The Diplomat
The Asylum and Refuge Office (OAR) of the Ministry of Interior received a total of 118,842 applications for international protection in 2022, 81.5 percent more than in the previous year (65,482) and the highest number recorded by this agency since its creation in 1992. On the other hand, Spain is the fifth country in the EU in temporary protection to Ukrainians, with more than 161,000.
According to the provisional data of last December 31, released yesterday by the Ministry, the main countries of origin of applicants for international protection in 2022 were Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Morocco. By place of filing, the Community of Madrid, with 47,658 applications, topped the list of autonomous communities with the highest number of requests, followed by Andalusia (11,722) and Catalonia (10,396). In this same period, the Ministry of the Interior also resolved a total of 91,369 international protection files, which represents an increase of 27.2 percent over the previous year (71,833).
In addition to the processing of international protection requests, during 2022 the Asylum and Refuge Office granted 161,037 applications for temporary protection to people displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This figure places Spain as the fifth EU country that has granted more temporary protection to citizens and residents in Ukraine, thanks to the mechanism put in place urgently last March 10 by the Government to comply with the agreement of the European Union, which, for the first time in history, authorized the application of the Temporary Protection Directive.
Precisely, the Minister of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory, Félix Bolaños, chaired yesterday a new meeting of the Situation Committee to analyze the evolution of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is the twentieth meeting held since the beginning of the war, on February 24, 2022.
During the meeting, apart from analyzing the implementation of sanctions – following the recent approval of the ninth package by the European Union -, the energy crisis, the reconstruction of Ukraine and the latest developments on the ground, the reception of displaced persons in Spain was discussed. Apart from more than 160,000 people with temporary protection, more than 74,000 Ukrainians have been discharged from the National Health System. In addition, there are more than 13,000 people in employment and more than 37,000 students.
