MIAMI.- The Government of Spain extends by one year the period for exercising the right to opt for Spanish nationality provided for in the Law on Democratic Memory.
The rule, which was originally adopted in 2022 and is popularly known as the “grandchildren law”, recognizes the right to the nationality of the European country “of those born outside of Spain (Cubans, Venezuelans, etc.) to a father, mother, grandmother or grandfather who originally were or are Spanish,” recalled lawyer Ariel Fraga, of the Fraga Law Firmbased in Barcelona, Spain.
In this way, the law is in force until October 2025, so thousands of Cubans, Venezuelans and other origins will have at least 12 more months to gather the required documentation and submit the application at the Spanish consulate corresponding to their country of origin.
In fact, the number of interested parties and applicants is so high and the required documents are difficult to obtain in many cases that the Spanish Government is therefore extending the two-year period provided for applying for Spanish nationality.
Since the entry into force of the aforementioned Law, the Consular Civil Registry Offices have received more than 300,000 applications for the option of Spanish nationality of origin.
“More than 95% of the applications have been received at the Spanish consulates in Latin America and Miami. Specifically, the five Spanish consulates general in Argentina represent 40% of the applications, and, together with the Spanish Consulate General in Havana, Cuba, they exceed 53% of the applications,” said the report from the Council of Ministers of Spain.
To obtain information on what to do or what to have on hand to submit the application, lawyer Fraga advises “consulting the competent Spanish Consulate, which is the one in the place of birth of the person submitting the file.”
In the case of persons residing outside the country of birth, they must contact the local Spanish Consulate to facilitate the process with the consular office established in the place of birth.
“It is important to always check the websites of the Consulates, although the truth is that not all the specifics of each one are published,” he added.
