Huge Spanish immigration rush expected

December 30 2008 by Gareth McConnell

A new Spanish immigration law is expected to result in up to a million people claiming citizenship.

The ‘grandchildren’s law’ which was passed on 29 December 2008, allows the grandchildren of the citizens exiled from Spain during the civil war between 1936 and 1939 to claim their Spanish citizenship.

Also allowed to reclaim a Spanish visa are the descendents of those who fled the country during and after the Franco dictatorship, until 1977.

The legislation has been passed to “mitigate the impact that the Francoist dictatorship had on Spain,” according to Agustin Torres, the director-general of Spanish immigration. Although up to a million people could be effected by the laws, around half a million new Spaniards are expected to be created as a result.

In order to gain a Spanish passport, visa applications from those whose grandparents fled the country between 1955 and 1977 will have to prove they helped other Spanish people while living abroad, while those whose descendents fled between 1936 and 1955 will simply have to prove ancestry.

The Cuban Spanish consulate is taking on extra staff to cope with the expected quarter of a million applications.

Cubans are able to circumvent laws preventing them from leaving the island if they hold dual nationality.

Further visa applications are expected from countries including Mexico, Chile and Argentina.

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