What is the difference between refugee, migrant, and asylum seeker

In Spain, obtaining refugee status (international protection) is mainly governed by Law 12/2009, of October 30, regulating the right of asylum and subsidiary protection, available in the BOE in this legal text. The procedure begins with the asylum application, followed by an admission phase, an instruction phase, and concludes with a resolution that may grant refugee status, subsidiary protection, or deny protection. At the same time, the reception and material support system for applicants is regulated by Royal Decree 220/2022, which approves the Regulation of the international protection reception system, accessible in this regulation. Below is a schematic summary of the basic legal itinerary.

1. Basic regulatory framework

The legal regime of asylum in Spain rests on three pillars:

• Law 12/2009, on the right of asylum and subsidiary protection, which defines who can be a refugee or beneficiary of subsidiary protection and regulates the recognition procedure (Law 12/2009).
• Relevant European and international regulations (1951 Geneva Convention and EU Law), to which Law 12/2009 itself refers in its preamble.
• Royal Decree 220/2022, which regulates the reception system (centers, reception phases, rights and duties of applicants) (Royal Decree 220/2022).

2. Submission of the application

The person requesting asylum must express their intention to apply for international protection before the Spanish authorities. According to Law 12/2009, this can be done:

• At the border (ports, airports, land posts), before the National Police.
• Within the Spanish territory, at immigration offices, authorized police stations, or stay centers (including foreigner internment centers).
• In certain cases, at Spanish embassies or consulates, to arrange transfer.

After expressing the intention, the application is formalized in writing and a personal interview is conducted, where the person explains the reasons for persecution, provides documents, and indicates possible evidence. From this moment, obligations such as identification and fingerprinting arise, but also basic rights (no automatic return, information, interpreter assistance).

3. Admission or non-admission to processing

Law 12/2009 provides for an initial screening: admission to processing. In this phase, it is examined whether the application can be studied in depth or must be rejected for specific reasons, such as:

• That another State (for example, under “Dublin” responsibility rules) is competent to examine the application.
• That the person already enjoys protection in a safe third country.
• That it is a repetition of an already resolved application without relevant new facts.

If admitted, a document accrediting the applicant for international protection is issued (the well-known “red card” in later phases) and the instruction phase begins. If rejected, a reasoned resolution is issued and the person can appeal administratively and judicially.

4. Instruction of the file

Once the application is admitted, the Asylum and Refuge Office (OAR), dependent on the Ministry of the Interior, instructs the file. Among other actions, it may:

• Conduct new interviews and request documents.
• Obtain reports from UNHCR or other specialized bodies, as provided by Law 12/2009.
• Assess whether the refugee requirements are met (persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinions, membership of a particular social group or gender and age, according to the substantive articles of the law) or, failing that, subsidiary protection (risk of serious harm such as death penalty, torture, indiscriminate violence in armed conflicts, etc.).

In parallel, and based on the Reception Regulation, the person can access the reception system (assessment and referral centers, reception centers, integration itineraries) in its different phases.

5. Resolution: granting, denial, or filing

Once the instruction is completed, the OAR submits a proposal to the Interministerial Commission on Asylum and Refuge and the competent body to resolve (usually the Ministry of the Interior). Possible outcomes are:

• Granting of refugee status, with residence and work documentation and extension of protection to certain family members.
• Granting of subsidiary protection when all refugee requirements are not met, but the risk of “serious harm” defined in Law 12/2009 is present.
• Denial of all forms of international protection, which may entail the application of the general immigration regime.
• Filing of the file, in cases such as withdrawal, repeated non-appearance, or prolonged impossibility to continue processing.

Law 12/2009 also provides for revocation and cessation of protection when the causes of persecution disappear or serious conduct by the beneficiary occurs.

6. Appeals and judicial review

Any negative resolution (non-admission, denial, revocation, or cessation) can be challenged through administrative appeals and, ultimately, before the contentious-administrative jurisdiction, in connection with the protection of fundamental rights. In these processes, courts may adopt precautionary measures to prevent expulsions while the substance of the matter is decided.

UNHCR has, according to International Law, a specific legal mandate for international protection covering refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and, in many contexts, internally displaced persons. This mandate is exercised within the framework of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which the European Commission describes as the “essential legal framework for refugee protection,” and which the Union places “firmly anchored” in international law and multilateral cooperation, reiterating its support for an effective UNHCR, according to the joint statement for the 75th anniversary. On this basis, UNHCR combines protection, assistance, durable solutions, and advisory functions to States and other international actors.

UNHCR's international legal mandate

A note from the Basque Government summarizes that UNHCR “has a specific legal mandate for international protection: refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and, in many contexts, internally displaced persons” and that it “works to guarantee access to asylum, protection, and durable solutions” (Basque Government news). More generally, the President of the European Council, António Costa, recalled that the High Commissioner “has the mission to guarantee, on behalf of the international community, the protection” of millions of displaced and refugee people, in a speech recorded by the Council itself (Costa's speech).

These formulations are embedded in the system generated by the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, in which States assume material obligations (for example, respect for the non-refoulement principle or access to the asylum procedure) and UNHCR acts as a specialized protection and supervisory body, supporting the application of those norms and promoting their effective compliance.

Protection and rights defense functions

On the ground, various reports illustrate specific UNHCR competencies linked to protection against rights violations:

• In Egypt, an NGO recalls that UNHCR “has the mandate to protect the rights of asylum seekers, including safeguarding against forced deportations and arbitrary detentions,” and calls on it to act “immediately to prevent deportations” of Eritrean refugees, in a case reported by Demócrata. Here its role as guarantor of the non-refoulement principle and protection against torture and arbitrary detention is visible.
• In Sudan and Spain, UNHCR insists that all persons who may require international protection receive, from their arrival, “clear, understandable information in a language they understand about their right to seek asylum and the corresponding process,” emphasizing that rapid and effective access to asylum is essential both for protection and for fair system management, according to another report from Demócrata.

Additionally, UNHCR provides direct assistance as part of its protection mandate: in Syria, the agency “continues supporting returnees by providing livelihoods, legal assistance, and basic services,” as reported in another report; in the Middle East, it warns of humanitarian deterioration and activates “mechanisms throughout the region to support those forced to leave their homes,” combining protection and emergency aid (news on the Middle East).

Competencies in durable solutions

UNHCR's international mandate explicitly includes the search for durable solutions to forced displacement. In its report “Global Trends. Forced Displacement in 2025,” cited by Demócrata, High Commissioner Barham Salih proposes an initiative to halve the number of refugees trapped in protracted exile, strengthening “opportunities for return, relocation, resettlement, and access to humanitarian visas” and promoting economic self-sufficiency.

Another example is the management of returns to Syria from Lebanon: UNHCR offers “advice, help with repatriation forms, and cash grants” and coordinates transport with IOM, while reminding that “refugees must not be forced to return” (Syria). More broadly, the European Union itself structures its resettlement programs based on prior recognition by UNHCR: the European Parliament explains that Member States host “refugees from third countries recognized by UNHCR, who would travel to the EU territory legally, organized, and safely” (European Parliament press kit and Commission Q&A on the Pact).

Relationship with States and institutional support

The 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol are applied through national legislations, but UNHCR plays a role of technical advice and cooperation. In Spain, for example, the Ministry of Territorial Policy records meetings with the UNHCR representative to address migration management (Ministry of Territorial Policy note), while Foreign Affairs channels financial contributions to strengthen its work, such as the 3.6 million euros approved in 2025 for UNHCR in humanitarian aid (Foreign Affairs note) or the specific contribution to the M’Bera camp in Mauritania reported by the newspaper Demócrata.

In summary, according to the international legal architecture, UNHCR's competencies focus on protecting rights, ensuring effective access to asylum, preventing deportations contrary to International Law, coordinating assistance and durable solutions (return, integration, resettlement), and advising States and the international community so that the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol translate into real protection on the ground.

In the last five years, the available official data show a very clear pattern: asylum applications in Spain are dominated by Latin American nationalities, especially Venezuela and Colombia, to which in recent years strong entries from African countries such as Mali, Peru, and Senegal have been added. For 2023, 2024, and 2025, we do have official breakdowns by country of origin; for 2021 and 2022, the consulted sources do not show equivalent lists, so it is not possible to detail their main nationalities without leaving the available information. Still, the recent series allows us to see how Spain has become one of the main asylum recipients in the EU and how most applications concentrate in few countries.

General overview 2023‑2025

According to the Asylum and Refuge Office (OAR) of the Ministry of the Interior, Spain registered a record of 163,218 applications for international protection in 2023 and surpassed it again in 2024 with 167,366 requests, ranking as the second EU receiving country, only behind Germany, according to the Interior note on 2024 (OAR 2024 note). In 2025, the Annual Report of the Forum for the Social Integration of Immigrants records applications at 144,396, a slight decrease from the previous year's maximum but keeping Spain among the top receiving countries in the EU.

In those three years, official sources agree that most requests concentrate in very few nationalities, with an overwhelming weight of Venezuela and Colombia, and the progressive entry of Mali, Peru, and Senegal among the top positions.

Main countries of origin in 2024

The most complete information is from 2024. The OAR details that, by nationality, the country of origin with the most international protection applicants was Venezuela, with 66,134 applications, 39.5% of the total, followed by:

• Colombia: 40,140 applications.
• Mali: 10,673 applications.
• Peru: 10,427 applications.
• Senegal: 7,708 applications.

These five nationalities concentrated 80.7% of all files registered in 2024, according to the OAR in Interior and the parallel version disseminated by La Moncloa (Interior note and Moncloa note).

Main countries of origin in 2023

For 2023, the OAR also identifies a clear Latin American predominance. According to the official note (OAR 2023 note):

• Venezuela led applications with 60,534 requests (around 37% of the total).
• Colombia was second, with 53,564 applications.
• Peru was the third country of origin, with 14,306 requests.

These three countries accounted for almost 79% of all applications submitted that year, confirming the centrality of the Andean-Caribbean axis in the Spanish asylum system.

Main countries of origin in 2025

For 2025, we have two types of references: Inclusion notes and data synthesized by the Forum for the Social Integration of Immigrants. The 2025 note on LGBTI refugees highlights that, until mid-year, applications were “mostly from people of Venezuelan, Colombian, and Peruvian nationality,” with other major nationalities coming from sub-Saharan Africa, “mainly people from Mali” (refugees by sexual orientation).

The FISI Report further specifies: in the whole of 2025, the top four nationalities of asylum seekers were:

• Venezuela.
• Mali.
• Colombia.
• Peru.

Exact figures by country are not provided, but it is indicated that these four nationalities lead the annual ranking.

What about 2021 and 2022?

In the official documentation consulted (notes from the OAR, Ministry of the Interior, and Inclusion), there are no clear lists of “main nationalities of asylum seekers” comparable to those of 2023-2025 for 2021 and 2022. It is known, from general statements by the Government itself, that the total volume of applications skyrocketed in the last decade and that between 2013 and 2023 they grew by 3,500% (Grande-Marlaska statement), but the main countries of origin for those specific years are not detailed in the available sources. No further information is available in the consulted sources to offer a reliable ranking for 2021 and 2022.

Structural trends

With the available data, it can be stated that, in the recent period, Venezuela and Colombia have consistently been the top nationalities of asylum seekers in Spain, with Peru consolidated in third place and a sustained growth of applications from the Sahel and West Africa, especially Mali and Senegal. This concentration in few countries has political and operational implications: it conditions both the burden on the reception system and the definition of specific policies towards those diasporas and the debates in the EU about “safe countries” and return.