Individuals born in the Canary Islands, who have lived in the Islands for years and hold employment contracts with companies located in the Archipelago, are compelled to pay the full fare for boats or flights when travelling to other islands or the mainland. Despite being registered in the census of a Canary municipality, the Canary resident discount excludes them due to their migrant status. For years, both migrants and the Association Solidarity Venezuela have been voicing their concerns regarding what they deem an obstacle to their mobility. “It is an injustice because we contribute, pay taxes, and live in the Canaries,” laments Marcelo Máspero, the president of the Venezuelan organisation.
The regulation stipulates that being registered in a Canary municipality is a prerequisite for benefiting from the resident discount. This is specified in Royal Decree 1316/2001, dated 30 November, which governs this subsidy for residents of the Canaries, Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla. However, individuals with travel certificates issued by their local councils encounter difficulties at the boarding gate, where they are required to pay the full fare. This issue is not isolated. Máspero points out that they receive daily reports from travellers facing this situation, prompting the group to highlight the requirement of the decree to escalate their complaints in recent years.
The most recent response they received was from the Ombudsman, who acknowledged the entity’s discontent. In December 2024, a recommendation was issued to the Secretary of State for Transport, under the Ministry of Transport, requesting a review of the access requirements for the subsidy. This recommendation was rejected. This publication attempted multiple avenues at various times to obtain a response, but did not receive an answer to its inquiries.
The Ministry of Transport adds on its website that individuals from third countries (those not belonging to the European Union) must not only be registered in one of the four aforementioned territories, but also possess a long-term residence card, which is granted after an individual has resided legally in Spain for over five years. The Venezuelan entity argues that this stipulation is not included in the regulation governing the resident discount. They question why this Ministry would assess “a competence that it does not possess, such as the control of documentation and administrative status,” and contend that it leaves individuals who cannot afford the cost of air or maritime tickets in a more precarious situation, as outlined in the document sent to the Ombudsman.
Lawyer Loueila Sid Ahmed Ndiaye, who has been advising the Venezuelan migrant entity, details that the issue arises from the conflict between this decree and a General State Budget Law from 2013, which establishes that individuals must possess a long-term residence card. In its response to the Ombudsman, the Merchant Navy, a department within the Ministry of Transport, defends that the intention of the legislator is to ensure that these individuals “enjoy a greater degree of connection with Spain, extended over time and embodied in possessing residence in the territory.”
However, there are individuals with strong ties to the Islands who remain excluded from the discount. “In the Canaries, there are people who were born here and who have not managed to regularise their status, some of whom have been here for 20 years. In the Canaries, Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, there are individuals who have become irregular due to their parents, despite having been born in that territory,” the lawyer emphasises. She adds that she has dealt with cases where individuals born here have to travel to Madrid to renew their mother’s passport and cannot afford the full ticket price: “How is that single mother going to pay for the tickets for all those children?” she queries.
This exclusion also adversely affects mobility for work-related reasons. The lawyer recalls the case of a woman married to a Spaniard who, due to her job as a sales representative, must travel frequently between the islands. “This woman told me that she was unsure whether to keep her job, as she has to travel to Gran Canaria almost every week, and the costs are so high that she cannot bear them,” she underscores. Andy Lermith has similarly encountered challenges in moving between islands for work and leisure. A Venezuelan registered in Telde for the past nine years, he works in Gran Canaria under a contract and had humanitarian residency and work permission until last year. He notes that during his many travels between the islands, he experienced issues boarding, as he was asked to pay the full fare despite having a travel certificate. Now that he has Spanish nationality, he has been informed by an airline that he must register with the Ministry of Transport to access the discount. “I contribute to the national treasury through my work, yet I am not granted the Canary resident discount, even though I am contributing to such subsidies,” he complains.
The consequences of this limitation in implementing the subsidy hinder foreign-born individuals from exploring the other islands that form part of the Archipelago where they have lived for years. This sentiment is echoed by Soda Niasse, a Senegalese individual registered in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since June 2019. She is employed and has been married to a Spaniard for a few years, with whom she has two children, who also hold Spanish nationality. She recounts that during the August bank holiday this year, her family proposed a trip to Tenerife, but due to the high cost of the tickets, they decided to postpone. “For me, they do not facilitate ways to connect with your community, as a citizen, or to interact with others,” she laments. Lermith also acknowledges that this situation has hindered his ability to explore other islands. Without the resident discount, the cost of an air ticket between Gran Canaria and Tenerife can be as much as €136 higher. By boat, the difference can be around €100. “It’s utterly discriminatory. What is the purpose of the legislator and the subsidy? To bring closer the autonomous communities that are insular and must move by air or sea,” asserts Sid Ahmed.
For these individuals, the experience of travelling induces uncertainty and anxiety, particularly upon reaching the boarding gate. Lermith emphasises that this moment causes him “angst and anxiety,” as until the last moment before boarding the plane, he is unsure if he will be told to pay the full fare: “There are people who prefer to spend money on a more expensive ticket, just in case they are sent back at the gate,” he confides. It is also uncomfortable, as these scenes unfold in front of many onlookers. Niasse admits to feeling embarrassed when company staff separate her from the queue to discuss her situation, which can escalate in tone: “It’s embarrassing. That’s why I now prefer to buy a more expensive ticket or stay at home rather than endure that humiliation,” she states.
Máspero adds that many municipalities issue travel certificates, which specify the right to the resident discount. However, once at the boarding gate, the airline refuses to accept the ticket purchased with this discount. “In the end, this is all exclusion; it is institutional violence and, in a way, it is also racism,” he emphasises.
