In 2025, 267 unaccompanied migrant children arrived in Mallorca. Of all the requests that the Council of Mallorca's Institute of Social Affairs submitted to the Immigration Office for these young people to obtain some type of documentation or residency, 70% were approved.
In May 2024, the institute created a specific unit for unaccompanied minors in response to a "massive" increase in numbers. The director for care for minors, Magdalena Ramis, says there was "a lack of information and specific knowledge about the children who were arriving".
One of this unit's tasks is the processing of documentation. Since it was set up, 241 applications have been submitted to regularise their status. In 2024, 26 residency applications were submitted, of which six were approved. In 2025, 215 applications were submitted, of which 145 were for residency and 58 were for a registration certificate, a preliminary step to obtaining residency if the minor arrives without any documentation. Of the residency permits, 98 were approved, five were denied, and 72 are pending. As for the registration certificates, 50 were granted and eight are still being processed.
If these minors are aged 17, time is pressing to process paperwork before they reach the age of majority. "We try to talk to the Immigration Office, with whom we have direct contact, and ask them to expedite the permit so that minors who arrive at age 17 at least have documents that allow them to register addresses with town halls," explains Ramis.
The certificate only indicates that the minor is in Spain but doesn't grant the benefits of residency, such as obtaining a work permit. Once residency is obtained, they can later apply for the TIE Foreigner Identity Card, which certifies the legal residence of non-EU citizens. Others choose to apply for asylum, which is granted to those who come from countries at war or are fleeing any type of violence. "It's generally girls who apply," she notes.
The creation of the unit has enabled greater coordination with the Prosecutor's Office for Minors and the National Police, who are responsible for determining the age of the young people. Ramis explains that this past year there has been an increase in the number of decrees to determine age, as "there are more and more doubts". Specific tests are carried out at Son Espases Hospital, and "most" cases end up being of legal age. While in some cases there are reasonable doubts about whether someone is a minor, in others it is undeniable. In the last two years, two "very young" girls have arrived on boats.
There is an ever-increasing workload. The unit started out with a team of five. There are now eleven. "If the number of boats continues to rise, we will have to increase the number of professionals to care for these children," says Ramis.