The government of Spain has revealed that it will increase the number of appointments for nationality applications under Laws 36 and 20 at its Consulate in Havana starting next week.
The decision was confirmed by the Spanish consulate in Havana, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
As of March 18, nationality appointments will be extended by Law 36 and Law 20. Please note that a reserved appointment cannot be cancelled or brought forward. Access to the appointment will be preceded by verification of the identity card number.
The government of Spain announced in February this year that it will extend the nationality application period through the Law of Democratic Memory in Spain, known as the “Law of Grandchildren”, until 2025.
The new decision gives more time to the descendants of Spanish exiles to start their procedures to obtain nationality in Spain.
Law of Grandchildren Offers Citizenship to Thousands of Grandchildren of Exciled Spaniards
Approved on October 21, 2022, the Law of Democratic Memory in Spain became effective the day after it was published.
“The Law of Grandchildren” in Spain allows descendants of Spaniards who were obliged to leave the country during the Spanish Civil War and the Franco regime to apply for Spanish nationality.
The law, which recognises and extends rights and establishes measures in favour of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and Dictatorship, was passed in order to address the injustices committed during that period in Spain.
Up until now, 182,400 people have applied for Spanish nationality based on this law, and 51 per cent of them have received a positive response to their applications.
The law offers opportunities for Spanish nationality to the categories mentioned below, as emphasized by the Forum for Expatriate Management:
- Those born outside Spain whose parent or grandparent was originally Spanish lost or renounced their Spanish nationality due to political, religious, ideological or sexual orientation reasons, which led to their exile.
- Children born outside Spain to Spanish women who lost their citizenship by marrying internationals before the 1978 Constitution was enacted.
- Children of Spanish citizens who acquired their original citizenship through the right of option mentioned in this law.
Recently, the government of Spain and Cuba approved a common collaboration agreement that will expedite the procedures for those born on the island who meet the conditions to apply for Spanish citizenship, as reported by Cibercuba.
Delays in processing the documents at the Civil Registries in Cuba and the Spanish Consulate in Havana have caused many cases of citizenship applications through Law 36, known as the Law of Democratic Memory, to remain unsolved. Therefore, the new changes aim to accelerate these processes.
