Asturian-American Migration Forum

1. Our grandparents arrived before the exile caused by the Civil War and the dictatorship, so we aren't eligible for recognition under the Ley de Memoria Histórica as grandchildren of an exiled person.
2. Our parents probably weren't registered during their childhood with the consulate as Spanish citizens. Many in my family didn't even get registered with the county for birth certificates until they were in their late teens.This may make it difficult to apply as children of Spanish citizens.

1. Nuestros abuelos llegaron antes del exilio provocado por la Guerra Civil y la dictadora, por lo que no somos elegibles para el reconocimiento en virtud de la Ley de Memoria Histórica como nietos de una persona exiliada.
2. Nuestros padres probablemente no fueron inscritos en su niñez con un consulado español como ciudadanos. Muchos en mi familia ni siquiera obtuvieron registrados con el condado para certificados de nacimiento hasta que llegaraon a su adolescencia. Lo puede hacer difícil pedir ciudadanía como hijos de ciudadanos españoles.

Salvador wrote:I would like to start off by congratulating you on your website as I believe that it serves a very noble purpose. The main reason why I am writing however is because I have seen a lot of misinformation on your site regarding Spanish citizenship for the grandchildren of Spanish nationals due to the Ley de Memoria Historica (LMH). I am the grandchild of Spaniards and have recently acquired Spanish citizenship through this law.

The main discrepancy that I've seen on your site regarding eligibility for citizenship through the LMH is that the grandparent(gp) had to have emigrated after the Spanish Civil War; this is incorrect.

It does not matter when the gp emigrated, but rather that the gp still had Spanish nationality at the moment of his child's (the parent of the grandchild) birth. This can be verified by looking at the birth certficate. If this is the case, than grandchildren can acquire citizenship.

The interested party must provide his/her own birth certficate, parent's and gp's.

American birth certificates must be certified, officially translated and apostilled.

One must have the Grandfather's Spanish birth certificate, regardless of year of birth. If one does not exist with the registro civil as the birth took place prior to 1870, than a baptismal certificate will suffice.

It is very important that names and dates of birth on the birth certificates coincide as this is imperative to determine lineage.

There are only 2 types of grandchildren who cannot opt for Spanish nationality through the LMH:
1.-Those who derive their Spanish heritage solely through the Grandmother and she married someone (presumably the interested party's gp) who was not a Spanish national.
2.- Those whose grandfather no longer had Spanish nationality at the time of their child's (the parent of the grandchild) birth.

I hope that I have been of some help.

Salvador wrote:There are 3 anexos or anexes under which grandchildren(GC) can opt for Spanish citizenship (SC):

Anexo 1- The children of those who were originariamente españoles despite of place of birth. This is the anex under which I applied as my father was originariamente español because he was born of Spanish nationals(SN), albeit in Mexico. My granparents emigrated in 1924 and my father was born in 1928, so this was 12 and 8 years respectively before the Spanish Civil War kicked off.

Anexo 2- Is for the GC of SN who no longer had SC by the time their child or the parent of the GC was born. It is only in these cases when the interested party has to prove that the granparent emigrated between July 18, 1936- December 31, 1955. This is also the only anex in which those who derive their Spanish heritage solely from their grandmother can opt for SC.

Anexo 3- Is for those children of SN who already had SC under the current Spanish codigo civil's article 20.1 through the law 36/2002. The reason that this would be appealing is because they would in essence upgrade their citizenship from por opcion wich derivative and can be revocable, to de origen which is irrevocable (unless one renounces it) and is the highest form of SC.

http://leymemoria.mjusticia.es/paginas/ ... entes.html

As to the particulars of my case, like I stated earlier, my GPs emigrated in 1924, my dad was born in Mexico in 1928 and I was born in Texas in 1976. I would also like to mention that my father passed away without ever opting for SC. The reason I mention this is because some consulates might want to trip you up and say that this is necessary in order to establish some sort of generational continuity in citizenship. This is not the case.

If your application is denied for any reason it must be done so in writing so that you can appeal to the DGRN (Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado) which is the entity that regulates these matters.

The actual law that I opted for Spanish Citizenship through was the DISPOSICIÓN ADICIONAL SÉPTIMA DE LA LEY 52/2007, through anexo 1. This law is commonly known as La Ley de Memoria Historica (LMH).

I should have applied at the Spanish consulate in Houston as it is the one in my consular demarcation but I opted for applying at the consulate in Mexico city because I heard that personel there was better trained, friendlier and had a fair knowledge of how this law actually worked in regards to the acquisition of SC for GC. I found out this information through a forum named Hijos y Nietos de Españoles which I have participated in since 2007. It ended up being a bit longer, but it worked out great in the end.

I used no profesional legal advice.

The passport costs $26 USD.

Birth certificates must be certified copies, that's what I mean by certified.

"Officially translated" means that if they're American birth certificates, than they must be transalted from English to Spanis by an official translator (ask your nearest consulate to refer you to one that they will accaept).

"Apostilled" means that your birth certificate and your parent's must have an Apostille. An Apostille is a form of certification set out in the 1961 Hague Convention, to which the United States became a subscriber in 1981. It is a form of numbered fields, which allows the data to be understood by the receiving country regardless of the official language of the issuing country. This can usually be requested at the office of your state's Secretary of State.

The U.S. does allow dual nationality check it out:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_t ... _1753.html

If you opt for SC through the LMH you will not be recquired to renounce your U.S. citizenship and also once you do have SC it will be de origen so you won't ever lose it regardless if you live in the U.S. and not in Spain. Only way to lose it is by renouncing it.

So what you'll need to start your application file, so to speak, is your apostilled certified birth certificate with official translation and your parents. Remember that your parent's birth certificate must state that at least one of their parents was a SN; that's the crux of this whole matter. That's your claim. If not, then see anexo 2 if applicable.

You will obviously also need you GP's birthcertificate. That can be requested by phone, fax or mail at registro civil where they were born. You will need their full names, DOB, parents' names, and possibly grandparents' names.

Check out this FAQs it is invaluable: http://hyne.com.ar/legales/

Charolette wrote:Is it possible to apply to the Spanish Consulate by mail, or does it need to be done in person?
I am not sure that I will be able to get all the documents but I am trying. I have a certified copy of my Grandmothers birth record from Spain, but I have not been able to find my Grandfathers. He was born in Manzaneda so I have written to the Civil Registry in Luanco twice but have not received an answer. I'm still trying.
Also, I'm not sure if my mothers birth record shows where my grandparents were from. I have sent for a copy but it will be awhile before I get it.
Charolette