Spanish people of Filipino ancestry

The first Filipino settlements in Spain date back to the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines between the 16th and 19th century, although most migration from the Philippines to Spain during this period was to the territories of New Spain, where some 3,600 Asians – mostly Filipinos working on the Manila galleons – migrated to between 1565 and 1700.[3]

Migration to metropolitan Spain from the Philippines was practically non-existent for most of the islands' history under Spanish rule,[4] and didn't begin until the end of the 19th century, when the ilustrados, largely from the middle and upper classes, pursued higher education in Spain.[5] By 1880, some 200 Filipinos, including figures such as José Rizal, were living in Spain to pursue higher education, although many from this group of migrants would return to the Philippines later on in the wake of the Philippine Revolution.[6] Intermittent migration from this period would continue until the early American colonial period when, starting in the 1920s, economic ties between the Philippines and Spain began to be cut in favor of ties with the United States.[7]

Contemporary migration to Spain from the Philippines can be broken down into three waves. The first wave of Filipino migration to Spain consisted primarily of Spanish Filipinos and Spaniards in the Philippines who would leave the country after World War II and in the first years after Philippine independence, beginning with some 300 survivors of the Battle of Manila who left the country onboard two ships, the Plus Ultra and the Halekala.[8] Contemporary economic migration did not begin until the 1960s, when a second wave of migrants moved to Spain as domestic workers, largely women in the employ of Spanish businessmen who in that period decided to return to Spain from the Philippines while bringing their domestic helpers along with them.[6] This was followed by a third wave that began in the 1980s, whose members replaced those of the second wave who had since migrated to other countries, particularly the United States and Canada.[4] The later two waves of migration significantly changed the makeup of the Filipino community in Spain, as later arrivals were typically of a lower social class and had few (if any) ties to Spain compared to the existing community established by the first wave of migrants, which was wealthier, had more ties to Spain and was relatively small by comparison.[9]

Overseas Filipino Workers were not formally deployed to Spain in large numbers until 2006, when the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the entry of skilled labor, leading to the deployment of some 160 Filipino nurses and caregivers to nursing homes throughout Spain.[10] The agreement, which would allow for up to 200,000 Filipino workers to enter Spain,[10] also paved the way for other highly-skilled professionals like engineers and doctors to migrate to the country.[11] This led to significant growth in the community: while there were only 25,000 Filipinos in Spain in 1992,[12] this grew to over 40,000 by 2006,[10] and to over 50,000 by the following year.[11]

There are over 150,000 Filipinos in Spain as of 2015,[1] and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística estimates that there are 52,879 persons in Spain who were born in the Philippines,[13] including 37,033 Filipino citizens registered in municipal registers (padrón municipal de habitantes) throughout Spain, as of 2020.[2] While Filipinos in Spain come from various parts of the Philippines, most originate from Luzon, with Tagalogs, Ilocanos and Bicolanos being the most numerous.[14] As Filipinos can apply for citizenship after only two years' residence in Spain,[15] some 2,000 Filipinos acquire Spanish nationality every year, a phenomenon which began in the 1990s,[1] and it is believed that the actual number of Filipinos in Spain – including those who have since become Spanish citizens – could be as high as 300,000.[16]

Nearly three quarters of all Filipinos in Spain live in the Community of Madrid and Catalonia, with smaller populations in Spain's other autonomous communities,[2] and major Filipino enclaves are found in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, where most Filipinos in Spain live.[5] In Madrid, most Filipinos live in the district of Tetuán,[17] forming the largest immigrant group in four of the district's six neighborhoods, as well as in four other neighborhoods in other parts of the city.[18] Meanwhile, about half of all Filipinos living in Barcelona live in the district of Ciutat Vella, with significant populations also found in the Eixample and Sants-Montjuïc districts.[19] The community is primarily concentrated in the northern half of El Raval in Ciutat Vella,[20] which is reportedly home to fifteen percent of all Filipino citizens in Spain and is also home to most of the local community's cultural and social institutions.[21] More diffuse communities are also found in Málaga, with some 5,000 Filipinos residing in the eponymous province,[22] and the Balearic Islands, with some 2,500 on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera,[23] and another 2,000 on Mallorca.[24]

Before 2006, Filipinos who went to Spain for work typically did so as domestic helpers,[11] and most Filipinos in Spain still work either as domestic helpers or in adjacent service industries,[16] including in the restaurant industry,[25] as hotel workers,[20] and as house cleaners.[21] Beyond the service sector, Filipinos are also employed as farm workers in rural Spain,[26] nurses,[27] language assistants,[28] and military personnel.[29] For Filipinos looking to migrate overseas, Spain is seen as an attractive destination due to its robust labor laws and generous pay and employment benefits,[11] as well as the relative ease of obtaining legal residence in the country compared to other countries in Europe.[20]

In recent years, Filipinos in Spain have also begun setting up their own businesses,[30] with a number of Filipino restaurants, bars, bakeries, grocery stores and call shops setting up shop in Tetuán and El Raval.[31][32] Wealthy Filipinos have also spurred demand for Spain's immigrant investor program.[33]

• Filipino people of Spanish ancestry
• Demographics of Spain
• Philippine–Spanish Friendship Day