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Spanish Jewish community's 'profound gratitude' for citizenship law extension

Descendants of Sephardim have an extra year to apply for Spanish nationality

March 13, 2018 14:56
Tourists outside the home of Maimonides, the medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher, in the Jewish quarters of Toledo
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A Jewish umbrella body in Spain has expressed “profound gratitude” after the country's government extended the deadline for a citizenship law for descendants of Sephardim who fled the Inquisition.

In a statement on its website, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain (FCJE) said it “thanks the Government of Spain for the decision taken on Friday, March 9, 2018, to extend the deadline for a year for Sephardic descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 to apply for Spanish nationality.”

The law, which was passed in 2015, allows Sephardi Jews to obtain Spanish citizenship without having to be resident in the country.

It was due to expire later in 2018 but the government announced on Friday that applications would be accepted until October 1, 2019.