Moroccan Man Gains Spanish Citizenship Through New Memory Law

Born in Tetouan, Imad moved to the city of Malaga to pursue his studies. The young Moroccan, who lived in Spain in the 2000s, considers himself Spanish, as his grandmother was of Spanish origin. Despite all these proven links with the Iberian Peninsula, Imad had been unable to obtain Spanish nationality for years. He had lost all hope when, in February 2023, he received a phone call from the lawyer he had entrusted with following up on his naturalization file in Spain. After informing him of the failure of his final appeal, Mr. Sanchez asked him to provide "the full birth certificate" of his grandmother.

Imad found a document bearing a civil registry number. Born in Morocco, the young man’s grandmother had been registered in the Spanish civil registry of Tangier. Imad began the process at the Spanish Consulate General in Tangier and obtained his grandmother’s full birth certificate within a few days. With this document, he could once again submit a naturalization file under the Democratic Memory Law, adopted by the Spanish parliament in October 2022. This law, which succeeds the 2007 Historical Memory Law, recognizes Spain’s responsibility in preserving the memory of people persecuted for various reasons between 1936 and 1975.

Specifically, this law offers the possibility for descendants of Spanish exiles to acquire Spanish nationality. It is sufficient to provide proof of Spanish ancestry over two generations. This is what Imad did, and a few months later he obtained his Spanish birth certificate, issued by the Spanish Ministry of Justice. His passport is currently being processed. Between October 21, 2022, the date the law came into effect, and December 31, 2023, some 226,354 naturalization applications were registered in Spanish consulates around the world, according to official data. Of these, 110,540 applications have been approved and 69,421 are already naturalized Spaniards.