Eduardo González
This past Tuesday, the Council of Ministers sent to the Cortes Generales (Spanish Parliament) the agreements of Spain with Cape Verde and Namibia on the free exercise of remunerated activities by dependent family members of the diplomatic, consular, administrative and technical staff of the Diplomatic Missions and Consular Offices, at the same time that it authorized the expression of Spain’s consent to be bound by said agreements.
Both agreements had been sent to Parliament at the beginning of 2023, but the dissolution of the two Chambers due to the calling of legislative elections prevented their parliamentary processing, which has forced them to be sent again to the Cortes Generales. The agreement with Cape Verde was signed in Praia on March 29, 2022 and the agreement with Namibia was signed in Madrid, on June 15 of the same year.
The objective of both agreements, according to the Government, is to “collect and legally regulate the legitimate interests and expectations of the dependent family members of the diplomatic agents, consular agents and administrative officials accredited in the diplomatic missions of Spain abroad and of the personnel in service.” of representations before international organizations in terms of remunerated activities. The same benefit will apply to dependent family members of nationals of Spain, Cape Verde and Namibia accredited to international organizations based in any of the three countries.
Based on similar agreements signed with other countries, the beneficiaries of these measures are spouses (or couples with whom a union analogous to a conjugal union is maintained, registered and in force in a public registry), single children under 21 years who live in the care of their parents, those under 23 who pursue higher education in higher education centers and single children who live in the care of their parents and have a physical or mental disability.
According to the Government, this type of agreement responds to “the social transformation that Spain has experienced in recent decades”, which “has also been reflected in the figure of partners and family members dependent on officials of the Spanish foreign service”. that has evolved to “a different profile from the traditional one.”
“The vast majority have an academic background, a higher or university degree, technical preparation and work experience that they do not want to interrupt, but, on the contrary, they want to develop while accompanying their partner in the performance of an official mission in abroad”, continued the Executive after the first authorization of the agreement with Cape Verde, in January 2023. Spain has ratified agreements of this nature with more than thirty States.
