Last year, 15,755 people sought asylum in Spain according to the Spanish Refugee Council (CEAR). Of those 15,755 requests, 355 received full asylum while 3,395 were rejected. Another 6,500 persons received subsidiary protection in response to their asylum application. Another 5,505 asylum seekers are still waiting as their applications are being processed. Spain made up only 1.3 percent of the 1.26 million requests for asylum in EU countries in 2016.

Spain has taken part in an EU relocation scheme, which began in 2015. The plan is to relocate refugees in frontline nations such as Greece and Italy to other EU countries to tackle the refugee crisis together as a European bloc. Spain has agreed to take in over 17,000 asylum seekers by September 2017 as a part of the program. So far, it has only taken in 1,300 people. This has caused NGOs such as Amnesty International and other organizations to protest in Spain's capital, Madrid.

Read more: Thousands protest for more refugees in Madrid  

What's the asylum process like?

There are multiple ways to apply for asylum in Spain. One way is applying at the Spanish border or in an immigrant detention center known as the CIE. The border authorities have to decide whether the asylum application is admissible within four days and will ask to confirm your identity and how you reached Spain. They will also ask reasons why you fled and if you were persecuted in your home country. If the asylum application is admitted, they will then issue you a red card to identify you as an asylum seeker.

Even though the application has been admitted for processing, it can then take three months for the authorities to make a final decision on whether the asylum seeker will be granted asylum or not. The final decision will be made by the Spanish Inter-ministerial Commission of Asylum. This is known as the urgent or border procedure. If the application was not admitted or rejected, you will not be allowed to enter Spain.

Another way to apply is if you are already on Spanish territory. You will have one month time once you have entered Spain to apply for asylum. To submit an asylum application, you have to go to an Office of Asylum and Refuge (OAR) and the authorities will then have one month to make a decision on whether your application can be admitted or not. If the application was admitted, the Spanish authorities will then have six months to determine the type of protection the asylum seeker will receive. This is known as the regular procedure.

Here are more details on the asylum process     

Types of protection

For asylum seekers who had their application admitted, there are multiple types of protection that can be granted. The first is full asylum which is granted on the standards set forth by the 1951 UN Geneva Convention: persecution in your home country based on race, religion, political opinion, membership of a certain social group or sexual orientation. Being granted asylum will allow you to stay in Spain and you could also be granted some financial assistance.

A lesser category of protection is known as subsidiary protection. Those receiving subsidiary protection in Spain do not fall under being persecuted under the Geneva Convention. Yet you may receive subsidiary protection and be permitted to stay in Spain due to fears of a death sentence or torture in your home country.

There is also an additional provision under Spanish law that will allow you stay to Spain if you are in what is deemed to be a "vulnerable" situation. This may be granted if you are pregnant, disabled, elderly or a single parent with children. It may also be granted if you have been subjected to violence or if you are a victim of human trafficking.   

Here is more information about the types of protection