As of February 19, citizens of some countries who fly with a stopover in Spain must apply for a transit visa, according to government sources. This measure seeks to avoid so-called “fraudulent asylum requests.” The first country included was Senegal.
According to the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, this is a new limitation on the free movement of African citizens and occurs in the midst of a critical situation at the Madrid-Barajas airport, where more than 400 people – including minors – They remain overcrowded in the three small rooms designated for asylum seekers.
The “modus operandi” of the North Africans was to take flights to Latin America with a stopover in Spain and once there, on Spanish airport soil, especially in Madrid, to request asylum.
Due to the unusual increase in arrivals, delays in procedures and the lack of staff and resources to assist these applicants, the Spanish government has taken this measure, which will continue adding countries. Spain will request transit visas for more foreign nationals. The countries in the eye of the hurricane are Senegal, Morocco and Kenya.
Transit visa to Spain
One way to request asylum is to do so at airports, which are entry points to the country and have a more agile procedure than usual. However, the facilities and personnel dedicated to this purpose in Spain currently do not meet the standards set by European asylum legislation.
Cubans who want to travel to another country outside the Schengen area and who have to make a stopover in Spain must apply for an airport transit visa, like citizens of 14 other countries, according to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain.
This rule does not affect Cuban travelers who already have a visa to enter Spain. The countries that require this type of visa are: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, India, Liberia, Mali
