Italians residing in Spain have become over 300 thousand, more than doubling the numbers of ten years ago. An articulate and well-integrated community, concentrated in particular areas (Barcelona and Catalonia, Madrid, Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Andalusia and the region of Valencia, in this order), with an average age of 40 years and in which second generation Italians (i.e. children of Italian immigrants born in Spain) are progressively increasing. An emigration that, despite the categories, is not always easy to depict. In fact, if on the one hand, there are over 316 thousand compatriots in Spain who possess a NIE (a sort of tax code issued by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior), on the other, the citizens enrolled in the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE) registered as of 31December 2019 were just under 214 thousand. A gap of about 100 thousand units, partially due to internal mobility within the European Union, and in some measure to the lack of regularisation of the registry position by our compatriots.
In order to reflect on the characteristics of the migratory phenomenon towards the Iberian country, the Embassy of Italy in Madrid organised a meeting-debate on 29 January in Residence, coinciding with the visit of the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Ricardo Merlo, and the Director General for Italians Abroad, Luigi Vignali. In addition to the Undersecretary and to Ambassador Stefano Sannino, the list of speakers will include: Bruno Simili (deputy editor of the journal “Il Mulino” and coordinator of the “Journey among Italians abroad” issue, dedicated to Italian mobility) and Steven Forti (researcher and author of the chapter “Journey among Italians in Spain”).
The forthcoming opening of a consular section in the Canaries, will also be announced during the meeting, that will be the forerunner to the establishment of a proper consular Agency through which the Farnesina intends to respond to the requirements of the growing Italian community living there: according to the latest Spanish data available, there are over 57 thousand compatriots established in the Atlantic archipelago, 30 thousand of which are registered with AIRE. Undersecretary Merlo will travel to the Canary Islands on the following day, 30 January, to meet the representatives of the Italian community and to carry out an inspection in order to choose the location of the planned consular agency.
