Migrants' Access to Social Protection in Spain

From traditional country of emigration, Spain became a country of immigration in a relatively short period, practically catching up with the rest of Western European countries in terms of percentage of population of foreign origin by 2010. The hybrid nature of its welfare regime, a combination of social insurance schemes and universalistic programs, determined the eligibility of foreign populations to each specific social protection scheme. In basic terms, foreigners can access Spanish social protection schemes through their participation in the labour market (for social insurance programs), and their residence in Spanish territory (for schemes based on a universalistic logic). The international agreements signed by Spain are a key aspect as well in determining welfare entitlements for foreigners, particularly in the case of nationals from other EU member states and Latin America. The strong reliance on contributory schemes, and the significant role played by the underground economy, leave economic migrants (particularly undocumented ones) without much social protection. The economic crisis initiated in 2008 implied an increase in immigrants’ vulnerability, but their actual welfare take-up decreased due to their more limited access to the formal labour market, and the restrictive conditions of targeted social assistance schemes.This chapter is part of the project “Migration and Transnational Social Protection in (Post)Crisis Europe (MiTSoPro)” that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 680014). In addition to this chapter, readers can find a series of indicators comparing national social protection and diaspora policies across 40 countries on the following website: http://labos.ulg.ac.be/socialprotection/. We wish to thank Angeliki Konstantinidou for her assistance in compiling the international migration data used in this chapter