The deadline for applying for Spanish nationality under the Democratic Memory Law closes, with 414,652 grants

Eduardo González This Wednesday, October 22, marks the closing date for applying for Spanish nationality under the 2022 Democratic Memory Law. According to the latest data from July 31, the balance is 414,652 grants (237,145 already registered) and 876,321 applications, 423,048 pending processing. The Democratic Memory Law (popularly known as the "Grandchildren's Law") of October 2022 allowed access to Spanish nationality to people who were unable to apply for it between 2008 and 2011 under the Historical Memory Law approved in 2007 by the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Under this law, around 250,000 descendants of Franco exiles were naturalized, primarily in the consulates of France, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba. The 2022 law granted Spanish nationality to "those born outside of Spain to a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, who were originally Spanish, and who, as a result of having suffered exile for political, ideological, or religious reasons, or because of their sexual orientation and identity, had lost or renounced their Spanish nationality." Furthermore, it outlined other cases, such as those for descendants born abroad to Spanish women who lost their nationality for marrying foreigners before the 1978 Constitution came into force. A two-year deadline was set for formalizing applications from the Law's entry into force. However, in July 2024, the Council of Ministers extended the deadline for applying for Spanish nationality through the Democratic Memory Law for a third year, until October 22, 2025, after the General Council of Spanish Citizenship Abroad (CGCEE) warned that staff shortages were causing "saturation" in the "consulates general, which are understaffed for this process." The Spanish consular offices in the various countries were responsible for processing these applications. More than 95% of these applications were received at Spanish consular offices in Latin America and at the Spanish Consulate General in Miami. Specifically, according to government data, 42% of the applications were submitted in Argentina, 12.2% in Cuba, 11% in Brazil, 9.7% in Mexico, 5% in Chile, and 2.4% in Venezuela. The five consulates in Argentina accounted for 40% of the total applications and, together with the consulate in Havana (Cuba), exceeded 53% of the total. In early October, the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, announced in Buenos Aires that the application period could be extended if political circumstances permitted. However, the deadline has not been extended, and the affected associations have called for the adoption of a new law of this type without time limits. According to the specialized newspaper 'España Exterior,' the president of the General Council of Spanish Citizens Abroad (CGCEE), Violeta Alonso, recently warned that "it is not only necessary, but essential, to have a definitive law so that these benefits are permanent and also address some situations that have not been covered by this law, because we know of cases of people who are just now finding out about it and people who have not been able to apply and have been left out despite the fact that the Eighth Provision has been very extensive and generous with citizenship." For his part, the secretary of the Council of Spanish Residents (CRE) of Uruguay, Miguel Pérez, stated in mid-October that "there is a bitter taste in the mouth that many people are just finding out when the deadline expires on the 22nd." Therefore, he called for "a real law that regulates these types of situations and not a phased approach, as has been the case continuously." For his part, the Secretary General of Emigration of the Xunta de Galicia and head of the PP Abroad, Antonio Rodríguez Miranda, defended on October 1st in the Galician Parliament the creation of a specific nationality law so that the descendants of emigrants can access citizenship without a time limit.

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