Spain processed subsidiary protection for 10,103 people last year and 57,334 citizens, mostly Venezuelans, received residence authorization for humanitarian reasons.
The Asylum and Refuge Office (OAR) from Spain received a total of 160,951 international protection application files last year; This is the highest figure since the creation of that office in 1992. The resolutions represent an increase of 67.2% compared to 2024.
Venezuelan citizens were the ones who requested refuge and asylum the most with a total of 85,413 requests, which represent 59.2% of the total cases received in 2025 and is equivalent to 20% more than the previous year. After those originally from Venezuela were those born in Mali with 16,004 requests.
Venezuela and Mali were the only countries in the top 20 whose number of applicants increased compared to the previous year. They were followed by Colombia (14,524), Peru (3,511) and Senegal (3,333).
According to data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, 144,396 applications for international protection were formalized, which places this country as third in the European Union in providing asylum and refuge to migrants in the world, behind Germany and France.
Regarding the place of submission of applications, Madrid topped the list with 43,585, followed by Andalusia (20,013) and Catalonia (17,206).
*Read also: Flow of Venezuelan migrants to Brazil fell more than 50% in the first days of January
More than 7,800 refugee statuses granted
During 2025, 7,838 refugee statuses were granted, 23.3% more than in 2024. The main nationalities recognized with this condition were Nicaragua, Colombia, Afghanistan, Honduras and El Salvador. In addition, subsidiary protection was processed for 10,103 people and 57,334 citizens—mostly Venezuelans—received residence authorization for humanitarian reasons.
With these results, the recognition rate of refugee status and subsidiary protection stood at 11.2%, while the international protection rate reached 46.8%.
On the other hand, last year more than 3,000 applications for recognition of stateless status were submitted and 2,242 files were resolved, which represents an increase of more than 146% compared to 2024. This procedure is aimed at identifying people who are not considered nationals by any State in accordance with its legislation.
Likewise, during the year the General Directorate of International Protection granted the temporary protection regime to 30,625 people, raising to more than 262,000 the number of citizens displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine covered by this figure in Spain.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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