Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration – May 30, 2025
The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, held a meeting in Buenos Aires with representatives of the Councils of Spanish Residents (CRE) from Buenos Aires and the Interior, as well as with the broader Spanish community in Argentina. Around 530,000 Spaniards live in the South American country, making it the largest group of Spaniards residing outside of Spain, accounting for 17% of the total.
Elma Saiz reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to Spaniards living abroad and informed them of the new developments in the Regulations on Spanish Citizenship Abroad. “We have adapted the regulation to today’s reality and expanded the tools for protection and assistance for Spanish citizens abroad,” Saiz stated.
Among the changes included in the new Regulation, which will be published before the end of the year, the Minister highlighted the expansion of healthcare coverage. Previously available only to pensioners, healthcare benefits will now be extended to vulnerable groups: minors, victims of gender-based violence, and people with disabilities.
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The Spanish Government Will Expand Healthcare Assistance for Spaniards Abroad to Include Vulnerable Groups
Protection for these vulnerable groups is also being strengthened in other ways. For example, vulnerable individuals will have easier access to return programs, and special protection will be granted to women who are victims of gender-based violence, including the possibility of receiving support in their country of residence or assistance to return to Spain.
Furthermore, access to Spain’s public healthcare system for Spanish emigrants temporarily returning to the country has been simplified, easing previously complex administrative requirements.
Elma Saiz explained to Spaniards in Argentina that the regulation also strengthens the role of their associations and the Councils of Spanish Residents, which play a vital role in helping people stay connected to their home country.
To this end, the new regulation increases funding for community centres and associations, creates a registry of associations and centres to facilitate their participation, and ensures easier access to aid programs. “By strengthening the Councils of Residents Abroad, we aim to give emigrants a stronger voice in government decisions,” Saiz explained. “We want to hear how we can be helpful and what their needs are.”
In addition to these measures, the new Regulation improves the process for obtaining the returning emigrant certificate, which can now be processed online with reduced bureaucratic hurdles.
Conditions for accessing unemployment benefits have also been improved for those who have worked outside Spain for at least one of the last six years. The benefit lasts up to 18 months and can be combined with part-time employment, with proportional reductions.
Spanish Return Office
Saiz also provided details on the new Spanish Return Office, which will serve as an information and support centre on employment, housing, education, and administrative procedures.
This office will offer guidance on formalities, job search, and starting a business. It will also assist with the recognition of foreign academic qualifications and coordinate with local councils and autonomous communities to streamline the return process.
A new website will be launched with all the relevant information and unified procedures to avoid confusion.
End of Official Visit
On Friday, the Minister also visited the Labour, Migration and Social Security Counsellor’s Office and several sites commemorating the 3 million Spaniards who migrated to Argentina during the 20th century, mainly up to 1950.
Saiz visited the Hotel de los Inmigrantes Museum and the “Representing Silence” exhibition at the Contemporary Art Centre. “Spain was, until recently, a country of emigrants. This land warmly welcomed the 3 million Spaniards who arrived during the early decades of the 20th century, and others before and after. Memory helps us understand who we are and fosters empathy with those who seek prosperity in Spain today—we must welcome them as we were once welcomed,” said the Minister.
She also visited the Galicia Centre in Buenos Aires. “Half of those who came to Argentina were Galicians. That’s why this visit is so meaningful to me. These centres have helped keep our memory alive and, above all, have supported the connection with Spain for generations while helping newcomers integrate.”
To conclude the visit, Saiz attended the Museum of Memory (EX ESMA), a National Historic Monument and a former clandestine detention, torture, and extermination centre under Argentina’s dictatorship—now an evidentiary site in human rights trials.
With this event, Minister Saiz concluded her official trip to Argentina. During her visit, she also presented the Merit Recognition Diploma for Emigration to the Association of Children of the Spanish Civil War in Argentina and gave a lecture at the University of Belgrano titled “Protecting People to Grow as a Country: Social Investment for Sustainable Development,” emphasizing the importance of social investment as a driver of transformation and prosperity.
Elma Saiz also visited neighbouring Uruguay, where she met with the Ministers of Labor and Social Security, Juan Castillo, and of Social Development, Gonzalo Civila, and listened to the concerns of the Spanish community living there.