Since the Democratic Memory Law came into force in October 2022, Spanish consular offices have received 876,321 applications for nationality from descendants of Republican exiles. So far, 237,145 applications have been approved, bringing the total close to 240,000 new nationalities granted.

The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, highlighted during a visit to the Immigration Office in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria that most applications come from Argentina, which accounted for 40% in 2024 and 42% in 2025.

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Nearly 240,000 descendants of exiles obtain Spanish nationality under the Democratic Memory Law

The law (Law 20/2022) enables children and grandchildren of Spaniards who were forced into exile for political, ideological, religious, or sexual orientation reasons during the Civil War and the dictatorship to obtain Spanish nationality. It also covers descendants of Spanish women who lost their nationality by marrying foreign men before the 1978 Constitution.

The application period, originally set at two years, was extended by one year and will end on October 24, 2025.

Consular offices in Latin America and Miami handle most of these procedures, with Argentina and Cuba leading the number of applications, followed by Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Venezuela.