According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, more than 130 000 people who have fled the war in Ukraine since March 2022 have received temporary protection in Spain.

Temporary protection is granted by the Office of Asylum and Refugees (OAR), which belongs to the Ministry of Interior. Of these refugees from Ukraine, 65.5% are women and the majority are young: minors represent 36.1%, while people aged 19 to 35 account for 24.4%. In terms of geographical distribution, the majority of Ukrainian refugees in Spain were granted temporary protection in four main Autonomous Communities: Valencia (31 817), Catalonia (29 613), Madrid (19 609), and Andalusia (18 664).

Temporary protection entails being granted a residence permit and, for those of legal age, a work permit. The OAR, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year, has so far processed 130 220 applications from people from Ukraine in 70 police stations and four reception centres throughout the country. All applications have been resolved within 24 hours. This places Spain among the top temporary protection-granting countries for Ukrainian citizens.