the third region, i.e., the Persian Gulf (Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen). Entry dates for the remaining areas are being discussed by the Member States and shall be agreed on in the coming months. Moreover, the Spanish authorities held technical meetings in 2012 with Mexico and Brazil regarding consular and migration issues Schengen governance On occasion of the summit of the European Central Bank (ECB), Spain temporarily reestablished border controls with France from 00:00 hours on Saturday, 28 April, to 24:00 hours on Friday, 4 May. Likewise, the land borders with France were also reinforced, at the border crossings of La Jonquera, Port Bou, Puigcerdá, Camprodon, Les and Canfranc, as well as the air borders of the Girona and Barcelona airports. Those who have not duly exercised their right to acquire Spanish nationality by option. Those who have been under legal protection (under a tutor), guardianship or fostering (fostering which allows the reduction of the legal residency to one year is when there is a resolution from a public-sector entity in each territory that is in charge of the protection and fostering of minors which are legally recognised) of a Spanish citizen or institution for two consecutive years, even if they continue to be in this situation at the time of the application. Those who, at the time of the application, have been married for one year with a Spaniard and are not legally or de facto separated. Widows or widowers of a Spanish citizen if, at the time of the spouse s death, they were not legally or de facto separated. Those born outside Spain with a parent (also born outside Spain) or grandparent originally from Spain. Moreover, the interested party must accredit good civil conduct and a sufficient degree of integration in Spanish society. 26

27 The Schengen agreement s text states that the free movement of people in a Europe without borders can be temporarily interrupted if there is a serious threat to public policy or internal security, and this was how the competent Spanish authorities viewed the situation. In the 124 hours of the suspension of the Schengen Treaty, the Spanish national police force rejected the entry into Spain of 49 people and made 20 arrests at the border. Over 299,364 people were controlled when they entered Spanish territory by nearly 1,300 police officers at the aforementioned border crossings. Moreover, Madrid hosted a meeting of the Rabat Process in June: a meeting with senior officials of the Euro-African process on Migration and Development. This senior officials meeting has been used for preparing the new ministerial meeting in 2014 by ensuring the appropriate monitoring and development of the Process. A Roadmap was also adopted to monitor the projects that will be developed within the framework of the Process in the period. In 2012, Spain also participated in the 2 nd 5+5 Dialogue Summit in Malta. At this summit, Spain defended the proposals to create synergy between the European Neighbourhood Policy, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the 5+5 Dialogue itself. Spain also fostered the intra-maghreb integration and the creation of a network of observatories of the Western Mediterranean, headed by the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) Border control Border control is one of the main action lines of the Spanish authorities since Spain is a major external border of the EU. The actions are deployed to prevent and avoid its vulnerability. The mechanisms for detecting people wishing to enter Spain as false tourists have been reinforced. With the API (Advanced Passenger Information System), which is completely automated and has been operational since March 2007, more than 200 airlines send passenger information before the flights to the Spanish national police force, in charge of border control. The main shipping and ferry companies are also obligated to send this information. The Smart Border Concept project is aimed at greater integration of the manual and automated border surveillance procedures in terms of document verification. There is a project, under the Smart Border Concept, that will acquire new equipment for manual booths and integrate them into the Automated Border Control (ABC) system. 27

28 This new ABC system is currently being studied so that it will be deployed in the external Spanish land borders. At external level (beyond the national borders), the operational deployment has been maintained and the maritime surveillance projects have been improved like the integrated external surveillance system (SIVE) and the SEAHORSE project. Spain also collaborates very actively in the pilot project EUROSUR. The Civil Guard s Regional Maritime Surveillance Centre was opened in Algeciras in January and it will monitor the Strait of Gibraltar. Its objective is to coordinate, advise and manage the land, sea and air surveillance operations that affect the coast of Andalusia, Ceuta and Melilla. It will also be used for preventing irregular immigration as well as human, drug and other types of trafficking. In May, the Police Cooperation Centres 20 (CCP) were opened in Spain (Algeciras) and Morocco (Tangier), where the law enforcement bodies and agencies of both countries will provide cross-border cooperation in policing issues in order to prevent and coordinate the fight, among other issues, against irregular immigration and human trafficking. Two new Police and Customs Cooperation Centres were also opened with Portugal, through the exchange of diplomatic notes between both governments, and there are plans to create Joint Investigation Teams to fight irregular immigration, human trafficking and associated delinquency forms. An essential component when controlling the external borders is the international collaboration with countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Mauritania, Nigeria, Gambia and Mali. As part of the West Sahel project funded by the EU, Gambia, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali and Niger are being given courses on land border surveillance and the fight against irregular immigration in ports and airports, and equipment is being donated to them to carry out these tasks. Moreover, the former three countries are being provided with coastal and maritime patrolling capacity through mixed patrols, enabling the local enforcement bodies and agencies to carry out these coastal and maritime patrol tasks. According to Frontex, the good cooperation among the Spanish, Senegalese and Mauritanian authorities and the joint patrols in the operational sea areas and on the coastline of Senegal and Mauritania have resulted in a displacement of the departure areas of migrant boats towards the Canary Islands, with the reactivation of the Western African route (from north of Mauritania to the Western Sahara territory) used by the criminal networks operating in Mauritania 21. Every year, different types of courses are given to the border agents (initial, refresher and specialist courses), coordinated by the Spanish national police force s training division. The FRAN Quarterly, Issue 3, July-September 2012, Frontex. January 2013, page