Spain Grants Citizenship to 170 Descendants of International Brigades

(MADRID) Spain will grant citizenship to nearly 170 descendants of International Brigade fighters, with the measure set for formal approval by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, following Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s announcement on October 31. The step, framed as an act of democratic recognition, uses the Democratic Memory Law to extend nationality to the families of foreign volunteers who fought for the Spanish Republic during the Civil War.

Speaking at the National Music Auditorium in Madrid during the Day of Remembrance and Tribute to all the victims of the military coup, the War, and the Dictatorship, Sánchez told the audience:

“For the free and democratic Spain that we are, it will be an honor to be able to call them compatriots.”

He added:

“By recognizing this right, we are appealing to the very defense of democracy in a time of threat and regression throughout the world.”

The decision comes under the Democratic Memory Law (Law 20/2022, Article 33), a statute that expressly allows Spanish nationality to be granted to volunteer members of the International Brigades and their descendants. The pathway does not require applicants to renounce their current nationality or pass a Spanish language test, making it distinct from other naturalization routes. The government has presented this wave of approvals as both a legal application of the statute and a symbolic act of historical justice. Sánchez described the gesture as a way to

“pay a debt of gratitude”

to those who defended Spain’s democracy in the 1930s.

The Council of Ministers will execute the formal approval on November 4, aligning the measure with a broader push to uphold Spain’s democratic memory ahead of the 50th anniversary of Francisco Franco’s death. In parallel, the government is accelerating the judicial dissolution of the Francisco Franco Foundation and moving to remove symbols contrary to democratic memory from public spaces. Officials have cast the citizenship grants and the moves against Francoist tributes as part of the same effort to reaffirm historical truth and constitutional values.

Nearly 170 descendants of International Brigade members who have already applied will receive citizenship in this round, according to the government. The number reflects applications submitted under the Democratic Memory Law’s special provisions for the brigades, which cover direct descendants of volunteers who fought for the Republic between 1936 and 1939. At the tribute event in Madrid, Sánchez underscored the moral reasoning behind the policy and its timing.

“No democracy honors the coup plotters”

and

“Freedom was never a gift, it was a conquest by the entire Spanish society,”

he said, arguing that Spain faces a “constant and subtle” attempt to delegitimize democratic institutions that must be countered with concrete measures.

The legal basis sits in Democratic Memory Law (Law 20/2022, Article 33), which opened a temporary window for nationality petitions tied to specific historical circumstances, including the International Brigades. The application period was extended and will close on October 22, 2025. Applicants must prove a direct familial link to an International Brigade volunteer, typically with documentation such as birth and marriage certificates. The law does not extend to great-grandchildren or more distant relatives under this specific channel, a boundary the government says is meant to keep the measure tightly focused on immediate family lines and the original intent of the statute.

Officials report more than 680,000 applications for Spanish nationality under the Democratic Memory Law since it took effect in October 2022, highlighting the scale of interest from families with historical ties to Spain. Many petitions have come from countries with large communities descended from Spanish emigrants, including Cuba, reflecting longstanding migration patterns and the enduring pull of Spanish civic identity abroad. Within that broader pool, the Democratic Memory Law’s dedicated provision for International Brigades stands out for its targeted acknowledgment of those who fought for the Republic and the generational aftermath of their decision to take up arms on Spanish soil.

The International Brigades were formed by foreign volunteers from over 50 countries who joined the Republican cause against General Franco’s Nationalist forces from 1936 to 1939. These volunteers, often organized by political parties and solidarity networks, left their homes to fight in Spain’s battlefields, from the defense of Madrid to the struggles on the Ebro. For their descendants, Spanish citizenship under the Democratic Memory Law offers both a legal status and an explicit recognition of their relatives’ role in a conflict that shaped Spain’s 20th century. Sánchez’s framing of the measure as a way to

“pay a debt of gratitude”

places the brigades within a narrative of democratic defense and sacrifice that the government has emphasized in recent years.

The practical requirements for those seeking citizenship through this route are clear-cut. Applicants must demonstrate a direct line to an identified International Brigade volunteer, usually by presenting certified records that trace lineage—birth records connecting each generation, marriage certificates establishing family names, and any archival evidence that confirms the volunteer’s service. Because the International Brigade channel does not require a language exam or the renunciation of other nationalities, families whose lives took them far from Spain in the decades after the war can access this path without the hurdles found in standard naturalization procedures. Authorities stress that only direct descendants are covered; great-grandchildren and further generations fall outside this particular provision.

The government’s timeline has put urgency on new filings as the deadline approaches. By closing the window on October 22, 2025, officials intend to wrap up a concentrated period of adjudication across multiple categories within the law, including the brigades. While most of the more than 680,000 petitions relate to broader historical criteria in the statute, the nearly 170 approvals attached to International Brigade fighters spotlight a distinct group whose claims rest on service to the Republic rather than ancestral emigration alone. The Council of Ministers’ action on November 4 will formalize these grants, allowing the recipients to obtain Spanish passports and full civic rights without giving up existing citizenships.

This move arrives as Spain deepens its institutional efforts to address the legacy of the Civil War and the dictatorship that followed. The planned acceleration of the judicial dissolution of the Francisco Franco Foundation and the removal of Francoist symbols are intended to align public spaces and organizations with the values enshrined in the constitution. The government has tied these steps to a renewed push to protect democratic norms amid what it describes as threats at home and abroad. Sánchez’s remarks—

“No democracy honors the coup plotters”

and

“Freedom was never a gift, it was a conquest by the entire Spanish society”—

were meant to underscore that the granting of nationality under the Democratic Memory Law is not only a legal act but also a statement about the kind of country Spain seeks to be.

For the descendants who will receive citizenship next week, the decision closes a circle that was opened when their parents or grandparents joined the International Brigades to fight in Spain. Some are expected to be from countries with deep historic ties to the conflict, including parts of Europe and the Americas where brigade veterans resettled after the war. The government has not published a country-by-country breakdown of the nearly 170 approvals, but officials say the casework has moved forward for those who provided clear documentation of lineage and brigade service. The absence of a language test or renunciation requirement has eased the final steps for applicants whose families have lived outside Spain for generations.

The story of the International Brigades remains a powerful symbol in Spain and abroad, and it features in classrooms, archives, and family histories from Paris to Buenos Aires and New York. By focusing these citizenship grants on direct descendants, the government is using a narrow legal instrument to make a broader point about historical responsibility. The Democratic Memory Law, and in particular its Article 33, allows the state to honor specific forms of commitment to the Republic within a defined period and with precise rules. It is a technocratic process, but it carries emotional weight for those who will now carry Spanish passports because a parent or grandparent once took a stand on Spanish soil.

As the Council of Ministers meets on November 4 to finalize this round of approvals, attention will turn to how quickly the documentation can be issued and whether remaining descendants can complete their files before the deadline. With the application window closing on October 22, 2025, the government is urging eligible families to gather certificates and records that prove their direct link to a brigade volunteer. For Spain, the approvals are meant to affirm that those who fought for the Republic—and the generations that followed them—hold a recognized place in the nation’s civic life. For the recipients, the passports will be tangible proof of a connection that has lived in family stories for nearly nine decades, now recognized in law under the Democratic Memory Law and sealed by the Council’s vote.