The Justice Committee of the Senate will debate and vote this Wednesday on the bill to grant Spanish nationality to Sahrawis born when Western Sahara was under Spanish administration and their descendants, an initiative that passed in the Congress at the beginning of September with the votes of the majority forming the Government and its partners, while the Popular Party (PP) chose to abstain.
In this first review in the Upper House, the PP will use its majority to introduce up to nine amendments, with which it intends to eliminate the direct concession of nationality and convert the text into a simple modification of the Civil Code, aimed at reducing the required period of legal residence for this group to two years.
Elimination of the letter of naturalization and change of title
The changes promoted by the popular party affect even the name of the norm, which will cease to be presented as a specific bill to become a modification of the Civil Code. The introductory text will also be modified to eliminate any reference to concession by letter of naturalization or to the Sephardic law, and the reform will be justified by the reduction of the residence period to two years.
Furthermore, the PP will suppress article one, thereby eliminating the path of nationality concession by letter of naturalization to those born before 1977 without legal residence in Spain, and will also eliminate article two, which covered the entire administrative procedure linked to this option.
Another of the amendments puts an end to the special regime on registrations in the Civil Registry related to the letter of naturalization, and the PP will also consider the Second Additional Provision, which sought to develop a specific computer application to process these nationalities, as fallen.
What changes does the Popular Party propose?
The PP, however, does incorporate a new point in the Civil Code to expressly include "Sahrawis from Western Sahara" among the groups that can apply for nationality after two years of legal residence in Spain.
Along with this, another amendment establishes that the condition of Sahrawi to benefit from this reduced period must be accredited through a subsequent regulatory development by the Government. The popular party also extends the entry into force of the law, which will go from four months to six months from its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
For its part, Vox has registered a veto to the bill, demanding that the entire norm return to the Congress.
The bill that came from Congress
The norm that came from the Lower House was promoted by Sumar and, although the PSOE initially rejected it, it later agreed to it with its government partner. The text argues that "exceptional circumstances" exist to grant nationality by letter of naturalization to Sahrawis born in Western Sahara before September 29, 1977, even if they do not legally reside in Spain.
To prove this condition, the bill allows presenting, among other documents, a Spanish DNI even if it is expired, the receipt of registration in the census for the Western Sahara referendum authenticated by the United Nations, birth certificates or documentation issued by the Spanish Administration.
In addition, first-degree descendants of those who obtain nationality will have five years to also opt for it. The norm also provides that applications by letter of naturalization will be free and can be submitted during the three years following the entry into force of the law, with the possibility of extension for one more year.
