The winding access to legal status for unaccompanied migrant minors in Spain

Abstract This article analyses an inclusive and participatory approach to regularising ‘Non-Asylum Seeking Unaccompanied Migrant Minors’ in Spain. The terminology is multiple; in this paper, the choice has fallen on Unaccompanied Migrant Minors with the acronym UMMs instead of UAMs, to be consistent with the doctoral thesis already defended in 2021. The term UASC, specific to unaccompanied migrant minors seeking asylum, was excluded. To fully assess the process, it is necessary to account for the following factors shaping their administrative situation: (a) how they reach adulthood, (b) whether they are in regular or irregular situations, and (c) the waiting time for obtaining regularity status and citizenship. This article reviews the gap between perspectives of legal protection, good intentions, and political restrictions. The study has been carried out considering the results of qualitative research obtained through interviews with minors, staff members at reception centres, guardians, and immigration authorities. Particular attention is devoted to the limited number of resident permits granted to the UMMs. The methodology was enriched by desk research; most sources cited in the article are legal instruments and academic papers. The different dimensions of regularization are analysed by paying attention to (i) residence permits and political rights; (ii) the role of guardianship in administrative regularization; and (iii) vulnerability related to the legal status of unaccompanied migrant minors. A comprehensive assessment is carried out based on children's rights and the social, institutional, and organizational contexts, as well as considering the policies which condition the protection milieu concerning migrant children and the practices at both general and operative levels.