The Diplomat
The Government will apply the European Directive on Temporary Protection both to Ukrainian nationals arriving in Spain as a result of the war and to third-country nationals or even stateless persons who were legally residing in that country.
This was decided yesterday by the Council of Ministers with the approval of the agreement extending the scope of application of the Temporary Protection Directive, adopted last March 3, for the first time in history, in the Council of Ministers of the Interior of the European Union.
This directive, which allows its beneficiaries access to residence and work permits in the 27 countries of the European Union, limits its application to nationals of Ukraine and third countries with long-term residence permits (five years) in this country. Therefore, the Government, considering that the consequences of the war affect many other people, has agreed to extend the scope of application of this directive also to third-country nationals with actual residence in Ukraine at the time of the invasion.
At the press conference following the Council of Ministers, the Government spokeswoman, Isabel Rodríguez, specified that the rule will also apply to those other Ukrainians who were in Spain before February 24 and who cannot return to Ukraine. The protection will be extended to spouses, partners and minor children.
In addition, the Government is working on a legal instrument that will allow the application of this temporary protection directive immediately, by simplifying the procedures, so that displaced persons arriving in Spain can obtain the rights granted to them by the directive simply and quickly.
