Recommended documents

In February 2014, the Spanish cabinet approved an amendment to the Spanish Citizenship law. This amendment opens for the next two years a window of opportunity in which the descendants of the Jews that were expelled from Spain can file an application for the receipt of Spanish citizenship. Actually, the amendment has not yet been approved by the Parliament, but as of now, the receiving of Spanish citizenship is not conditional on residing in Spain or renouncing another citizenship.

The receiving of Spanish citizenship involves the producing of as many proofs as can be found and a Spanish heritage. For the purpose of the preliminary test of your eligibility, the following relevant documents are required:

A certificate by a rabbinical authority in Israel or abroad testifying to Spanish descent.

Proof of descent or membership in an acknowledged community of Jews expelled from Spain.

Proof of the knowledge of Ladino or Spanish – a certificate, a link to a YouTube clip in which you are speaking Ladino.

A wedding agreement (Ketuba) in which appears a prohibition of marrying a second wife (such a Ketuba is a Sephardic version)

Any document testifying to Spanish (Sephardic) descent and a connection with the culture of the Jews expelled from Spain –photographs of graves, a family tree, a genealogic study.

Likewise, you should attach to these documents a letter containing a short explanation of the document’s nature and its relevance to the application. The documents can be transferred by fax, by e-mail, by mail, or by advance coordination with our office.