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The Ley de Memoria Histórica (Historical Memory Law, 2007) was the predecessor Spanish law granting citizenship to descendants of Civil War exiles, replaced by the 2022 Democratic Memory Law.
In depth
The Ley de Memoria Histórica (Historical Memory Law), Law 52/2007 of December 26, 2007, was the Spanish law that first granted citizenship to descendants of Civil War and Franco-era exiles. It had a narrower scope than the 2022 replacement law.
Under the 2007 law, only children (not grandchildren) of exiles were eligible, and the application window was initially 2 years (extended to 3 years), closing in 2011. An estimated 500,000+ people acquired Spanish citizenship under the 2007 law.
The 2007 law was replaced by the 2022 Ley de Memoria Democrática, which expanded eligibility to grandchildren and reopened the application window. The 2022 law is the current basis for Spanish CBD claims based on exile ancestry.
Related terms
The Ley de Memoria Democrática (Democratic Memory Law, 2022) is the Spanish law that opened citizenship to descendants of Civil War and Franco-era exiles.
The Registro Civil is the civil registry in Spain and Latin American countries that maintains records of births, marriages, and deaths.
The Ministerio de Justicia (Ministry of Justice) is the Spanish government ministry that processes citizenship applications under the Memory Law.
Sephardic citizenship is the Portuguese (and formerly Spanish) path to citizenship for descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled during the Inquisition.
The Inquisição (Portuguese Inquisition, 1536-1821) was the persecution that expelled Sephardic Jews from Portugal, whose descendants are eligible for Portuguese citizenship.
The Comunidade Israelita (Jewish Community) of Lisbon or Porto issues the certificates of Sephardic ancestry required for Portuguese citizenship applications.