The process of acquiring Spanish nationality through the Democratic Memory Law is designed to make it easier for descendants of Spaniards who went into exile during the 20th century to obtain citizenship. This procedure allows those who can demonstrate their family ties with Spaniards who suffered political, economic or cultural persecution during the civil war and the Franco dictatorship, to access nationality in a more agile and simplified way. Applicants must present a series of documents that prove their relationship with the exile, as well as meet certain requirements established by law.

The process of acquiring Spanish nationality through the Democratic Memory Law is designed to make it easier for descendants of Spaniards who went into exile during the 20th century to obtain citizenship. This procedure allows those who can demonstrate their family ties with Spaniards who suffered political, economic or cultural persecution during the civil war and the Franco dictatorship, to access nationality in a more agile and simplified way. Applicants must present a series of documents that prove their relationship with the exile, as well as meet certain requirements established by law.

Subjects with rights:

  Born outside of Spain to a father, mother, grandfather or grandmother who, being originally Spanish, lost or renounced their nationality as a result of having suffered exile due to political, ideological or religious repression during the Civil War or Franco's regime.

Key requirements:

  It must be proven that the exile lost or renounced Spanish nationality due to the circumstances of exile, whether forced or due to persecution.

Particularity:

  It focuses on historical reparation for the descendants of those who had to leave Spain and lose their nationality as a result of the political repression of the Franco regime.

Descendants of women who lost their nationality by marrying foreigners. This annex refers to the discrimination that affected Spanish women who, before the entry into force of the 1978 Constitution, lost their Spanish nationality by marrying foreigners.

Subjects with rights:

  Sons and daughters born abroad of Spanish women who lost their nationality by marrying foreigners before the 1978 Constitution.

Key requirements:

  The marriage to the foreigner must have taken place before 1978, the year in which the Constitution eliminated the automatic loss of nationality for women who married foreigners.

Particularity:

 It seeks to repair the gender discrimination suffered by Spanish women who, upon marrying a foreigner, automatically lost their nationality.

Sons and daughters of legal age of Spaniards who opted for nationality. This annex addresses the situation of adult sons and daughters whose parents acquired Spanish nationality of origin by virtue of the right of option established by this law or Law 52/2007.

Subjects with rights:

  Sons and daughters of legal age of people whose Spanish nationality of origin was recognized by Law 20/2022 (Democratic Memory) or the Seventh Additional Provision of Law 52/2007 (Historical Memory).

Key requirements:

  The parent must have obtained Spanish nationality of origin under the right of option.

 The adult son or daughter could not benefit directly as he or she was not under the parental authority of a Spaniard at the time of the parent's choice.

Particularity:

  This annex is aimed at adults, who could not automatically benefit when their parents acquired Spanish nationality.

Children of Spaniards who obtained nationality not by origin. This annex is related to the descendants of those Spaniards who acquired Spanish nationality not of origin by virtue of the right of option, but who can now opt for nationality of origin.

Subjects with rights:

  Sons and daughters of people who acquired Spanish nationality not by origin through: Law 36/2002, which reformed the Civil Code and Law 52/2007 (Historical Memory Law).

Key requirements:

  It applies to those whose parents acquired nationality not of origin through the right of option provided for in the previous regulations, but who can now opt for nationality of origin.

Particularity:

  It allows the descendants of those who acquired Spanish nationality not by origin to now obtain Spanish nationality by origin, a more solid category in terms of rights.

1. Eligibility Criteria

   Annex I: Descendants of exiled Spaniards who lost their nationality for political or repressive reasons.

   Annex II: Children of Spanish women who lost their nationality by marrying foreigners before 1978.

   Annex III: Adult children of Spaniards who opted for nationality under previous laws.

   Annex IV: Children of Spaniards who acquired nationality not by origin but can now opt for nationality by origin.

2. Type of Historical Situation:

  Annex I focuses on political exile.

  Annex II addresses gender discrimination before 1978.

  Annexes III and IV extend rights to adult descendants and children of those who acquired nationality not by origin.

Applicant Age:

  Annexes I and II: No age restrictions.

  Annex III: Specifically for adult children.

  Annex IV: Also applies to descendants of any age whose parents acquired nationality not by origin.

Relationship with Nationality by Origin:

  Annex IV introduces nationality by origin, allowing descendants of those who acquired nationality not by origin to now obtain it as Spaniards by origin.

In summary, the four annexes are mainly distinguished by the type of people affected by specific historical circumstances (exile, gender discrimination, right of option), their relationship with the nationality of origin or not of origin, and whether the beneficiary is a minor or adult.

In order for the acquisition of Spanish nationality by option to be valid, the applicant must swear or promise fidelity to the King and obedience to the Constitution and the laws; in addition, the acquisition must be registered in the consular Civil Registry.

If the Civil Registrar denies the option to obtain Spanish nationality for not fulfilling the requirements of the Law of Democratic Memory, the interested party will be formally notified, so that he/she can file the corresponding appeal before the General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith of the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts.

- Personally at the Civil Registry of the interested party's domicile, together with a photocopy of said application, which will be stamped and returned to the interested party to serve as proof of having submitted the application on time. The interested parties who are domiciled in Spain will have to carry out the procedure in their corresponding Civil Registry.

- By means of the standardized models corresponding to each case: Annex I, Annex II, Annex III, Annex IV. 

- In the term of three years from October 21, 2022.

If when presenting the declaration of option the requirements are not accredited, the applicant will be obliged to complete the proof in the term of thirty calendar days, counted from the requirement that, to such end, is made to him.

To submit your application to the Consular Office, you must go in person to the following address with the application form (and photocopy) together with the corresponding documentation: at the offices of the Consulate General of Spain in Havana, located at La Lonja del Comercio de La Habana. Lamparilla No. 2, Habana Vieja, Havana, first floor, space C.

​The indications for requesting an appointment are clearly detailed in this link: ​https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/lahabana/es/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/cita4LMD.aspx. We explain below how to do it step by step:

1. Before requesting your appointment, it is very important that you examine the list of documents required for the procedure and have them ready. Depending on your case, you should review the required documentation. You can only request 1 appointment per person per procedure.

2.To request your appointment, you must first register in the application by following the steps below:

1. You must send one (1) single e-mail (if you send several e-mails before receiving a personalized response, your account may be blocked) to the address cog.lahabana.lmdsol1@maec.es including:

- A. A clear photo of yourself and your ID card, as shown in the following image. The information on the document must be legible. You must not wear dark glasses or cover your face or hair in any way.

- B. After obtaining the necessary (legalized) documentation, you must scan it in ONE (1) SINGLE PDF file, whose first page is the photo next to the ID card and which includes the other documents specified in the list of required documents (they will not be accepted in another format, nor in more than ONE (1) SINGLE PDF FILE), and send it to the address indicated above.

- C. The subject of the e-mail must be CITAS LMD.

- D. In the body of the e-mail you must write the following data:

Name;first surname;second surname;Identity Card.

Remember that it must be written without apostrophes, accents (Ñ IS ACCEPTED) or hyphens (in compound surnames hyphens must be omitted), separating each piece of information from the following one only with a semicolon without any other character; as in the following example:

·     José María López Sánchez-Bravo, identity card: 35022700215, would have to write:

JOSE MARIA;LOPEZ;SANCHEZ BRAVO;35022700215

Example of valid email:

Valid example:

3.You will receive an e-mail from this address (cog.lahabana.lmdsol1@maec.es) in your mailbox from which you sent it, in which you will find a user name and password. We recommend that you check your junk/spam folder in case you received it.

4.CHOOSE DATE AND TIME. In this section, you will be directed to the following link to make your appointment date. https://www.citaconsular.es/es/hosteds/widgetdefault/28330379fc95acafd31ee9e8938c278ff

Very important:

- ONE PERSON, ONE APPOINTMENT: no registrations through third parties will be accepted, interested parties must process their registration personally.

- INQUIRIES: No inquiries of any kind will be answered at this e-mail address. Any mail that does not follow these instructions will be ignored. Only in case that, after selecting an appointment, the password received is rejected, you can write an email to cog.lahabana.lmdsol1@maec.es with the subject WRONG PASSWORD and attaching the same documents you sent to register in the system.

  Use the correct format: When sending an e-mail to the consulate to request credentials, it is important to follow a specific format. If these instructions are not followed, the mail may be rejected.

  Prepare documents in advance: Before requesting the appointment, make sure you have all the necessary documents, duly legalized, apostilled and translated if necessary. If documents are missing, the process may take longer or even be rejected.

  Respect waiting times: Once you submit your credential application, you may have to wait a long time due to administrative delays in processing. We recommend you to be patient and check your mail, including your spam folder, frequently.

  Pay attention to technical details: Documents must be submitted as a single PDF file no larger than 3MB. The Consulate does not accept compressed files or other formats, so it is important to follow these guidelines.

  Receive the credentials: Once the consulate confirms that all the information in the mail is correct, they will send you the credentials so that you can request an appointment to process your citizenship. The response to the first mail may take several days due to the high demand and backlog.

On July 10, 2024, the Council of Ministers approved a one-year extension of the deadline for exercising the right to opt for Spanish nationality under the eighth additional provision of Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory. The eighth additional provision of the Law of Democratic Memory itself establishes that the aforementioned two-year period begins with the entry into force of the law, so that its validity would end on October 22, 2024.

Therefore, the two-year period foreseen in that section for the exercise of the right to opt for Spanish nationality, which said additional provision recognizes to those born outside Spain of a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, who had originally been Spanish, and who, as a consequence of having suffered exile for political, ideological or belief reasons or for reasons of sexual orientation and identity, had lost or renounced Spanish nationality, as well as those persons who are in the different cases, is extended for a third year.

The regulation encourages the use of the electronic Administration, which allows to request prior appointments by digital means. This will help the Consular Offices to handle applications for nationality by option more quickly and securely. Interested persons will be able to request their appointment in person and will receive a voucher confirming that they did so within the time limit, regardless of when they appear in person to submit the original documents. In addition, these tools will ensure that the order in which the applications were received is respected, according to the Administrative Procedure Law.

Important recommendations for compliance with this instruction:

 Review, organize, correct (if necessary) and legalize all documents required to apply for credentials at the consular office.

 Prepare a PDF file with the required documents, ready to attach to the credentials application email and to manage the appointment.

 Send the PDF to the appropriate consulate email.

 Keep a copy of the PDF sent and, if the consulate sends an acknowledgement of receipt (even if it is automatic), keep it as well.

 Once the credentials have been received, proceed to manage the appointment.