Victims of domestic violence to be granted residency

 

Victims of domestic violence who do not possess Spanish residency will not be removed from the country, and could instead be griven temporary residency, according to the changes being made by the government to Spain's Immigration Law.

The changes are also thought to contain clauses relating to migrants who have been made unemployed. They will be able to stay in Spain providing their partner has legal residency here and is able to support them financially.

The government met with labor unions and business leaders earlier in the week to finalise any changes, where the issue of granting permission to stay for the victims of violence was just one of the points discussed. It is also proposed that the children of such victims will also be allowed to remain in the country if they don't already hold resident status.

Last year, 73 women were murdered in Spain by their partners or ex-partners. Of that number, 31 percent were migrants from other countries outside the European Union. Figures show that 25 percent of all gender violence complaints were filed by migrants.

Immigration Law bill contains more than 200 clauses (a greater number than the draft originally presented last year), and is geared to addressing the legal situation of migrants from countries outside the EU.