Spanish Consulate in Cuba announces increase in the receipt of applications for the new Grandchildren's Law.

The Consulate of Spain in Havana informed this Wednesday that, starting from October 21, it will increase by 37.33% the number of people who will be able to submit their files related to the Law of Democratic Memory, popularly known as the "Grandchildren's Law."

This increase will allow for an additional 326 people per week, aiming to expedite the process of applying for Spanish nationality for descendants of Spaniards in Cuba.

The consulate has indicated that those wishing to submit their application must meet a series of specific requirements and follow the procedure to request an appointment.

This measure responds to the high demand for applications and the intention to offer a more efficient and accessible service for interested citizens.

For more details regarding the requirements and the procedure to request an appointment, the Consulate of Spain in Havana invites applicants to visit their official channels and stay tuned for updates.

A few days ago, the consular office announced that it will proceed to delete users who received their credentials before January 1, 2024, and have not yet used the system, with the aim of optimizing the appointment process for Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory (LMD).

On the social network X, the headquarters reported that users who registered before the mentioned date and have not yet booked their appointment had until the month of September to do so, as the measure would come into effect on October 1.

Although the reservation operation was supposed to be completed in the next three weeks, the appointment could be scheduled for a later date, it added on its official website.

In June, it was reported that the Spanish government, in its 2023 Consular Activity Balance report, indicated that its Consulate in Havana was one of the offices that issued the most passports in the past year.

From October 21, 2022, to December 31, 2023, the consular network received 226,354 applications, with 110,540 approved cases and 69,421 registrations, the text indicated.

This official report was presented on May 21 by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. The data indicate that the Consular Offices that issued the most passports were Buenos Aires with 38,127 documents, and in second place Havana, with 25,221.

The Law of Democratic Memory, which is also known in Cuba as the "Law of Grandchildren" for those children who were previously excluded due to their majority age, establishes two scenarios for applying for Spanish nationality.

The first is for those individuals who are grandchildren of Spaniards and have not lost their Spanish nationality. In this case, they can obtain Spanish nationality by option, that is, through a declaration stating their willingness to do so.

The second is for those descendants of Spaniards who have lost their nationality, either because their parents or grandparents lost it during the Civil War or the Franco dictatorship, or because they themselves lost it by acquiring another nationality.

In this case, descendants can obtain it through the recovery process, as long as they meet the requirements established in the Law of Democratic Memory.