'Automatic' residence for all Ukrainians in Spain, existing expats included

UKRAINIANS without valid residence permits living in Spain will automatically be given leave to remain in the country, even if they arrived before the war broke out, the national government has confirmed.

Residence will be granted automatically to anyone from Ukraine already in Spain, and the process of moving in will be simplified for all those who have family, particularly partners and underage children, as Spanish residents, and who wish to join them.

The same will apply to those currently legally resident in Ukraine who come from non-EU countries originally.

Residence documents will be accompanied by work permits, so that new arrivals can start earning money the moment they reach Spain, explains government spokeswoman Isabel Rodríguez.

The decision will suppose a 'legal modification' which 'widens the subjective scope' of migration law, creating an 'exceptional mechanism' in line with the recently-announced European Union directive.

This directive allows anyone leaving Ukraine to escape the war to be granted asylum automatically for at least a year and up to a maximum of three, in any EU member State, with full access to national public health and education services and any recognised government aid or benefits the country in question normally offers.

After these three years, it is possible that the cross-State agreement will be modified and extended if the war remains ongoing – if peace has been declared, many refugees will probably want to return home, but those who wish to stay in their adopted country may then be able to apply for permanent or long-term residence via the normal routes if they are settled and have a regular income.

The automatic residence rights process applies to all Ukrainian nationals in Spain, given that those already living in the country cannot now return there under any circumstances, due to the conflict.

Around 100,000 Ukrainians were living in Spain prior to the war, with or without a residence card, but they will now be given these for a minimum of one year irrespective of their work status or income.

The Spanish government is working on the basis of around 12,000 Ukrainians arriving in the short term – double the figure of 6,000 it initially anticipated – and fully expects the numbers reaching Spain to multiply as the war continues.

So far, the United Nations calculates that around two million people have fled Ukraine in the last fortnight.

Isabel Rodríguez says president Pedro Sánchez and his cabinet are now working closely with the various regional governments across the country on a blanket refugee resettlement plan, which she hopes will be signed off at the forthcoming Presidential Conference in La Palma (Canary Islands).

Last week, the various regional authorities in Spain reserved 5,000 hospital beds nationwide for incoming refugees – some of which will be needed immediately, by those who were already ill before the conflict, those who became injured during the initial days, and those suffering from exposure and other ailments from long days and nights queueing at borders.

The national government wants to see an even greater response, though, and has asked each region to draw up an inventory of their available resources.

Sra Rodríguez says Sánchez's cabinet is working closely with charities and associations run by Ukrainian expats in Spain to set up three key initial welcome points – in Madrid, Catalunya and the Comunidad Valenciana – after which those who do not already have family ties in Spain will be 'redistributed' to other regions according to resources such as available housing, school places and healthcare facilities.

“The government clearly understands that our response has to be in line with the European Union,” Isabel Rodríguez says.

“In this country, we're going to set things in motion ahead of time, though, in the run-up to the Presidential Conference by documenting resources we have to hand to be able to guarantee a decent level of care.”

Valencia has already welcomed a bus carrying 44 Ukrainians, mostly teenagers, children and their parents, through the charity Juntos por la Vida ('Together for Living'), which started an exchange programme with kids from the eastern European nation being fostered for a summer by parents in Spain, mostly during the last conflict with Russia but continuing since.

The majority of those whose coach arrived to applauding crowds in the early hours will be staying with the families who have fostered them in the past – adults included.

Other regions have also started welcoming large groups through non-government schemes – the above photo shows some of the 47 Ukrainians getting off a coach in Málaga which was thrown on by a local business owner.