Andorra's Foreign Ministry Aids 5 Spouses Denied Schengen Visas by Spain

Andorra's Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervened in five cases last year where Spanish embassies denied Schengen visas to spouses of Andorran citizens from third countries, preventing their entry into Europe.

The ministry provided administrative support in these isolated family reunification matters, working alongside the Bilateral Affairs department. Assistance focused on bureaucratic tasks such as obtaining or validating certificates, stamps and other documents needed to unblock the applications. Officials emphasised that the help did not involve any exceptional political or diplomatic mediation.

These incidents formed part of 25 consular assistance cases handled by Foreign Affairs in 2025, a year of steady activity in direct citizen support and coordination with diplomatic missions. The ministry received an average of five daily inquiries on consular issues, processing 859 via the public email consulars@govern.ad—mostly general information requests, procedure tracking and citizen guidance. An internal channel, MAE_consulars@govern.ad, for embassy coordination logged 583 exchanges on case follow-ups and specific situations.

Other notable actions included resolving two instances where Andorran citizens were barred from boarding a Mediterranean cruise due to missing passport stamps, enabling their travel. The ministry also streamlined transport approvals for shooting athletes' explosive materials abroad, coordinating 21 requests through the Andorran Shooting Federation. It issued 19 temporary laissez-passer certificates for lost, stolen or damaged passports, and managed various emergencies from natural disasters, serious personal incidents and other needs, liaising with local authorities, Andorran embassies and occasionally Spanish or French representations.

In 2026 to mid-May, no major new emergencies have arisen beyond aid to 31 people linked to the Middle East conflict, already reported publicly, plus four laissez-passer cases.

Embassy services in 2025 covered 64 driving permit certificates, 31 passport procedures and 16 general or apostille requests. Traveller registrations rose to 463 from 267 in 2023 and 346 in 2024, with 269 added by 15 May 2026, attributed to greater public awareness, promotion efforts and global geopolitical tensions.

The Work and Holiday programme approved 18 of 72 applicants in 2025, mainly from Canada and the UK, with seven more validated by 18 May 2026.