December 12, 2023.- The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has launched, in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Valladolid and Accem, a pilot project for regular, orderly and safe migration through complementary channels of labour mobility. As a result, today the first 68 Nicaraguan people, members of 23 family units, with needs for international protection in Costa Rica have arrived at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport. In addition, a two-member family has arrived and will enter the reception system under the National Resettlement Programme.
“It is a satisfaction”, in the words of Minister Elma Saiz, “to announce that the Government of Spain has opened a pioneering way to welcome refugees. Thanks to the solidarity of Spanish society, of the productive fabric, in this case, of the Diputación de Valladolid, these people will directly receive a job opportunity in rural areas of Castilla y León and in deficit sectors.” In addition, he added, that for the project “the support of UNHCR, IOM and Accem has been essential”.
On May 3, 2023, the Council of Ministers agreed to extend the National Refugee Resettlement Program in Spain for this year. This extension allowed the opening of a complementary and additional route to authorize the arrival of refugees, preferably from Central and South America. These complementary work mobility routes allow refugees, and their families, to leave one country to go to another in which they are guaranteed the necessary conditions to acquire their autonomy, thanks to the possibilities of employability.
The 70 resettled persons have been selected in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has been in charge, in addition to their transfer.
The staff of the Secretariat of State for Migration coordinates the operation of reception of persons resettled at the airport and their referral to the reception resources managed by the Ministry of Inclusion, in this case to the province of Valladolid.
A total of 11 institutions, agencies and host entities participate in this arrival device.