A total of 52 Syrian refugees from Beirut (Lebanon) arrived on Thursday at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport on a commercial flight as part of the National Refugee Resettlement Plan 2025, as reported by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations.
The department led by Elma Saiz detailed on Friday that the transfer of the 52 refugees was carried out «without incidents» and that up to 16 institutions, organizations, and entities participated in the reception process, including the Asylum and Refugee Office, UNHCR, AENA, Civil Guard, and Red Cross.
Within the National Resettlement Plan, the State Secretariat for Migrations is responsible for coordinating the reception of resettled individuals at the airport and their subsequent referral to the resources of the National Reception System, managed by the Ministry.
«This referral aims to guarantee the reception of families and promote integration through a preparation itinerary for the autonomy of these individuals,» she emphasized.
Thus, the 52 refugees from Syria are part of the selection mission carried out by the State Secretariat for Migrations in July 2024, based on the files with Lebanon provided by UNHCR Spain and in coordination with the International Organization for Migration, UNHCR in Spain, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Asylum and Refugee Office.
PROGRAM BALANCE IN 2025
The National Resettlement Program for 2025, approved by the Council of Ministers on December 23, includes the commitment to resettle 1,200 refugees in Spain throughout the year. By the end of 2025, the program has already established the settlement of 248 refugees, of which 213 come from Beirut (Lebanon) and 35 from Costa Rica.
Regarding Costa Rica, the first selection mission of files was carried out in May with the result of 383 individuals awaiting transfer. The second selection mission with this country will take place next September based on the new files requested from UNHCR Costa Rica.
ADDITIONAL LABOR MOBILITY ROUTE
On the other hand, Migrations pointed out that the implementation in 2023 of the complementary and additional route to authorize the arrival of refugees opened the possibility of implementing additional quotas to those of the resettlement programs.
Through this additional route, the arrival of refugees is authorized, preferably from Central and South America. This arrival is always linked to a job offer from a company in Spain.
Throughout 2025, 12 families (44 individuals) have arrived in Spain through this route, and they have been welcomed in Valladolid and Murcia by the ACCEM entity, which manages the reception and integration program for individuals transferred under this complementary route.