The secretary of state for migration (SEM) is a senior official of the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration responsible for developing the government's policy on foreigners, immigration and emigration. It also attends and advises the minister in the international meetings about these matters, especially in the European Union meetings.

The SEM is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the minister of inclusion, social security and migration. From the secretary of state depends a three departments: the Directorate-General for Migration Management, the Directorate-General for Humanitarian Care and the International Protection Reception System and the Directorate-General for Spanish Citizenry Abroad and Return Policies.

Since its inception and its worldwide expansion, Spain has always been a country that has received and sent large amounts of population. Most of the South American population and in a lesser amount the North American population, descends from Spanish ancestry.

That has provoke that a common culture and language link dozens of countries of all the world, not just Latin American countries but also Asian countries like the Philippines, African countries like Morocco or Equatorial Guinea and North American countries like United States and Canada.

It is not clear when migratory issues took center stage within the Spanish administration, although there is evidence that in 1882, a section was created inside the Ministry of Development destinated to these matters. Before this, there are documents that proves that the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of the Navy and the Ministry of Overseas were in charge of overseeing the migrations in the Peninsular Spain and in the Spanish territories in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania and that there were also parliamentary committees to discuss migrations matters.

In the 1920s, the Ministry of Labour assumed the competencies over immigration and emigration that still today maintains. During the dictatorship of Franco, in 1956, it was created the Spanish Institute for Emigration in order to control the emigration of the Spanish population, trying to direct it to countries with cultural links like South American's. This was done through collecting labor information abroad to offer Spaniards more attractive jobs in this type of countries.

In 1985, the Institute was transformed into a Directorate-General being called Directorate-General of the Spanish Institute for Emigration. The name of this directorate was changed in 1991 to Directorate-General for Migration, a more accurate name because since 1985 this directorate had competences not only over emigration, but also over all kind of migrations.

The Directorate-General change its name many times, in 1996 to Directorate-General for Labor and Migration and in 1998 Directorate General for the Regulation of Migrations.