72,000 foreigners with Sephardic Jewish ancestry granted Spanish citizenship
More than 72,000 people of Sephardic Jewish origin gained Spanish citizenship in a decade, figures from Spain's Justice Ministry have revealed.
In 2015 the Spanish government passed legislation that meant the descendants of Jews banished from Spain in 1492, known as Sephardim, could take up Spanish nationality. Historians believe at least 200,000 Jews lived in Spain before the monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand ordered them to convert to the Catholic faith or leave the country on pain of death.
The ancestry law allowed for dual citizenship, and essentially gave the opportunity to anyone who could demonstrate they had a Jewish ancestor expelled from Spain. Applicants themselves didn't need to be practising Jews or even Jewish, or necessarily live in Spain, but a basic Spanish language and citizenship exam was required.
Looking at the figures, in the near decade since the law was passed (up until 31/12/2024) a total of 72,199 applicants were granted Spanish citizenship via Sephardic origin.
A not insignificant 7,189 were rejected, and a further 9,361 files are still pending. These denials and the application backlog has angered many applicants in recent years, in particular Americans, as was covered by the New York Times back in 2021.
The ministry data also provides interesting insight into who, or where in the world, Sephardic Jewish origin applicants come from.
The most common nationality, in terms of total citizenship requests approved, was Mexico, with 23,634.
Next was Colombia, with 18,436 successful applications, followed by Venezuela (9,168) and Argentina (5,142). When Sephardic Jews were expelled from Spain, many went to Latin America.
As might be expected, a significant number of Israelis (3,938) also gained Spanish citizenship through the scheme in the last decade, as well as Americans (2,344), Panamanians (2,055) and Brazilians (1,099).
According to Spanish law, Sephardic ancestry includes the mother or father, whether biological or adoptive, as well as grandparents, great-great grandparents and great-great-great grandparents.
The main citizenship routes are the carta de naturaleza which doesn't involve moving to and living in Spain, and a second, longer option via residency after two years in Spain.
Giambrone Law notes that 'the c arta de naturaleza, or citizenship through naturalisation, was the preferred route of most people of Sephardic ancestry prior to the dedicated law passed in June 2015.'
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