The Instruction that expands the 'law of grandchildren' generates doubts among "the majority" of the Electoral Board: "It has provisions contrary to the law that it intends to develop"

The Spanish conservative party, the Popular Party (PP), has formally requested the annulment of an official instruction that allows descendants of Spaniards who fled into exile during the Franco regime to claim Spanish nationality. The measure, known as the "law of grandchildren," was included in Spain's Democracy Memory Law and has been in effect since 2022. Alma Ezcurra, a European Parliament member and vice-secretary of Social Coordination for the PP, emphasized during a press conference that there are doubts regarding the guarantees of the nationality process and called on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government to halt new applications until these concerns are addressed. According to Ezcurra, the PP questions both the procedure for obtaining nationality and the external vote associated with this policy. She added that the party aims to include more safeguards in its processing. Furthermore, the PP demands the automatic nullification of the instruction, claiming it is void by law, and expects the government to make all data on granted nationalities transparent. The "law of grandchildren," part of the Democracy Memory Law, permits individuals born outside Spain whose parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were originally Spanish citizens and left the country due to political, ideological, or identity-related reasons to apply for Spanish nationality. This provision was active from October 2022 to October 2025. As of April 30, 2026, over 2.6 million applications had been submitted, with approximately 557,709 approved, according to a parliamentary response from the Ministry of Presidency and Justice. Following the approval of the Democracy Memory Law, the Directorate General of Legal Security and Public Trust issued an instruction in October 2022 to implement the additional provisions allowing descendants of exiles to apply for nationality. The PP has focused its criticism on this specific instruction, arguing that it has expanded the right to apply for nationality to all descendants of Spanish citizens, regardless of whether their ancestors were exiled due to repression under Franco. The instruction in question does provide an expansive interpretation of eligibility for Spanish nationality, supported by legal reasoning rather than political motives. It builds upon the initial Historical Memory Law passed in 2007 under former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, which already allowed certain descendants to claim nationality based on parental lineage without explicitly referencing exile. More than three years after its approval, the instruction continues to face scrutiny. The Central Electoral Board (JEC) recently convened a closed meeting and declared itself incompetent to act against the procedures enabling the acquisition of Spanish nationality by descendants of exiles under the Democracy Memory Law. The majority of the 13 board members stated that it exceeds their authority to comment on the conditions for granting nationality and its procedures. However, four members dissented, asserting that the JEC is indeed competent to challenge these nationalizations. They argued that the instruction expanding the beneficiaries of these nationalizations contains provisions contrary to the law it seeks to implement. Specifically, they noted that the instruction extends eligibility beyond those who were exiled for political, ideological, or identity-related reasons, as stipulated in the Democracy Memory Law. Additionally, the dissenting members highlighted that the instruction introduces a presumption of exile status for all Spaniards who left the country between July 18, 1936, and December 31, 1955—a period encompassing the Spanish Civil War and early post-war years. They criticized this presumption, stating that such legal assumptions must be established by laws of sufficient rank, not administrative instructions. The dissenting members also pointed out that the Democracy Memory Law authorizes the government, not individual officials, to develop the regulation. Despite identifying potential illegality within parts of the instruction, the majority of the JEC members concluded that the body lacks the authority to intervene, as its functions are strictly electoral. However, the dissenting members contended that the JEC should have the power to counter the instruction, which they view as directly responsible for the significant increase in voter rolls, describing it as irregular. They questioned who else would be competent to address such a substantial and irreversible expansion of the electorate if the JEC is not.