The consulates had to attend to 8,800 emergencies of Spaniards abroad last year.
Since the entry into force of the aforementioned law on October 21, 2022 and until December 31, 2023, Spanish consulates around the world received a total of 226,354 applications. Of these, 110,540 files were approved and 69,421 new Spaniards were registered.
The Democratic Memory Law contemplates that they can opt for Spanish nationality “born outside Spain to a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother who had originally been Spanish, and those born outside Spain to a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, who had originally been Spanish and who, as a consequence of having suffered exile for reasons political, ideological or belief or sexual orientation, would have lost or renounced Spanish nationality.”.
Children born abroad of Spanish women who lost their nationality by marrying foreigners before the entry into force of the 1978 Constitution can also apply for it, as well as the adult children of those Spaniards whose nationality was recognized. origin by virtue of the right of adoption in accordance with the provisions of the Democratic Memory Law or in the Historical Memory Law of the year 2007.
SPANISH IN EMERGENCY SITUATION
Spain has 178 consular offices around the world that in 2023 handled more than 8,800 cases of collective and individual emergencies in 2023, 1,200 more than the previous year, while the consular emergency telephone numbers answered 160,000 calls.
Among the emergencies that had to be addressed in the last year, as reviewed by the minister, are the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, the coup d’état in Niger and the attack by Hamas against Israel and the subsequent Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, which They forced the repatriation of Spaniards.
Specifically, a total of 34 Spanish citizens and 70 citizens of nine different nationalities were exfiltrated from Sudan, including 50 from EU countries, while a total of 74 people, 16 from Niger, left on an Air Force plane. They are Spanish.
As far as Israel is concerned, a special operation was launched to care for the relatives of the two Spaniards who died in the attacks and 334 Spaniards and 95 other nationalities were evacuated to Spain in two Air Force planes. In addition, the departure of 100 Spanish-Palestinian citizens and 87 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip has been facilitated.
WOMEN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE AND PRISONERS
Likewise, as detailed by the minister, assistance was provided to Spanish victims of violence against women, a particularly vulnerable group. In 2023, the consulates handled a total of 428 new cases and helped repatriate 26 women and 14 minors.
Another group that receives special attention is the detained Spaniards. According to the minister, as of December 31, 2023, there were 940 detainees (823 men and 117 women), with the countries with the highest number of detainees being France, Germany and Morocco. Since 2022, the numbers have increased after the decrease that occurred in previous years in relation to the pandemic.
Currently, as Albares explained, There are nearly 3 million Spaniards residing abroad, a figure that has practically doubled since 2009. 59% of them are in America and 38% in Europe. To them we must add the millions who travel every year for tourism or business.
In this sense, it has been congratulated that more and more Spaniards are registering in the Traveler Registry before traveling outside Spain. In 2023, 142,000 people did so, 30% more than in 2022, he highlighted.
INCREASE IN THE FOREIGN VOTE
On the other hand, Foreign Affairs has also noted an increase in electoral participation in the elections to the polls in 2023 after the end of the requested vote. The new voting system, which came into force in September 2022, has eased some of the procedures that Spaniards residing abroad have to carry out to be able to vote, in which consulates play a fundamental role.
According to the minister, “although the figures are not still large, they are double what they were before the reform took place.” Thus, in the case of the regional elections of May 28, participation was 7.6%, compared to 3.3% in 2019, while in the general elections of July 23 it reached 10%, compared to 6.8%. % of four years ago.
The consulates, in addition to assisting Spaniards in problems abroad, also carry out numerous procedures. In this sense, last year 388,722 passports and 9,530 safe-conduct passes were issued, as well as 69 provisional travel documents to European citizens.
In addition, 128,179 birth registrations, 21,459 marriage registrations and 6,865 death registrations were made.
These figures represent 39% more registrations than in 2022, due in part to the increase in birth registrations of beneficiaries of the Democratic Memory Law.
On the other hand, consular offices processed 1,609,047 visas, almost 20% more than the previous year and more than three times more than in 2020, a year marked by travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Around 85% of the visas issued are short-term, although study visas have also increased significantly, which in 2023 represented close to 6% of the total. Although this last figure is “a modest figure”, Albares pointed out, it demonstrates the growing interest in studying at Spanish universities.
Source: EUROPA PRESS
