APPENDIX B

Excerpts from Royal Decree 864/2001, of July 20, Approving the Implementing Regulation for Organic Law 4/2000, of January 11, on the Rights and Liberties of Foreign Nationals in Spain and Their Social Integration, Reformed by Organic Law 8/2000, of December 22

Article 62. Unprotected foreign minors.
1. If state security forces or agencies know of or locate an undocumented foreign national whose status as a minor cannot be determined with certainty, they will inform the services for the protection of minors, which will provide this person with the immediate attention he or she requires, in accordance with the provisions of legislation for the legal protection of minors. The Ministerio Fiscal will be immediately notified and this office, in collaboration with the pertinent health care institutions, will order the determination of the person's age by means of the necessary tests, which will be carried out on a priority basis.

2. If the person is found to be a minor, the Ministerio Fiscal will put him or her in the care of the competent services for the protection of minors.

3. If during the procedures for determining the minor's age, he or she should require immediate attention, the state security forces and agencies will request this of the competent services for the protection of minors.

4. The national administration, in accordance with the principle of family regrouping for minors, having heard the minor, and on the basis of a report by the services for the protection of minors, will decide what action shall be taken to return the minor to his or her country of origin or to the country where his family resides, or failing this, what action to take regarding the minor remaining in Spain.

Action will be taken ex-oficio by the national administration or upon the request of the public body responsible for protecting the minor. This body must provide government authorities with any information it may have in relation to the minor or his or her family, country or place of residence, as well as indicating any steps that have been taken to locate the minor's family.

Government authorities will inform the Ministerio Fiscal of all action taken to these effects. The national administration is the competent authority for taking the procedural steps to repatriate an unprotected foreign minor, in accordance with civil legislation. This administration will act through the Government Delegations and Sub-Delegations, and the latter will act through provincial offices for foreign nationals and documentation. These will contact the General Office for Foreigners and Documentation so that the necessary steps can be taken with the corresponding embassies and consulates, in order to locate the families of the minors, or failing this, the services for the protection of minors in their country of origin that would take responsibility for them. If the country is not represented diplomatically in Spain, these steps will be taken through the channels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

When the family of a minor, or failing this, the services for the protection of minors in his or her country have been located, the minor will be repatriated after verifying that this would not imply any risk or danger to the minor's well-being or to that of his or her family.

If the minor is involved in judicial proceedings, repatriation will require judicial authorization. In any case, it must be indicated in the case file that the Ministerio Fiscal has been notified.

The Government Delegate or the Deputy Government Delegate must agree that the minor be repatriated, if they have been delegated powers to this effect. Agents of the National Police Force will implement the repatriation.
Repatriation will be carried out at the expense of the family of the minor or of the services for the protection of minor in his or her country. Otherwise, the diplomatic or consular representative of the minor's country will be notified to this effect. Alternatively, the national administration will be responsible for the cost of repatriation.
5. Nine months after the minor has been put under the care of the competent services for the protection of minors, referred to in section 2 of this article, and after attempts have been to repatriate the minor with his or family or to his or her country of origin, if this has not been possible, the minor will be granted the residence permit referred to in article 35.4 of Organic Law 4/2000, reformed by Organic Law 8/2000.

6. In the case of minors applying for asylum, this will be governed by the provisions of the fourth paragraph of article 15 of the implementing regulation of Law 5/1984, of March 26, regulating the right to asylum and refugee status, modified by Law 9/1994, of May 19, passed by Royal Decree 203/1995, of February 10.