Spain

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Article 30 bis of "Organic Law 4/2000, of January 11, on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration" (subsequently amended by LO 8/2000, LO 14/2003, LO 2/2009, LO 10/2011, RDL 16/2012 and Judgement 13/2021) establishes that "foreigners who are in Spain and are holders of an authorisation to reside are residents". This residence can be temporary or long-term. A temporary residence authorises a stay in Spain for a period going from 90 days to five years (article 31.1.). If foreigners are registered in the Social Security, a work residence permit is also granted (article 36.2). Article 32 states that "long-term residence implies that you are authorised to reside and work in Spain indefinitely, under the same conditions as Spanish nationals". The requirements include having had a temporary residence in Spain for five years on a continuous basis.

To guarantee the rights of foreign persons, it states that "the absence of a residence and work permit (...), will not invalidate an employment contract regarding foreign worker rights, nor will it impede the granting of benefits deriving from cases contemplated by the international conventions on worker protection or other applicable conventions (...)" (Article 36.5).

Obtaining residency allows, among other issues, to include family members, prolong deadlines for Spanish nationality applications, travel freely within the European Union, facilitate renewals, etc. Nevertheless, one must remember that the application procedures are usually quite long. Moreover, the residence permit does not always allow working in Spain.

On the other hand, the regulations contemplate the possibility of obtaining a residence permit for foreign women victims of gender violence, as well as accessing the rights recognised in "Organic Law 1/2004, of 28 December, on Comprehensive Protection Measures against Gender Violence" (article 31 bis). In this way, it will be possible to request "a residence and work authorisation in the case of exceptional circumstances as of the issue of a protection order in their favour or, failing that, a report from the Public Prosecutor\'s Office referring to the existence of evidence of gender violence" (article 31 bis.3).

Although this rule protects women in an illegal situation in particular, some women on temporary leave were excluded from this interpretation. Therefore, the "Instruction SEM 2/2021 on the authorisation of temporary residence and work in exceptional circumstances for foreign women victims of gender violence" provides this permit to any woman victim of gender violence, regardless of her administrative situation in Spain.

It is also worth noting that the Spanish nationality is generally obtained after a person has been a resident of Spain for ten years. Significantly, Judgment No. 1.521/2021 of the Supreme Court alleviates the integration requirement to obtain Spanish nationality (which requires the approval of a questionnaire) for unskilled migrant women, considering it important to consider whether the women’s sociocultural backgrounds are characterised by educational discrimination against women.

Finally, the success story entitled "From Ghana to Spain: a better future for her children", accessible at https://viw.pixel-online.org/case_view.php?id=MTg=, recounts an immigrant woman difficulties in achieving her autonomy, obtain a job and support her family because of her undocumented status.

References/Online Resources

Citizenship rights of undocumented foreign women victims of gender violence https://doi.org/10.5944/rdh.26.2015.16343

This work conducts a differentiated analysis of Spain’s current Aliens Law and previous laws that regulated the legal situation of these foreign women victims of gender violence.

A feminine citizenship. The contributions of Moroccan, Ecuadorian and Romanian immigrant women in Spain https://journals.openedition.org/revestudsoc/7994

This article presents a study and critical debate around the traditional conception of citizenship, based on the contributions of immigrant women.

Human Rights Committees: Their nature and legal relevance in Spain. https://www.academia.edu/72078688/Human_Rights_Committees_Their_Nature_and_Legal_Relevance_in_Spain

This article analyses the state of the implementation mechanisms of human rights treaties, often constituted as "commissions", evaluating the effectiveness of their resolutions and their impact in Spain. In particular, a more in-depth review will take place of the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee).

Effects of undocumented immigrant exclusion from health care coverage in Spain. Health Policy. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851018304160

The objectives of this work are to identify the specific characteristics of this policy, review its impact on health and access to health care, and evaluate its economic impact.