El número de refugiados en España por razón de orientación sexual crece un 2,5% desde 2022

The percentage of people who have been granted refugee status due to persecution based on sexual orientation who live in their countries of origin has grown gradually in recent years to reach 11.4% of the refugees in our country. This is 2.5% more than in 2022, when the percentage was 8.9%.

“Spain is internationally recognized as a country that respects human rights and, in particular, the rights and freedoms of the LGTBIQ+ community,” said Minister Elma Saiz on International LGTBIQ+ Pride Day. “It is something that should make us all proud, because it means that we are part of a diverse society that respects, welcomes and protects the persecuted, and that is not willing to take a single step back in the right to love and be free.”

In order to qualify for refugee status, membership of a “particular social group” must be recognized under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines the term ‘refugee’ and describes their rights and establishes the law as states’ obligations to protect them. This is the case for people who are granted refugee status on the grounds of sexual orientation, a number that has increased in recent decades around the world.

As for refugees entering the International Protection Reception System, Saiz specifies: “Belonging to the LGTBIQ+ community is not a vulnerability on its own, but when a person enters our international protection system we take into account their specific needs, so we follow the recommendations of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) addressed to this community.”

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and sexually oriented individuals, gender identity and expression, and diverse sexual characteristics (LGBTIQ+) who apply for international protection suffer discrimination, persecution, and violence, sometimes on a daily basis, in their home countries. In fact, according to the United Nations, in about 80 countries, discriminatory laws criminalize private relationships between people of the same sex, so they can be arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned; even in at least five countries, they can be sentenced to the death penalty.

The collective in the International Protection Reception System

The system ' s reception centres take a series of specialized care measures aimed at applicants for international protection on the grounds of persecution on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Essentially, it is a question of creating a security and support environment, and awareness-raising activities are being carried out to achieve this. From the access unit to the reception system, it is valued that the allocation of places is carried out in safe environments that generate confidence and security, facilitating the free expression of sexual orientation.

In addition, the accompaniment to the newcomer is done with trained personnel and with specific training. In addition, it collaborates closely in training, awareness-raising, documentation, etc., with various specialized organizations such as the Madrid LGBTI Information and Care Program, the Catalan Association for the Integration of Immigrant Homosexuals, Bisexuals and Transsexuals (ACATHI) and the Melillense Association of Lesbians, Gay, Transsexual and Bisexuals (AMLEGA).

In addition, within the reception system there is the participation of specialized entities in the intervention with the collective that develops specific actions such as, for example, the Project of Accompaniment in Intragénero Violence of NGO Rescue. This project was born in January 2023 with the objective of providing support to migrants, applicants and beneficiaries of international protection of the LGTBIQ+ community who suffer, have suffered or are at risk of suffering indecent violence.

On the other hand, the Centers work with residents to avoid situations of LGTBIphobia through group and individual sessions to promote respect and deconstruct prejudices towards the collective. In addition, specific information is provided on the protection offered by the legislation in cases of hate crimes and/or LGTBIphobia and the consequences of such an act within the system.

“In Spain, the law guarantees the rights of LGTBIQ+ people and seeks the eradication of situations of discrimination, in which much progress has been made in recent years,” says Elma Saiz, “but in addition, Spanish society demonstrates a very remarkable maturity in this matter, as it shows that it has been 20 years since equal marriage was legalized; we were one of the first countries in the world. All this facilitates the coexistence and integration of people who come looking for refuge.”

Global Requests for International Protection

Overall, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in requests for international protection in Spain for all reasons, as can be seen from the “Report on the System of International Protection in Spain”, published by the Secretary of State for Migration of the Ministry.

In 2023, Spain registered a historical maximum of protection requests with a total of 163,220, 37% more than in 2022, year in which a total of 118,842 requests were registered. In 2024, the number of asylum applications was 2.5% higher than in 2023, with a total of 167,366. So far in 2025, the Office of Asylum and Refuge (OAR) of the Ministry of the Interior has registered about 65,000 applications, mostly from people of Venezuelan, Colombian and Peruvian nationality. The rest of the majority nationalities come from sub-Saharan Africa, mainly from people from Mali, whose civil war has intensified in recent months.