By means of Order PRA / 325/2018 of March 15, the deadline for Sephardic Jews from Spain to apply for Spanish nationality has been extended until October 1, 2019, even if they do not have legal residence in Spain.The procedure established by Law 12/2015, of June 24, regarding the granting of Spanish nationality to Sephardic Jews has been simplified compared to the general one.
However, this procedure has its own special requisites as we shall see below.
Q: What are the requirements to obtain nationality?
A: Interested parties must prove that they meet the following two conditions:
(i) Sephardic condition originating in Spain.
(ii) Special link with Spain.
Q: How do interested parties prove they meet these conditions?
A: Law 12/2015 contains a list of documents that can be used as evidence, such as a certificate from the President of the Permanent Commission of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, a document that certifies knowledge of Ladino language, etc. However, the list is open, which means that the interested party can provide any other evidence in his or her favour.
Apart from the obligation to justify the indicated conditions, two official tests in Spain must be passed: proof of basic knowledge of the Spanish language and proof of knowledge of the Spanish Constitution and Spanish social and cultural reality.
Nationals from countries where Spanish is the official language are exempt from the first test, but not from the second.
It is important to mention that all foreign documents must be legalized or apostilled and translated into Spanish by a sworn translator.
Q: What are the guidelines of the procedure?
A: First, the interested party must submit an application to the General Directorate of Registries and Notaries via the Internet.
The next step will be the granting of the notary certificate by a Spanish notary, which will state whether, in his opinion, the applicant meets or does not meet the conditions to obtain Spanish nationality. The applicant must appear in person before the notary on the day of signing the certificate. For this procedure the interested party cannot act through proxy.
Once the notary certificate has been sent to the General Directorate of Registries and Notaries, this body will notify the interested party as to its final decision.
Finally, it will be mandatory to register the nationality obtained at the Civil Registry in Spain.
To carry out the procedures described above correctly, we can, here at M&A, advise interested parties at each of their stages and to propose legal support in their country of origin through our associated offices within the international network of lawyers Ally Law.
