Spain's Supreme Court halts voting rights for foreign-born grandchildren without exile proof

Spain’s Supreme Court issued a provisional injunction preventing foreign-born individuals who acquired citizenship via the “grandchildren law” from voting unless they can demonstrate that their forebears fled Spain as exiles between July 1936 and December 1955. The ruling responds to claims that a Ministry of Justice instruction, signed by Sofia Puente, eliminated the exile-proof requirement and was officially published in the BOE on 26 October 2022.

Critics say the change broadened eligibility to descendants of ordinary emigrants, even reaching great-great-grandchildren in some consular offices. The court noted that the Census of Residents Abroad (CERA) swelled from 2.33 million to more than 2.73 million, a growth it described as “exceptional” and potentially distorting seat allocation. It ordered the Central Electoral Board to oversee the Electoral Census Office’s breakdown of voters who qualify under the original exile criteria versus those admitted through the expanded interpretation. The decision does not affect those who can prove exile of their ancestors.