Today, the Council of Ministers has approved the proposal put forward by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, following a report from the Ministries for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Interior, and Territorial Policy, for the '2023 Holidays in Peace' programme, providing for the arrival in Spain of around 2,800 minors of Sahrawi origin.
The programme sets out instructions for authorising the temporary residence of minors who will stay in Spain for three months to enjoy a holiday. They will then return to their place of origin.
Stay visas will also be granted to monitors accompanying minors during their time in Spain. All temporary residence and stay visas will be processed by the Spanish Consulate General in Algiers.
The minors will be hosted by families belonging to entities operating in the different Autonomous Communities. These entities must request, in advance, a report from the Subdelegation or Delegation of the Government prior to travel for each minor, and a report from the competent regional service for the protection of minors.
This programme, which began in the mid-1980s, has run continuously except for a 2-year interruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Autonomous Communities where the minors will be hosted are working alongside the entities involved and the Ministries of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Interior and Territorial Policy, to implement the Holidays in Peace programme.
This is part of Spain's commitment to solidarity with the population of the Sahrawi refugee camps. Spanish Cooperation is the leading international contributor of humanitarian aid for these people.