Modifiche a " Transiciones justas hacia la ciudadanía para jóvenes migrantes en situación de vulnerabilidad"
Corpo del testo (English)
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Problem Identification
Young adult migrants —especially those in irregular situations, lacking a family support system, without papers or (even) a home— face a very fragmented migration system, with residential, administrative and training pathways that are disconnected from each other. Insertion opportunities do not adapt to their life trajectories, recognise their prior knowledge or carry on real processes of social anchoring. Upon turning 18, many young people formerly under child protection (CRAE) are expelled from these institutions, loosing support services without a guaranteed transition to autonomy. This institutional gap leaves them unprotected at the exact moment they need it most, deepening their vulnerability.
An additional critical issue is the lack of institutional role models with migratory experience to help them navigate and understand the system.
This issue was a central concern raised during the Legislative Theatre sessions by the group working on policy design: the feeling of abandonment after turning 18, the absence of migrant role models in institutional positions, and the need for policies that recognise these young people not as "subjects to be regularised", but as citizens in active construction.
Proposed Solutions
1. Public Reception and Support Network with Migrant Role Models
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Problem Identification
Young adult migrants —especially those in irregular situations, lacking a family support system, without papers or (even) a home— face a very fragmented migration system, with residential, administrative and training pathways that are disconnected from each other. Insertion opportunities do not adapt to their life trajectories, recognise their prior knowledge or carry on real processes of social anchoring. Upon turning 18, many young people formerly under child protection (REAC) are expelled from these institutions, loosing support services without a guaranteed transition to autonomy. This institutional gap leaves them unprotected at the exact moment they need it most, deepening their vulnerability.
An additional critical issue is the lack of institutional role models with migratory experience to help them navigate and understand the system.
This issue was a central concern raised during the Legislative Theatre sessions by the group working on policy design: the feeling of abandonment after turning 18, the absence of migrant role models in institutional positions, and the need for policies that recognise these young people not as "subjects to be regularised", but as citizens in active construction.
Proposed Solutions
1. Public Reception and Support Network with Migrant Role Models
Establish a publicly funded network for first contacts or "Referents", made up of migrants with experience in the administrative migrantion processes, community mediation or social work.
This network would operate in neutral spaces (libraries, civic centres, etc.) and be institutionally recognised.
This model draws from existing community-based practices and experiences such as Colombia’s public libraries as civic access centres.
2. Reform of Access Criteria for Housing and Training Programmes
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Prioritise those who just turned 18 in residential and training insertion programmes. Particularly those leaving (and those who already left) child protection services, and lack documentation or family support.
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Prioritise those who just turned 18 in residential and training insertion programmes. Particularly those leaving (and those who already left) child protection services, and lack documentation or family support.
Avoid automatic exclusion based on documentation status: allow programme access for those who can demonstrate community ties through registration, participation in networks, or community.
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Specific Measure: Within CRAE (Residential Educational Action Centres), prioritise young people nearing adulthood who are in high-risk situations, ensuring uninterrupted transition to training and employment programmes without administrative gaps. This is a structural solution that anticipates and prevents institutional abandonment.
3. Adaptation of Public Training Offerings
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Specific Measure: Within REAC(Residential Educational Action Centres), prioritise young people nearing adulthood who are in high-risk situations, ensuring uninterrupted transition to training and employment programmes without administrative gaps. This is a structural solution that anticipates and prevents institutional abandonment.
3. Adaptation of Public Training Offerings
Introduce initial training programmes without language prerequisites, accompanied by parallel language support.
Design training paths based on the interests, experiences, and life contexts of individuals, without requiring formal credentials.
Reach agreements between the public sector and cooperatives/ companies to guarantee paid internships and stable employment opportunities.
4. Recognition of Competencies and Micro-Credentials
Promote flexible accreditation systems through micro-credentials or experience certificates based on prior (even informal or foreign) skills.
Create an inter-institutional agreement valid across the EU to ensure fast-track recognition.
5. Civil Rights and Political Participation
Beyond legal regularisation, there is an urgent need to ensure political citizenship in the making. Propose exploring participation models without requiring full legal status, acknowledging the right of young people to engage in processes that affect their lives.
“✳️ Experiment: Delegated Voting
Inspired by European debates (like in Germany) and local experiments in Spain, the proposal includes:”Allowing individuals without voting rights to delegate their vote to a trusted person with full citizenship in processes such as participatory budgeting or youth councils.
Proposed Actions:
Design pilots in collaboration with youth councils or citizen participation bodies.
Establish flexible regulatory frameworks to enable these experiences in willing municipalities.
Promote mixed forums where regularised and undocumented youth deliberate and co-create public policies.
Create “political peer” networks to share knowledge and common demands
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Develop pedagogical materials to reimagine new forms of grassroots democratic citizenship.
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Develop pedagogical materials to reimagine new forms of grassroots democratic citizenship.
Responsible Areas and Entities
Directorate-General for Migration (Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration)
Regional Directorates for Youth and Social Rights
DGAIA (in Catalonia) and equivalent child protection services
Local governments and inclusion offices
National Institute of Qualifications (INCUAL)
Ministry of Labour and Social Economy
Cooperatives, social enterprises and training networks
Specific Actions
Design a municipal pilot project (Barcelona, Madrid or Valencia) with a formally recognised institutional migrant role model.
Amend housing and training access criteria to include exceptions for undocumented over-18s or those exiting CRAE.
Create a public grant line for companies adapting training and insertion programmes with social clauses.
Implement a micro-credential system with national and EU-wide validity for individuals without formal degrees.
Launch a delegated voting pilot, including educational campaigns and alliances with local participatory institutions.
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This policy stems from the experience of Awa, Mamadou and Yassir (fictional names of session participants), young people who, after years of struggle within the child protection system, hit an administrative wall the moment they turned 18.
This proposal not only seeks to correct a systemic failure, but to transform the logic of access to citizenship — grounded in recognition, empathy, and shared participation.
This policy stems from the experience of Awa, Mamadou and Yassir (fictional names of session participants), young people who, after years of struggle within the child protection system, hit an administrative wall the moment they turned 18.
This proposal not only seeks to correct a systemic failure, but to transform the logic of access to citizenship — grounded in recognition, empathy, and shared participation.