Few Prove Ancestry Among 1.2 Million New Spanish Citizens

A startling revelation before the Spanish Supreme Court has intensified discussions around the so-called "Grandchildren's Law": out of approximately 1.2 million individuals who have gained Spanish nationality under the 2022 guidelines, only 900 have been able to provide documentation proving their grandparents were exiles from the Franco regime, which is the original intent of the law passed by Spain's Congress of Deputies.

This was clarified by attorney Julio Rodríguez Pellitero, who represented a case in front of the Supreme Court, during an interview with CiberCuba. He explained that the Spanish government, through its State Attorney's Office, provided this evidence upon the request of the plaintiff. "The government, represented by the State Attorney's Office, demonstrated, upon the plaintiff's request, that merely 900 nationalities are linked to grandchildren of exiles," he stated.

This statistic takes on greater significance when viewed against the total number: "Out of 1.2 million, only 900 people have been able to prove their grandparents were exiles," emphasized Rodríguez Pellitero.

Complexities of Proving Exile

The discrepancy arises from two main factors. First, the directive signed in October 2022 by Sofía Puente Santiago, the then Director-General of Legal Security and Public Faith, did not require proving exile to gain nationality; it was sufficient to confirm that the grandparent was Spanish. "If your grandparent was Spanish, you could choose nationality through them being Spanish or also prove they were exiled," Rodríguez Pellitero explained. Secondly, documenting exile involves gathering complex evidence, unlike merely presenting a birth certificate of the grandparent.

Add to this a historical factor: "The number of true exiles is quite small. The republican exiles primarily went to Mexico, Cuba, but they weren't many," noted the attorney.

Implications for Voting Rights

On October 28, the government submitted to the Supreme Court a list of 163,355 people whose voting rights were impacted by a precautionary measure in September, when the court suspended the electoral effects of around 170,000 registrations in the Electoral Census of Absent Residents (CERA) related to this instruction, ahead of the general elections on November 29. Out of those 163,355 individuals, only 901 files included consular certification confirming an ancestor's exile.

This past Friday, the Supreme Court declined to extend the suspension to those nationalized as residents in Spain, which means those living and registered in the country will be able to vote in November.

The Risk of Annulment

The litigants — Iustitia Europa and Vox in separate proceedings — are seeking the complete annulment of the 2022 instruction, which could jeopardize the nationality of those who obtained it through their Spanish grandparent without being descendants of exiles. Rodríguez Pellitero acknowledges the argument but warns of the repercussions: "I understand the petitioner's viewpoint. If someone became Spanish without following the proper legal channels, their vote should be void. Because their nationality has a flaw." Yet, he views it as excessive to attempt to annul 99.9% of the nationalities granted, infringing upon the principle of legal certainty, four years later.

Impact on Cuban Nationals

Cuba ranks as the second most affected nation, only following Argentina. Since 2022, over 350,000 Cubans have initiated Spanish nationality processes, with the Spanish Consulate in Havana holding more than 137,700 pending cases. "This is an issue that clearly impacts and could impact hundreds of thousands of Cubans," warned the lawyer.