Looking for more info on new law regarding citizenship for Sephardic Jews

I recently read about the new law in Spain that will offer citizenship to anyone who can prove Sephardic Jewish ancestry. However, in my attempt to find out how to apply for citizenship with regards to this new law, I'm having difficulty finding concrete information. I believe my case is very straightforward, as my grandfather and his family (who were all Sephardim) emigrated to New York from the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s. They lived in a tenement building that is now a museum (Lower East Side Tenement Museum), and information about their specific apartment and the family's history readily acknowledges that they were all Sephardic, and in fact even discusses the family's struggles as a minority in the mostly Ashkenazic Jewish community living in New York at the time. I am not a practicing Jew, though I read that is not a requirement to apply for citizenship under these new guidelines.

However, I am struggling to find out how exactly to begin the application process and what documents I will need. I read somewhere that you must get a rabbi or a Jewish organization to certify your Sephardic ancestry, but given that my grandfather's Sephardic status is well-documented in a museum, would my case be less complicated to deal with? Would proving my Sephardic ancestry be as simple as proving my relation to my grandfather?

Hello Mike,

The news that were released all over the world concerning the fact that those Sephardic Origins Jews will be able to apply for the Spanish Nationality by Naturalization avoiding the residency requirement as based on a draft bill , needs its approval by the Parliament before it is finally passed and in force. Once it has been passed and Published at the National Bulletin ( BOE ), it will be considered valid and all applications will be accepted. While this has not happened yet, the draft can be still amended and modified, so any information we could offer at this stage could be incomplete or modified in the near future.

We presume that the Law could be passed sometime this year, as there are still many issues specially regarding the documentation to be provided to evidence the Sephardic origins and certifications required from the various Jewish Federation and Communities; For instance the Federation Of Jewish Communities in Spain.

In accordance with the draft law, the exceptional circumstances accepted by such Law are mainly based on the the fact of proving the Sephardic condition and a special link with Spain, regardless proving the applicant resides in Spain at the time. The mentioned circumstances will need to be certified by the Spanish Civil Registry processing the Nationality application in Spain, or by the Consular office if the applicant resides abroad. One or various of the following means of evidence will be considered:

1. Certificate issued by the General Office of the Federation Of Jewish Communities in Spain, where it is evidenced that the applicant belongs to the Sephardic Community .
2. Certificate from the Competent Chief Rabbi authority, officially recognized in the country where the applicant usually resides or any other useful documentation the applicant considers convenient.
3. Certifications of the Surnames of the applicant or Family Language, or any other circumstantial evidence that can prove being part of the Sephardic Jewish Community.
4. The inclusion of the applicant, or as his being direct descendent of a person that is included in the List of protected Sephardic Families in Spain that in mentioned in the Decree of the 29th December 1948 in relation to Egypt and Greece, or in any other similar list, or that of other individuals that were naturalized by the Special means provided in the Royal Decree of the 20th December 1924.
5. The kinship or relationship of the applicant with a person or Family of those mentioned in the previous section.
6. In the event the application is filed at the Spanish consular office Civil Registry, the Registry will take into consideration any evidence of the applicant being part of the Spanish community in the Consular area.

All the certificates will be checked as the Ministry of Justice will be able to request a report from the Official Jewish Federations and Associations to prove the veracity of the same.

A Criminal Records certificate from the country of Origin and current residence and other additional documentation will be required.

The application must be filed within two years since the Law has been passed and this timeframe may be extended later on following the Ministry´s instructions for a period no longer than a year.


Once the file is approved, the formalities will have to be finalized in the usual way, following the current Nationality offcial acceptance procedures. In accordance to this new Law, the applicant won´t be forced to give up his former Nationality; Dual Nationality will be accepted.

We will be offering more details on our Blog concerning the mechanism of the procedure, as well as fees involved as soon as we get to learn more about the final implementation of the Draft Law.

Regards,