Spanish Transparency Council orders Ministry to disclose nationality data

Spain’s Transparency and Good Governance Council has ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to release statistical data regarding citizens who have obtained Spanish nationality through the 2007 Historical Memory Law and the 2022 Democratic Memory Law.

The order follows a citizen's request for detailed information, including data broken down by country, on the total number of applications received, approved, denied, and pending. The 2007 law allowed descendants of exiles to claim citizenship, while the 2022 legislation expanded these rights to include children and grandchildren of those who lost nationality due to political, ideological, or identity-based exile.

The Council criticized the Ministry for failing to respond to both the initial request in October 2025 and subsequent inquiries from the Council itself. In its resolution, the Council stated that administrative silence does not undermine the constitutional right to access public information.