Remittances on the rise despite crisis hitting immigrant population hard

Despite the lingering effects of the crisis, remittances sent from Spain are on the rise. Above all, as a result of the way that the country's immigrant population is adapting to the current economic situation.

Funds sent abroad grew 16.7 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2010, according to figures from the Bank of Spain. Between January and March of 2010, immigrants sent 1.582 billion euros back to their native countries, whereas during the same period this year that amount was 1.846 billion euros.

The figure reveals a provisional end to the crisis in remittances seen in this country from June 2008 to June 2010, when the total sent abroad fell by 17 percent, according to the study center Remesas.org. The recovery began in the third and fourth quarters of 2010, although at that point the rises were around 3 and 4 percent, compared to a "more than significant" increase, according to Íñigo Moré, the director of Remesas.org. Yearly increases of those registered now have not been seen since 2007.

The first explanation that would spring to mind for this rise is that Spain's immigrant population has enjoyed a salary boost, or instead that there are more foreigners here earning similar wages. But that is not the case, according to Moré. The rise in remittances is due principally to the fact that the effects of the crisis on immigrants is not as harsh as it was previously. In January, the inter-annual fall in the number of immigrants registered with the Social Security system was 3.1 percent, far from the figure of 15 percent seen in 2009.

"Jobs are not being destroyed at the speed we saw in 2009 and 2010, but they aren't growing with any strength yet either," Moré explains.

Another reason for the improvement lies in the immigrant population's adaptation to their environment. "The husband and the children return to their country of origin, and the woman stays here working, as a maid, for example," explains Vladimir Paspuel, president of the Ecuadorian-Hispanic association Rumiñahui. That way, all of the maintenance costs are borne in the native country.

Verónica, a 28-year-old Ecuadorian, is the perfect example of this model. Currently working in Madrid's airport, she has been in Spain since 2003, and has been a hairdresser, house cleaner and waitress during that time. She married a compatriot in Spain, and they had a child. In January 2008, her husband, who worked in the construction sector, found himself out of work for the first time. It took him a year to get work. In February of this year, he found himself unemployed once more.

"That was when we had to make a decision," Verónica explains. "It's very difficult to live on your own with just one salary when you have kids. You have to pay the rent of an entire apartment." Verónica earns 1,000 euros a month. From that, she is having to pay for the cost of her families' tickets to Ecuador, as well as sending around 200 euros a month home to cover maintenance, medical costs, and so on.

"I'm finding it tough," she says. "It's a constant battle and a sacrifice."

According to Remesas.org, Paraguayans and Bolivians send around 30 percent of their earnings home, while Argentineans send back 8 percent. In absolute terms, Chinese and Filipinos send the most money home: around 3,000 euros a year.