The Democratic Memory Law, better known as the Grandchildren Law, represents a unique opportunity that offers Cubans of Spanish descent the possibility of obtaining dual nationality.
Because of this, the slow speed with which cases are processed has generated concern among stakeholders, who fear that the law will be modified or eliminated before their turn arrives.
However, this concern seems to be unfounded, since the General Council of Spanish Citizenship Abroad (CGCEE) recently indicated that no one will be left without the opportunity to present their files at the Consulate General of Spain in Havana. .
📰NdP | Members of the CGCEE meet with the DG of Spaniards Abroad and Consular Affairs and with the DG of Foreign Service
Topics such as:
🔹Democratic memory law
🔹Consular resources
🔹Consular digitization plan
🔹Centers enabled for votingMore ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tBJK7CRYqc
— General Council of Spanish Citizenship Abroad (@CGCEE_VIII) February 14, 2024
These officials indicated during one of their meetings that they do not plan to leave anyone behind, this according to the minutes of said meeting, which states that “no person will be left unable to complete the procedure due to delays in appointments or credentials.”
The officials stressed that for this, some decisions, such as eliminating obstacles such as those related to the expiration of documents, will remain in the hands of the Head of each consular office.
According to official figures, by the end of 2023, some 226,000 nationality applications had been received through the Grandchildren Law, of which more than 110,000 had already been approved. Likewise, they pointed out that some 69,000 people have already effectively registered.
Among the consular offices that must process the most applications are those located in Buenos Aires, Havana, Mexico, Caracas, Rosario and Córdoba, countries where a considerable number of Spaniards exiled during the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship left.
The situation is difficult in these offices, since the low number of staff means that processing all requests takes a long time. This was another of the critical issues discussed during the meeting, with promises to seek tangible solutions in the near future.
Among the positive points touched on by officials is the digitization of information, something that seems to offer hope in reducing waiting times. In that sense, it was indicated that there are plans to deploy a new electronic headquarters. This promises to simplify some 70 consular procedures and is planned to be ready by 2025.
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