The New Colombian Migration in Spain after the Great Recession: Integration and Emerging Profiles

Colombian immigration was one of the protagonists of the first international migratory wave from 2000 to 2007, with a clear pre-eminence of women, related both to the global chain of care and to the attraction factor exerted by the labour and marriage markets in Spain. After the Great Recession, Spain once again experienced a second migratory boom, only temporarily interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in this second flow of Colombian immigrants to Spain, the economic factors of expulsion and the existence of migratory chains supported by an extensive Colombian population already settled in Spain, explain a unique and differential character of the flows and the immigrant population between 2014 and 2022. The immigration and integration policies in Spain, which favours Latin American immigrants, helped Colombian immigrants to settle permanently in the country and grow socio-economically. With the help of national registers, data from the migration observatory, and the UN global migration database, this paper: 1) explores Spain's position in the Colombian diaspora; 2) examines the flow (size, structure and composition) of the Colombian population to Spain, comparing the two growth periods 2000-2007 and 2014-2021, and the impact of migration and integration policies on it; 3) studies the changes in the sociodemographic characteristics and territorial distribution of Colombians in Spain; and, 4) determines the demographic and legislative factors that affect the integration process of Colombians in Spain. The preliminary results show that the Colombians are well integrated into the Spanish society and economy, where they are contributing to different sectors.