A two-year window that allowed millions of descendants of Spanish exiles to claim nationality has officially closed. From 23 October 2025 onward, no new files will be accepted under the Ley de Memoria Democrática—popularly dubbed the Grandchildren Law. The measure, in force since October 2022, let children and grandchildren of Spaniards who fled the Civil War or Franco era obtain passports without residency.
According to the Foreign Ministry, consulates worldwide logged more than 1.5 million applications, 95 percent of them in Latin America. Argentina alone submitted 366,579 dossiers, followed by Cuba with 107,338. Yet only 47 percent have been adjudicated so far, leaving hundreds of thousands in limbo. Officials warn it could take until 2029 to clear the backlog, given the need to verify historic documents and perform background checks.
For corporates the closure removes an attractive mobility shortcut. HR teams had used the scheme to fast-track key Latin-American hires into EU citizenship, sparing them local work-permit caps and intra-EU transfer bureaucracy. Going forward, companies must revert to standard residency-based naturalisation (one year for citizens of Ibero-American countries, two for others) or rely on Spain’s new talent visas.
Law firms report a late-surge of power-of-attorney filings as applicants raced to beat the deadline. Files that entered the queue before midnight 22 October will still be processed, but consulates will not provide status updates. Appeal rights remain, yet experts caution that extra evidence requests could stretch cases for years.
Mobility managers should audit employee populations who were banking on the Grandchildren pathway and pivot to alternative routes such as the digital-nomad visa or highly qualified professional permit. They should also prepare for morale issues among staff whose citizenship hopes are now on hold.
According to the Foreign Ministry, consulates worldwide logged more than 1.5 million applications, 95 percent of them in Latin America. Argentina alone submitted 366,579 dossiers, followed by Cuba with 107,338. Yet only 47 percent have been adjudicated so far, leaving hundreds of thousands in limbo. Officials warn it could take until 2029 to clear the backlog, given the need to verify historic documents and perform background checks.
For corporates the closure removes an attractive mobility shortcut. HR teams had used the scheme to fast-track key Latin-American hires into EU citizenship, sparing them local work-permit caps and intra-EU transfer bureaucracy. Going forward, companies must revert to standard residency-based naturalisation (one year for citizens of Ibero-American countries, two for others) or rely on Spain’s new talent visas.
Law firms report a late-surge of power-of-attorney filings as applicants raced to beat the deadline. Files that entered the queue before midnight 22 October will still be processed, but consulates will not provide status updates. Appeal rights remain, yet experts caution that extra evidence requests could stretch cases for years.
Mobility managers should audit employee populations who were banking on the Grandchildren pathway and pivot to alternative routes such as the digital-nomad visa or highly qualified professional permit. They should also prepare for morale issues among staff whose citizenship hopes are now on hold.
