They are joined by another 200,000 who have already been issued passports under the Democratic Memory Law.
14ymedio, Madrid, 13 March 2025 — About 300,000 Cubans are currently processing an application for Spanish nationality based on the Democratic Memory Law — also called ’The Law of Grandchildren’ — whose submission deadline ends October 21. The number was released this Thursday by Juan Manuel de Hoz, spokesman for the United Spanish Descendants Center (CeDEU), in statements to the regional newspaper La Voz de Galicia.
The association explained that, according to its current data, there are 200,000 passports already delivered to descendants of those who were forced into exile for political reasons during the time of Franco, although it does not have figures disaggregated by nationality of origin.
To these must be added more than a million people who are in the process. The 300,000 Cubans pale next to the more than the 790,000 Argentines who are distributed among the consulates of Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Rosario.
“The figures are impressive, and at the end of the process we will have between a million and a half and two million new Spaniards,” De Hoz tells the Galician media. “It is a very generous law, comparable to that of Portugal and even broader than that of Italy,” he added.
“The figures are impressive, and at the end of the process we will have between a million and a half and two million new Spaniards”
The law, says the activist “gives the right to obtain [Spanish] nationality to all the grandchildren of the emigrants, absolutely to all and, in addition, to their children. Their descendants will be able to continue to do so later, as long as they ratify at the age of 18 that they want to maintain the Spanish nationality inherited from one of their parents.”
De la Hoz indicates that Cubans, the second nationality in number of applications – Mexico, Venezuela and France are also among the countries with the most applications – have had an extra difficulty, since the country is not a signatory of the 1961 Hague Convention.
In Cuba, the difficulty of not adhering to the Hague Apostille Convention is added. This mechanism simplifies the validation process of official documents for international law but requires the country to be a signatory of the agreement. Cuba, therefore, has its own stamp for the documentation that is required, which implies more time. De la Hoz, however, is optimistic about the changes in the digitization of records and believes that it will alleviate the problems of applicants on the Island.
The CeDEU spokesman has taken the opportunity to highlight the relevance of good advice when it comes to simplifying procedures, something that is “exemplary” in Argentine embassies. “The important thing is to educate yourself in the time remaining before the deadline so that everyone knows what steps to take. This process is proving exemplary in the consulates of Rosario and Buenos Aires through its civil registry officer and his team,” he emphasizes.
To obtain nationality through this channel, you must register as a user at the consulate and get an appointment for the procedure. The actual birth certificate of the emigrated relative and the documentation proving exile is required if it occurred in or after 1956, something that is not required for descendants of those who left between 1936 and 1955 and are considered exiles by default.
There are also other necessary papers – marriage certificates – for descendants of women who lost Spanish nationality by marrying a foreigner before the Constitution (1978) was approved. In the case – very frequent in Cuba – of the children of those who got the nationality with the ’Grandchildren Law’ of 2007, the certification of that fact is required.
The actual birth certificate of the emigrated family member and the documentation proving exile are required if it occurred in or after 1956
The CeDEU is one of the associations that actively promoted a reform of the Historical Memory Law – known in Cuba as the Grandchildren Law – to cover others affected who had been left out of that regulation. This is the case of those born outside Spain of originally Spanish fathers, mothers, grandfathers or grandmothers who lost their nationality for political or ideological reasons, beliefs or sexual orientation and identity when they went into exile during the civil war under Franco, as well as children born to mothers who lost it by a Franco regulation that forced a woman to acquire the nationality of her husband if he was a foreigner.
According to the latest update from the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, a total of 36,117 applications for nationality had reached the Consulate of Spain in Havana up to January 31, 2024, of which 24,087 had been approved and 358 denied.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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