The Draft Law on Democratic Memory is currently being debated in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, a law that aims to compensate the victims and victims of the Spanish civil war and its subsequent dictatorship, and which, among its most important measures, includes new ways of acquiring nationality for those who are children or grandchildren of Spaniards of origin.
This law complements Law 52/2007 of 26 December 2007, which is no longer in force, and whose 7th additional provision established the possibility of acquiring nationality for those who had a Spanish father or mother of origin, and which could be extended to their minor children. This regulation lost its validity in November 2011, and left many people waiting to regularise their nationality.
Well, this new regulation, which is expected to be approved this year, regulates in its 8th additional provision up to 3 ways of acquiring Spanish nationality: One general, and 2 specific.
General case
Any foreigner who has had an original Spanish father or mother, or grandfather or grandmother, and who has lost or renounced their nationality due to exile for ideological, political or religious reasons, will have the right to opt for Spanish nationality. Obviously, this case covers any grandchild of a native Spaniard, but not just anyone, but those whose grandparents went to live in another country because of their disagreement with General Franco’s regime, and this is where the difficulty lies, in proving that your grandparents left for ideological reasons (i.e. those who left to start a new business, or to marry a foreigner, would not be included), and given the time that has passed, it will be very difficult to recapture evidence.
Specific assumptions
There are 2 specific requirements to obtain nationality, and obviously easier to prove than the previous case, and they are:
Those whose mother (therefore, here it does not apply to grandchildren) lost her Spanish nationality because she married a foreigner. Before the promulgation of the current Spanish Constitution (29/12/1978), Spanish legislation established that a Spanish woman lost her nationality if she married a foreign citizen, which, in addition to being a discrimination based on sex, established a clear injustice for many foreigners whose mother, if she had kept her nationality, would have caused them to be born Spanish as well. Well, this rule aims to compensate all those people, and from its entry into force they will be able to apply for nationality by choice, regardless of their age.
Those who, when their father or mother took advantage of Law 52/2007, of 26 December, could not obtain Spanish nationality because they were of legal age at the time. As we have indicated above, the aforementioned Law allowed anyone who had a Spanish father or mother of origin to apply for Spanish nationality, and this could be extended to their minor children. Well, this Law compensates those grandchildren who could not apply for Spanish nationality, together with their parents, because they were of legal age, who will now be allowed to acquire Spanish nationality by option.
It is important to bear in mind that this Law is not yet in force and is being debated in the Spanish Parliament, but unless there are big surprises, there will be no changes in the text relating to the acquisition of nationality, and we must bear in mind that, once it comes into force, we will only have 2 years to regularise our nationality, so it is important to act quickly, and to seek the advice of a good professional to be able to take advantage of these new cases without surprises.
At EXTRANJERISTAS we can advise you and take care of your nationality procedure. For more information call 931454520