Spain Grants Citizenship to 544,722 Descendants; 306,000 Register to Vote

Spain has granted citizenship to at least 544,722 people under a 2022 law aimed at descendants of Spaniards who fled during the civil war and Franco era. Of those, 306,000 have registered on the electoral roll, government data show. Around 650,000 applications are still unprocessed after the deadline closed in October 2025.

Right-wing politicians this week accused the Socialist government of interfering in applications from countries whose citizens were less likely to support them and of directing new voters toward battleground districts. Far-right party Vox called Tuesday for suspension of all mail-in ballots from abroad. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces pressure to call early elections before August 2027.

The government called the accusation "profoundly irresponsible" and said it has no authority over where new citizens register. It also said opposition figures were conflating the citizenship law with a separate three-month amnesty program that grants residency but not voting rights. The 2022 measure extended a 2007 law that gave citizenship to grandchildren of roughly half a million exiles.

The newer version also covers adult children of prior recipients, descendants persecuted for sexuality or beliefs, and women who lost citizenship by marrying foreigners under Franco. Just 9 percent of Spain's 2.3 million diaspora voted in the 2023 general election. Overseas ballots leaned toward the Socialists in some regional contests this year even as the party lost ground domestically.