The Centro Sefarad-Israel hosted an event to grant Spanish nationality to Sephardi people

On November 22nd, the headquarters of Centro Sefarad-Israel broadcasted the new Procedure on granting Spanish nationality to Sephardi foreigners through a Carta de Naturaleza [a special condition to be granted nationality through a letter stating the peculiarities of the case]. It enables the Sephardi diaspora descendants to request in an easier way the Spanish nationality.

Presiding over the ceremony was Casa Sefarad-Israel director Florentino Portero, and attendees included the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain Isaac Querub and Spanish ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón and José Manuel García-Margallo.
Mr. Ruiz Gallardón assured that this new procedure is relevant to all the Spanish people, including to those who have to stay out of the Spanish borders, and he highlighted that it was “a procedure aimed to generate reunion”. Mr. García-Margallo linked this initiative to the “Spain Brand”, with which Spanish-Jews in the diaspora are collaborating. Likewise, he also enhanced the project and acknowledged the effort of the Spanish administration to “recover Spain’s silenced memory.”
The Centro Sefarad-Israel started in 2009 the Erensya Project, aimed to join Spain to the rest of the Sephardi communities all over the world. This announced measure states that the applications for nationality through the Carta de Naturaleza [a letter stating the peculiarities of the case and why nationality is granted], which up to now had to be sanctioned by a special document issued by the rabbi at the Synagogue to certify the Spanish origins of the family, now it should bear the official certification of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain. Furthermore, the Civil Code will be modified so that the applicants can hold a double nationality –the Spanish one and that of their home country– and do not have therefore to resign to their own previous nationality, as it was requested prior to this amendment.