Sunday, March 6, 2011

Latin America .- The Law of Historical Memory recognizes 170,000 new Spanish, eligible for state aid

MADRID, 6 Mar. The so-called Law of Historical Memory to mitigate the effects of Franco has been granted Spanish citizenship to 170,183 people in its first two years of operation, just over half of all petitions filed, according to data collected by Daily World Buzz at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

Of these, 112,151 already have a Spanish passport, and therefore the European Union. The acquisition of nationality can also apply for state aid provided to citizens abroad, and the right to vote in general elections, among other issues. The number of requests received is somewhat less than the calculations that the associations made in connection with the adoption of the law and thought to be over half a million potential beneficiaries of the new standard.

In 2009 and 2010 the consular offices of Spain received a total of 293,500 applications, the majority (96 percent) in the diplomatic missions in Latin America. The submission of requests has been fairly gradual. In the first year of law was recorded for 51.7 percent of total applications, compared to 49.3 percent in 2010.

The bulk of the complaints, a 91.48 per cent, comes from Spanish immigrants or children of exiles, while 19,646 belong to the grandchildren of those who lost or had to give up Spanish citizenship to the exiled during the Civil War and the Franco regime. The remaining 5,333 belong to the Spanish who obtained citizenship in the reform of 2002, but without the right to transmit to their children and now eligible to that possibility.

Since the department heads Trinidad Jimenez stressed that there remains a "large number" of applications under consideration or pending the filing of any documents, especially birth certificates of parents and grandparents are not always easy to explain to Daily World Buzz diplomatic sources.

AVERAGE LENGTH OF PROCEDURES The procedures to obtain citizenship extend for more than half a year if the petition is filed in Spain, while at the consulates in Latin America is not normally exceed six months, as relate to certain recipients. To manage the submission of applications, consular offices in Spain have been equipped with a computer system that has given appointment in the first two years a total of 522,871 citations.

On January 22, 2010 the Government extended the deadline one year to be eligible for Spanish nationality under this law in order to meet the "high" number of applications received. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation budget for 2009 reached four million euros to increase by some 150 members of certain consular staff in Latin America to meet the many demands that are expected with the entry into force of the law, especially in countries such as Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay and Chile.

The law allows children of Spanish origin to obtain citizenship although born in another country, regardless of their age and regardless of place of birth of parents. In the past, only transmitting nationality if the father or mother were natives of Spain and if the children were under 18 years.

It also enables the grandchildren of Spanish immigrants between July 18, 1936 and the amnesty law approved after Franco (October 1977), directly acquire the nationality of origin, provided evidence of their offspring.

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