In 2023, Colombians saw the highest percentage growth among foreigners holding residence authorisation in Spain, with 33 per cent increase compared to the previous year, as revealed by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
More specifically, the number of Columbians with Spanish residence permits was 156,200 by the end of 2023, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
Among the main nationalities, Colombians have experienced the highest year-on-year variation, with an increase of over 33 per cent. Their growth was greater in the first half of 2023, at 20 per cent, compared to 11 per cent in the second half.
After Columbia, other foreign nationalities that experienced the highest increase in residence permits in 2023, include Peru, Venezuela, Russia, Honduras, Ukraine, Senegal, Paraguay, Algeria, and India.
In particular, the Ministry noted significant yearly increases among citizens from Central and South America as well. Peruvians with residence authorization witnessed a 27 per cent year-on-year increase, while Venezuelans experienced a 25 per cent rise.
Conversely, Bolivians saw a four per cent decrease compared to the previous year, persisting in their downward trend since 2014, according to the Ministry’s report.
Meanwhile, regarding the total number of residence authorisations in 2023, Morocco led the list among foreign nationalities, although representing only a two per cent increase compared to the previous year.
More specifically, the main nationalities of foreigners with residence authorization in Spain, as of December 31, 2023, were as follows:
- Morocco (787,317)
- Ukraine (274,491)
- China (236,725)
- Venezuela (168,736)
- Columbia (156,266)
- Ecuador (115,814)
- Pakistan (92,682)
- Senegal (74,940)
- Russia (74,324)
- Peru (71,151)
Colombians Emerged Among the Top Nationalities Who Acquired Spanish Citizenship in 2022
Despite experiencing the highest increase in residence authorisations in 2023, Columbians emerged among the most frequent nationality of origin who acquired Spanish citizenship in 2022.
According to the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE), 181,581 foreign residents in Spain obtained Spanish citizenship in 2022, representing a 26.1 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
The most common were Morocco (55,463), Columbia (11,125), Ecuador (10,845), Bolivia (9,016), and Dominican Republic (8,100).
According to INE, among the methods of acquiring Spanish nationality, over 1,1 million cases were through residency, while 23,558 were by choice. Regarding gender, 53 per cent were women, while 47 per cent of those were men.
Residence Permits for Hondurans in Spain Increase by 20% in 2023
Meanwhile, the number of residence authorisations granted to Hondurans in Spain increased by 20 per cent in 2023, reaching a total of 57,770.
Due to this rise, Hondurans now emerge among top foreign nationalities with one of the biggest percentage increase rates among authorised foreigners residing in Spain.
