Nationality Requirements for Sephardics. Can I apply for Spanish Nationality?
What are the necessary requirements for Sephardics to acquire Spanish nationality?
Law of 2015
A law approved in 2015 allows descendants of expelled Sephardim to return to Spain.
The legislation is a major step forward in regulating access to Spanish nationality for Sephardics. Until nowadays, this has hardly been achieved.
The deadline is October 2019. What are the requirements for obtaining Spanish nationality?
How to apply for Spanish Nationality
Send documents to Imbroda Law Firm
Send documents with which we will obtain the FCJE certificate of Sephardism. We need: Birth certificate; marriage certificate; photocopy of your passport; certificate from the Rabbi or President of the community to prove that the applicant is Sephardic.
Sign in for the exam
Take a date and secure a place immediately for the CCSE and DELE 2 test at the Cervantes Institute. It will not be necessary for those under 18 and over 70. Those people with a Spanish-speaking country nationality will only have to take the CCSE.
Indicate links with Spain
Show evidence to Imbroda Law Firm if you have any connections with Spain. If you do not have them or do not know how to identify them, our experts will advise you personally.
Do I have Sephardic surnames?
Sephardic descendents
The first step is to check if you are a Sephardic descent – the law does not exclude non-Jews. Few months ago, lists of Sephardic surnames have been posted on the internet. Many of them accumulate a multitude of Jewish surnames, but they are not accurate and create confusion.
The only way to check this is through official channels. Imbroda Law Firm, which has processed more than 2,500 files – all successfully – is the only office that works with a group of recognised genealogists by the Spanish Ministry of Justice. This is a good way to guarantee that the requirements are met before starting the process of acquiring Spanish nationality.
Requirements for Sephardic descendents to obtain Spanish nationality
You need to accredit your Sephardic descendent by providing one of the following documents, which are not mutually exclusive.
Sephardic Community Certificate
The condition of Sephardic may be accredited by providing one of the following documents, which are not mutually exclusive
a) Certificate issued by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain.
b) Certificate issued by the President of the Jewish Community in your area of residence or home town.
c) Certificate issued by the rabbinical authority of your country of habitual residence.
The law requires that the applicant, in order to accredit the suitability of these documents, provide various documents to the notary’s office: a copy of the original statutes of the foreign religious entity and a certificate that accredits that the foreign entity is legally recognised in its country of origin.
Sephardic status
The law also establishes that, in order to establish the condition of Sephardic, the interested party may provide the following means of proof:
a) Accreditation of the use of Ladino or Haketía as a family language.
b) A Jewish marriage certificate or Ketubah, which states that the marriage was celebrated according to the rites and customs of the ancient Kingdom of Castila (as the Sephardic Jews of Morocco are accustomed to do nowadays).
c) A reasoned report from a specialised entity which accredits that the applicant’s surnames belong to the Sephardic lineage.
d) «Any other circumstance which irrefutably demonstrates their status as Sephardic Jews originating from Spain».
3
Demonstrate a «special link» with Spain
Article 1.3 of the legal text imperatively requires to the interested party to prove its «special link with Spain». To do so, one of these requirements must be met:
a) Officially recognised certificates of study in Spanish history and culture, which will be taken by the Instituto Cervantes in your place of residence, by means of official examinations.
b) Knowledge of Ladino or Haketía language.
c) Performance of charitable, cultural or economic activities in favour of persons or institutions in Spain or in Spanish territory.
d) Support institutions aimed at studying and disseminating Sephardic culture.
e) Any other circumstance which clearly demonstrates its special link with Spain.
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Pass the compulsory examinations
The law also requires two compulsory examinations:
- Basic knowledge of the Spanish language. Sephardics living in countries where Spanish is an official language will not have to take these exams.
- Knowledge of the Spanish social and cultural reality
Applications will be made through an online platform of the Ministry of Justice. Before starting, it is necessary to know if the requirements are met.
