Historical memory law application

Hello. I am an American citizen who is looking to gain Spanish citizenship via the Ley memoria/Historical memory law, and have a few questions as the local consulates are not responding:

1. the written law is rather short, and I am proving exile status by the birth of children outside of Spain (in Cuba) during the specified years- is the application solely reviewed on the submitted materials against the law? there are many missing documents from this era.

2. am I to assume I would get the original documents back after a decision is made? (this is not explicitly stated- just that i would get a receipt), as I will be going through much trouble to get official documents from Cuba.

3. I am applying as a grandchild of an exile- if this were to be accepted, what is the actual deliverable/documentation I receive? would I then have to apply for a DNI, resident visa and passport (concurrent or otherwise)? What is the order of the necessary applications if my goal is a Spanish passport?

any help is greatly appreciated!
thank you.

i just went through the process in the US.
when i applied, I got all my originals right back after the consulate made copies.
First they just gave me a piece of paper: a copy of my inscription in the civil registry.
with that (and a small fee) they gave me a spanish passport.

(let me add to the above) "After some months" before "First they gave me..."

thank you for the update- it seems like a relatively painless process once you have your paperwork in order.

I am especially curious of the review process, as I would be relying on birth records to establish timelines, and just want to make sure I have everything that is required.

what was the timeframe between being entered into the registry and receiving the passport, if you don't mind me asking?

thanks again

I am currently trying to apply for Spanish citizenship under Law 52/2007 (Law of Historical Memory), however finding concrete information regarding the process has been difficult. I have read the Leymemoria.mijustica.es website, and am now writing for clarification on a few key points within the application process:

I am applying under the provision of "grandchildren of those who lost or were forced to forfeit their Spanish citizenship as a consequence of the exile." Based on the information attained, the criteria can be established solely on birth certificates- is this correct? would the following documents in and of themselves meet the standards for the application (assuming the documents are certified/etc)?:

Grandmother's literal birth certificate - Spain 1905
Aunt's literal birth certificate - Cuba, Dec 1936 (as proof family left and had daughter in a foreign country)
Father's literal Birth certificate - Cuba, 1948 (as proof of lineage)
Applicant't literal birth certificate - New York, 1981

would this documentation suffice, or will there be further items required? Additionally, are there any restrictions on the age of the document, so long as it is properly certified (ie, would a Cuban birth certificate reissued and certified in 1961 be acceptable?) Do all documents have to be ratified within a certain timeframe of the application itself?

I'm currently going through the process in Los Angeles. It has been a trying journey.

I needed to obtain a recent copy of my own birth certificate. They considered the one issued in 1981 to be "too old". As well, I needed one for my mother, father, and grandfather. I needed to get the apostile of the hague for my father's because he was born in Venezuela. (Getting my father's birth certificate was incredibly difficult because I couldn't apply from the USA without a representative in Caracas.)

I am technically able to apply through my father because he was born to Spanish citizens, but I had no proof that they didn't receive Venezuelan citizenship before his birth (it's beyond me how I could actually prove that) so I needed to apply through my grandfather... easy enough because I needed his birth certificate anyway so had it on hand. Getting his birth certificate from Spain during my visit last summer proved to be the easiest part of the entire process!

I had proof of my grandparent's departure from Spain through my father's birth certificate (he was born in 1955 so this was sufficient proof). I also had documents showing the dates they left Spain in the form of my grandfather's US citizenship application, but they didn't want that.

I made 2 copies of my birth certificate, my mother's, my father's, and my grandfather's along with 2 copies of my passport and application form before going to the consulate. When I submitted my documents, they told me they would contact me for an "appointment" in 3-4 months. That is when we would review my documents and then they would be sent for processing. After that, they will mail me my Spanish ID number. With that, I must return to the Spanish Consulate to apply for my passport (I need to get fingerprinted), which will then be sent to me.

I was told the process will take about a year. However, I should have my Spanish ID number by the summer (fingers crossed).

I'm sure the process will take significantly less time if you can apply at a smaller consulate... applying for anything in Los Angeles takes a ridiculous amount of time.

Good luck! :)