The Diplomat
This Wednesday, the Ministry of Migration welcomed 41 Nicaraguan refugees from Costa Rica within the framework of the 2026 National Resettlement Program.
The refugees, who arrived on a commercial flight at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, are part of the selection mission that the Secretary of State for Migration carried out last April, in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of Asylum and Refuge (OAR), based on the files previously sent by UNHCR to Spain within the framework of the National Resettlement Program for the year 2026. This arrival constitutes the fourth transfer of this mission.
The reception of the refugees was coordinated by the Secretary of State for Migration, through the General Directorate of Humanitarian Assistance and the International Protection Reception System. The resettled people were referred upon arrival to the reception resources of the National Reception System, managed by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
Thirteen institutions, organizations and entities participated in the reception mechanism, including the Office of Asylum and Refuge (OAR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), AENA, Civil Guard, Border Police (CEFRONT) and the Red Cross.
“The National Resettlement Program reaffirms our will to continue strengthening resettlement mechanisms as a solid means of international protection for refugees, promoting their integration in conditions of equality and dignity,” declared the Secretary of State for Migration, Pilar Cancela.
The National Refugee Resettlement Program is part of the Government’s commitment to resettle up to 1,200 people this year. In the last four years, 3,600 people have been resettled through this Program in Spain.
In 2025 alone, 696 refugees were resettled, 341 of them from Costa Rica. More than half of the displaced Nicaraguans in the world are in Costa Rica, which has become one of the main destination countries for people fleeing the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
In November 2025, Spain welcomed 245 Nicaraguan refugees from Costa Rica at once, in the most important operation of 2025 within the Spanish National Resettlement Plan.