​Last Friday, Feb. 7, the Ministerial Cabinet of the Government of Spain approved submitting to the Spanish Parliament a Draft Bill to modify art. 23 of the Code of Civil Law, so as to ease the granting of Spanish citizenship to Sephardim who can justify such condition and a special link with Spain.
This Draft Bill represents a step of historic importance, through which Spain wishes to acknowledge the relevance of the Sephardic legacy in its history and its culture.
The Draft Bill contemplates the possibility of granting Spanish citizenship by naturalization without the need to reside in Spain and without having to renounce the current nationality, being this the most important amendment introduced by the Draft Bill. In principle, this procedure will be applied to persons who can prove their Sephardic origin and a special link with Spain, by means of a series of documents. From the moment of  the law’s entry into force, the time for submitting applications will be limited.
This Draft Bill is still pending approval by the Spanish Parliament (the Congress of Deputies and the Senate), a parliamentary procedure that may take several months and during which modifications can be introduced. Those interested in applying for Spanish citizenship through this channel must wait for its entry into force as law to process their application according to the new regulations.