Spain advances citizenship for Western Saharans
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Spain’s parliament voted to grant citizenship to Sahrawis, people born in the Western Sahara territory when Spain controlled it as a colony, potentially benefiting over 100,000 people.
Mohamed Mohamedna, a Sahrawi man living in Spain for 21 years without citizenship, described the vote as a historic moment. The bill passed with 168 votes in favour and 31 against, with support from the ruling Socialists and other parties.
The move comes after decades of dispute over Western Sahara, which Morocco claims as its own, while the United Nations considers it a non-self-governing territory. Spain ruled Western Sahara from 1884 to 1976. The new law recognizes ties between the Sahrawi population and Spain and will allow descendants of those granted citizenship to also apply. Applicants will need to prove their Sahrawi status with documents like old registration rolls or records from the Spanish administration before 1977.
The law allows eligible Sahrawis to apply for citizenship after only two years of legal residence in Spain, a faster track than the standard ten-year requirement. The bill passed despite recent tensions with Morocco stemming from a large influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July, though Rabat has not yet formally condemned the citizenship move. The legislation now requires Senate approval to become law.
