“Statelessness Statute beneficiaries and applicants are excluded” from first reception, thus denying
those seeking recognition of their stateless status.
24. Stateless persons as well as applicants of the statelessness statute are denied access to the “first
reception” stage of the integration and reception system for beneficiaries and applicants of
international protection. The Ministry’s Management Handbook explicitly states that “Stateless
Statute beneficiaries and applicants are excluded” from this stage, which lasts up to three months;
thus denying early reception to those seeking recognition of their stateless status.
25. Despite this shortcoming, stateless persons are eligible to benefit from subsequent (and longerterm) stages of Spain’s reception system for asylum seekers, refugees and stateless people,
whereby they are provided with support for 18 months (renewable up to 24 months in cases of
extreme vulnerability), assisted, free of charge, by lawyers, psychologists, employment
consultants, trainers and tutors, and accommodated in regular housing facilities overseen by social
workers and mediators. During their first six months in the system, they are offered
accommodation, food, clothing, and cash assistance in order to cover their most basic needs. From
the seventh month onwards and up until the eighteenth, individuals receive economic grants for
basic needs (€350 per month) and a further maximum of €376 per month for rent. Family units
receive higher amounts, based on the number of family members.31 They all have an individual
pathway of integration and they are supported by the staff during their stay.
26. Rejected applications can be appealed to the National High Court, whose judgments can be
reviewed by way of cassation appeal, by the Supreme Court. Applicants without financial means
can access legal aid. Court decisions tend to be more lenient and demonstrate that the Ministry of
the Interior is yet to completely incorporate the Supreme Court and National High Court’s criteria,
especially regarding Saharawi people. In this regard, it is important to note that court judgments
still overturn decisions by the Ministry, due to the Ministry having failed to follow criteria
established under previous case law.32
27. Once their stateless status is granted, stateless people in Spain are granted a long-term residence
permit for an indefinite period (renewable every five years), 33 travel documents,34 and enjoy the
rights to work,35 family reunification,36 education,37 social security,38 and health care.39 However,
stateless persons do not benefit from facilitated naturalisation. The same timeframe of 10 years
31
Ministerio de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social, Manual de Gestión. Sistema de acogida de protección internacional
(versión 3.3), November 2018, available at: http://cort.as/-Kmi6 (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019].
32 See for example: Sentencia de la Audiencia Nacional 350/2019, 18 January 2019 (http://cort.as/-LJ2a), Sentencia de la
Audiencia Nacional 3789/2018, 27 September 2018 (http://cort.as/-LJ2w), Sentencia de la Audiencia Nacional 2227/2018,
17 May 2018 (http://cort.as/-LJ3B), Sentencia de la Audiencia Nacional 4989/2017, 29 November 2017 (http://cort.as/LJ3R).
33 Real Decreto 865/2001, article 13, available at: http://cort.as/-K_ZY (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019]; Real Decreto
557/2011, de 20 de abril, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 4/2000, sobre derechos y libertades de
los extranjeros en España y su integración social, tras su reforma por Ley Orgánica 2/2009, articles 147 148.3, available at:
http://cort.as/-KBlu (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019].
34 Real Decreto 865/2001, article 13, available at: http://cort.as/-K_ZY (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019].
35 Real Decreto 865/2001, article 13, available at: http://cort.as/-K_ZY (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019]; Ley Orgánica
4/2000, de 11 de enero, sobre derechos y libertades de los extranjeros en España y su integración social, articles 32.1 and
36.1, available at: http://cort.as/ZhSP (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019].
36 Real Decreto 865/2001, article 14, available at: http://cort.as/-K_ZY (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019].
37 Ley Orgánica 4/2000, article 9, available at: http://cort.as/ZhSP (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019].
38 Ley Orgánica 4/2000, articles 10.1 and 14.1, available at: http://cort.as/ZhSP (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019].
39 Ley Orgánica 4/2000, article 12, available at: http://cort.as/ZhSP (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019].
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