Spain has an “emergency plan” to deal with the innumerable applications for Spanish nationality that it expects to receive from Cuban citizens through the new Democratic Memory Law (LMD), also known as the Grandchildren Law.
The Secretary of State for International Cooperation at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pilar Cancela Rodríguez, assured that the Spanish consular offices in Cuba will have the necessary personnel and technologies to complete the process on the island.
In a meeting held in Havana together with descendants of Spaniards and local officials, the diplomat also announced that the Spanish embassy plans to open a consulate in the province of Camagüey.
The political figure assured that all requests will be answered.
“Any doubt and uncertainty must be resolved, because we are taking the first steps and each country has its own circumstances that will be resolved through political dialogue, seeking a solution,” added Cancela Rodríguez.
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For his part, the Spanish ambassador to the island, Ángel Martín Peccis, reported that he held a meeting with the Cuban Minister of Justice, Oscar Silvera Martínez, to ensure that both institutions will work in a coordinated manner, reported The International Region.
The Spanish consulate general in Havana began giving appointments to Cubans to apply for Spanish nationality through LMD last month.
On November 21, the same day they began accepting applications, Rolando Michel sent the documents required and just 10 days later he received his approval.
Through his Twitter account, the Cuban assured that he had requested annex three of the law, which welcomes the descendants of legal age of Spaniards who were granted nationality by the Historical Memory Law of 2007.
Before applying, the agency recommends carefully reading the requirements to obtain Spanish nationality under this law, which could benefit thousands of Cubans.
The Democratic Memory Law establishes that people born outside of Spain to a Spanish father, mother, grandfather or grandmother can opt for Spanish nationality.
According to a statement from the Congress of Deputies, the objective of the initiative is to recover, safeguard and disseminate “democratic memory, understood as knowledge of the claim and defense of democratic values.”
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This story was originally published on December 14, 2022 5:30 a.m.