About three months after the Spanish government approved a law that would enable descendants of Sephardi Jews—the kin of 300,000 Jews who were exiled from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition in 1492—to apply for dual citizenship, 4,302 people, most of whom were reportedly from Morocco, Turkey and Venezuela, were granted the paperwork.
The applicants are now naturalized citizens of Spain and can live and work anywhere in the entire 28-nation European Union. “Like others seeking Spanish citizenship,” reported the AP, “applicants must be tested in basic Spanish and pass a current events and culture test about Spain. They also must establish a modern-day link to Spain, which can be as simple as donating to a Spanish charity or as expensive as buying property.”
It’s unclear how many people are eligible to apply for dual Spanish citizenship, but it is estimated to be in the millions.
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Spain Approves Law Enabling Dual Citizenship for Sephardic Jews
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Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.
