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The Consulate General of Spain in Havana has received 107,338 applications for Spanish nationality so far in 2025, through the Law of Democratic Memory, commonly known as the "grandchildren's law."
The figure represents 12.24% of the total global applications received by Spain under this legislation, indicated the Spanish government on the government website.
The information was confirmed by the Spanish Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, during a visit to the Immigration Office in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.
By the first half of the year, Spain has recorded 876,321 applications through its consular offices, of which it has approved nearly 240,000 nationalities for descendants of Republican exiles.
In the case of Cuba, it is estimated that around 300,000 people had started the application process since the law came into effect in October 2022 until March 2025. However, official data has not yet been released on how many of these applications have ultimately been granted to Cuban citizens.
More than 95% of the applications have been registered at consulates located in Ibero-America and Miami. The five Spanish consulates in Argentina account for 40% of the total, and together with the one in Havana, they exceed 53% of all requests worldwide.
The Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory was designed to recognize the descendants of Spaniards who lost their nationality due to exile for political, ideological, or identity reasons during the Civil War and dictatorship. It also includes the children and grandchildren of Spanish women who lost their nationality by marrying foreigners before the Constitution of 1978.
Initially, the law established an application period of two years, which was later extended by an additional 12 months. The final deadline for submitting new applications is October 21, unless a new extension is approved.
In this context, a citizens' petition addressed to King Felipe VI and the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has gathered around 3,500 signatures on the platform Change.org. The initiative requests a new extension and a review of the administrative obstacles that hinder access to this right.
The "grandchildren's law" has opened a legal and symbolic door for thousands of descendants of Spanish exiles. In the case of Cuba, where Spanish emigration has played a historically significant role, the regulation has sparked immense interest, evident in the long lines still seen outside the Spanish Consulate in Havana.
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