14,775 people requested asylum in Catalonia during 2023

The Catalan Asylum Action Committee (CCAR) is a public utility association that works to defend the right to asylum and the rights of refugees , stateless persons or vulnerable migrants. Otherwise, they also accompany refugees who have just arrived in Catalonia.

The number of people living in a situation of asylum keeps growing, as do the requests received every day in Catalonia. The CCAR, explains during the presentation of its 2023 yearbook , that to request it you must make an initial telephone contact with the National Police in order to conduct an interview and this entails certain problems .

During the presentation they explained how to get the appointment to do the interview, but also stated that this phone is "totally collapsed". The lack of agility in the procedures has led to an average waiting time of between six and nine months. It should be noted that during the time that these people live without institutional protection, they are completely helpless .

The evolution of the data is clear: more and more people are asking for asylum in Spain and Catalonia. Barcelona is the province where the most applications have been made in Catalonia with 9,422 people. It is the third province of the state behind Madrid (52,684 requests) and Malaga (10,517 requests).

The CCAR describes these moments of saturation and collapse as " institutional abuse " and emphasizes the psychological consequences (anxiety, depression, insecurity...) that can come with the extension of this procedure.