Spain Grants Citizenship to Descendants of Exiles Under New Memory Law

As of January 31, 64 nationality applications have been received in the Spanish consulates in Morocco, of which only ten have been accepted. In Russia, 23 applications were filed at the Spanish consulate in Moscow, of which 18 were validated. According to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12,862 of the 24,729 applications filed in the 179 consular offices of Spain around the world have already been approved, reports Europa Press.

Since the entry into force of the law on democratic memory on October 19, Cubans, Argentines and Mexicans have been the most numerous to file applications for Spanish nationality (14,610). In detail, a total of 7,119 Argentine nationals filed applications in the five Spanish consulates general in the country (Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza and Rosario), but only 1,145 obtained Spanish nationality. At the Consulate General of Havana, 4,041 nationality applications were received, but 1,970 were registered.

Mexican nationals come in third place with 3,450 applications received in the three Spanish consulates in the country (Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey) and 1,659 new Spanish citizens registered during the period. They are followed by Uruguay with 533 registered, Peru (335), Guatemala (238) and Venezuela (120). Outside Latin America, a total of 566 applications for Spanish nationality have been received in the eight Spanish consulates in France, of which only 22 have been validated. In the United States, 549 applications were filed in the seven Spanish consulates in the country and at the embassy in Washington, of which 80 were successful.

Under the law on democratic memory, "persons born outside Spain of a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, who would have been Spanish originally, and those born outside Spain of a father or mother, can obtain Spanish nationality." Similarly, "the sons and daughters born abroad of Spanish women who lost their nationality by marrying foreigners before the entry into force of the 1978 Constitution" can also apply for nationality. The same applies to "the adult children of Spaniards whose origin of nationality has been recognized under the right of option in accordance with the law on democratic memory or the law on historical memory" of 2007.