The Spanish government promotes the reform of the asylum and foreign law

MadridThe Spanish government has approved two key draft bills on migration matters this Tuesday: on the one hand, a new law on the right to asylum, and on the other, a reform of the law on the rights and freedoms of foreigners. This was announced by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who appeared after the cabinet meeting following the summer holidays, which focused on the Ceuta crisis. Marlaska outlined the impetus for these two reforms to adapt Spanish legislation to the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which tightens migration policies at European borders.

On this issue, Marlaska assured that states have room to maintain "guarantor" legislation. According to him, the legislation is drafted from the "human rights perspective" and at the same time with the objective of ensuring the State's objective. In his opinion, these are procedural changes so that states can act more quickly. They incorporate a regulation of mandatory application in which the asylum seeker will have to be available to the authorities for twelve weeks until the file is resolved, to facilitate expulsion in case of denial. When analyzing applications, the new text also regulates three key concepts for deciding on admission: first country of asylum, third safe country, and safe country of origin. In addition to placing the Ministry of the Interior as the deciding authority and generally eliminating prior administrative appeals.

The ministry points out that asylum applications have increased significantly: from 3,000 in 2009 to 144,000 in 2025.