The Law of Historical Memoryalso known as the “Grandchildren Law”has just obtained half a sanction from the Spanish Congress of Deputies, with 173 votes in favour, 159 against and 14 abstentions. This new law includes several benefits so that Argentines of Spanish descent can easily obtain citizenship. Those children of Spanish women who have married foreigners may also obtain Spanish nationality, who, in case of having married before the 1978 Constitution, lost Spanish nationality at the time.
The law provides that those who are children or grandchildren of Spaniards who were born elsewhere will be able to access. It would not determine an age limit to apply, so those who want citizenship will have two years to be granted it, with the possibility of extending it for one year. Those Argentines who want to apply for Spanish citizenship must obtain all the documents and present them in the form within a maximum period of two years, with the possibility of requesting a one-year extension, which may or may not be approved.
Whoever wants to start the process for Spanish citizenship must wait for the Ministry of Justice to issue the legal procedure. That is, determine where the applications must be submitted, who must issue the resolution, what documents are necessary and what remedies are available against denials. In Argentina, the necessary documentation to start the citizenship process is:
► spanish passport or death certificate of the Spanish parent.
► Argentine ID of the Spanish parent.
► Argentine ID Of the interested.
► In case of adoptionsa testimony or complete sentence of full adoption must be provided, apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and birth certificate of the biological data of the adoptee.
► Certificate of option for Spanish nationality: Those who want citizenship must appear in person at the Consulate General corresponding to their place of residence in Argentina.
► Birth certificate of the Spanish parents only in case it is not registered in the Civil Registry of the Consulate or in a Spanish Civil Registry. In addition, the issuance of the document must be no more than two years old. It can be obtained on the website of the Spanish Ministry of Justice.
► Birth certificate of the interested party: It is obtained in the Argentine Civil Registry and must be legalized by the Ministry of the Interior or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the case of those who are from the City of Buenos Aires. In addition, this document must have the Hague apostille.
► Marriage certificate of the parents. In the event that they have not been married, the literal birth certificate of the father or mother who does not have Spanish nationality must be presented.
If approved, this new law would replace the law that worked in Spain between 2007 and 2011, which only allowed minors to obtain citizenship, and was aimed only at children of Spaniards and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and successive. In any case, the new law still needs to be approved in the Senate. Voting will be between the end of this month and the beginning of October.
by RN
