In short: On 22 July 2026 Spain's Ministry of Interior and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) signed a First Addendum amending their November 2025 Agreement (ES/C/2025/004). The Addendum adds funding (€796,535) for two 2026 projects: assisted voluntary return from Morocco, and integrated border management (GEFMES VI). It creates no new individual rights — it is a funding instrument between the State and IOM.
What the Addendum changes: it updates the project annex (Annex B), the payment amount and schedule, and the procedure for notifying project extensions, within the existing Interior-IOM framework agreement.
What it funds — two projects:
- Assisted voluntary return and reintegration from Morocco (€346,535) — for migrants in a situation of special vulnerability returning from Morocco to their country of origin, with guidance and reintegration support.
- GEFMES VI — Integrated Border Management (€450,000), January to December 2026. IOM cultural mediators have a fixed presence in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, El Hierro, the Balearic Islands and Almería; there is also a mobile team that can travel, depending on how arrivals evolve, to other Canary Islands, other arrival areas and Ceuta and Melilla. It includes: first-hand information for migrants arriving irregularly by sea (at ports and Temporary Reception Centres for Foreigners, CATE), in several languages (English, French, Arabic, Wolof, Bambara, Mandinka, Dogon, Dioula, Pulaar), via materials with QR codes and a 24-hour contact number for IOM cultural mediators; and training for Spanish security forces on profiling and vulnerability assessment, aligned with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Who benefits and how do you access it? There is no formal application for the migrant: information and guidance are provided directly on arrival at ports or reception centres, through IOM mediators (IOM Spain, supported by the Vienna and Brussels regional offices). Surveys of migrants are voluntary, anonymous, and based on prior consent. For the voluntary-return side, access runs through IOM and the usual partner organisations of the return programme (see the related voluntary-return card below).
Important — what this does NOT mean: this Addendum funds IOM projects; it does not change your migration status, your asylum rights, or your obligations if you arrived irregularly. If you need to apply for international protection, that is a separate procedure (see the asylum card).
Official source: BOE-A-2026-16547, 30 July 2026.
Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.