Castile-Leon exceeds 4,300 temporary protections for Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war

• The government delegate in Castilla y León, Nicanor Sen, conveys the commitment of the Community to the Ukrainian people and regrets that two years of an invasion will be celebrated “without any justification” • León and Valladolid are the provinces that have processed and granted a greater number of temporary protections, exceeding 1,330 as a whole

February 24, 2024.- Two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Castile and Leon has passed the 4,300 temporary protections for Ukrainian refugees since the activation of this extraordinary protection mechanism, which immediately grants residence and work permits to citizens displaced by the Russian invasion.

Specifically, until February 12, the Office of Asylum and Refuge of the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police has processed and granted a total of 4,322 protections in the Community.

Requests that, as a whole, have been concentrated mainly in the first months of war. Thus, between February 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024, applications for protection in Castilla y León stood at 378, which puts the monthly average at around thirty cases.

Since the beginning of the conflict, León (694) and Valladolid (644) are the provinces in which the most temporary protections of Castilla y León have been processed and granted, followed by Segovia (590), Salamanca (581) Burgos (580) and Ávila (445). In Palencia 313 protections were authorized, in Zamora 241 and in Soria 234. For its part, in the last year, it was Valladolid (78) that registered the highest number of applications, followed by the provinces of Ávila (72), Segovia (61) and León (52).

The Government delegate in Castilla y León, Nicanor Sen, has highlighted the commitment and solidarity of the Government of Spain with all the refugees who in these two years have settled in the Community, while thanking the collaboration of local entities, social entities, with their volunteering as a fundamental piece, and the whole of Castilian and Leonese society with the attention of Ukrainian refugees.

“Unfortunately today is two years since the beginning of this war, a real barbarism that has no justification and that has forced many people to leave their home. We will always have a helping hand for every citizen of Ukraine who wants to reach Castile and Leon,” said Sen, who conveyed the commitment of the Community’s neighbours and neighbours to the Ukrainian people.

	TOTAL	FEB 2023-JAN2024
CASTILE AND LEON	4.322	378
LION	694	59
ZAMORA	241	12
SALAMANCA	581	29
PALENCIA	313	16
VALLADOLID	644	78
BURGOS	580	33
SEGOVIA	590	61
AVILA	445	72
SORIA	234	19

According to data from the National Institute of Statistics, the number of Ukrainian citizens registered in Castile and Leon in 2023 amounted to 4,998 people, which is three times more than in 2022, when the number was 1,374 people.

EXTENSION OF THE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE

The activation of the Temporary Protection Directive, for the first time since its creation in 2001, was unanimously approved at the Council of Ministers of the Interior held on March 4, 2022, and only six days later Spain launched the urgent application and processing procedure.

Last September, the Council of the European Union agreed to extend temporary protection to refugees fleeing Russian aggression in Ukraine from March 4, 2024 until March 3, 2025.

The mechanism activated by the Office of Asylum and Refuge (OAR) of the Ministry of the Interior, allows to grant temporary protection quickly and easily within a maximum period of 24 hours from the request.

The procedure begins at National Police stations throughout the national territory and at qualified reception centres, where National Police officers, supported by interpreters, are responsible for collecting the identification data of Ukrainian citizens. This request is subsequently processed by the OAR of the Interior Ministry and resolved within a maximum period of 24 hours.

Persons benefiting from temporary protection have a residence and work permit and are also entitled to access to the benefits provided by the reception system and medical care. In addition, children under the age of 13 will have the right to access education under the same conditions as nationals of the country. Finally, under the provisions of the General Directorate of Traffic, displaced persons who obtain temporary protection can legally use their driving licences.