14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 18 November 2022 — The Consulate General of Spain in Havana is already receiving appointment requests to process nationality applications under the new Democratic Memory Law (LMD). They will address this procedure from November 21, as reported by the diplomatic headquarters on its networks on Thursday night.
There is a link to the procedure for obtaining that appointment, which includes collecting all the necessary documentation according to the applicant’s case and sending it by email to: cog.lahabana.lmdsol1@maec.es.
In the subject line, applicants must put “citas LMD” [LMD appointments], and in the body of the email, their personal data as follows: first name; first surname; second surname; identity card number, without accents, spaces or any other special character. In addition, they must attach a photo with their identity card visible in their hand.
If everything is in order, the applicant will receive a response from the same address with a username and password to enter another page and effectively select the date of the appointment.
The Consulate asks people not to book the appointment if all the documents are not available, and to send a single email. If they receive several messages from the same account, they warn, they could block it. Once the applicant receives the appointment, they must supply additional documentation and will have only 30 days to deliver it. If this deadline is not met, the application will be denied.
The announcement had barely been made for a few hours on Thursday, even with an error on the instruction page, when the automatic response from the Consulate arrived with this warning, in capital letters: “We have a very high number of applicants, which causes longer response times. You may receive your credentials with a delay of up to one month.”
This Friday, the Embassy of Spain communicated via Twitter that appointments will be processed at the Consular Civil Registry, located in the Lonja del Comercio, in Old Havana. At the headquarters on Zulueta Street at the corner of Cárcel, a crowd of people came for various procedures.
Although none were there for the LMD, but rather to resolve other issues, some regretted the bureaucratic difficulties in getting a hearing at the consular office. “From here, the appointment page didn’t work for me, but I solved it with a person who offered me the service.” Thus, a procedure that by law should be free, cost him $600.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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