Spain's Congress approves citizenship bill for Sahrawis born under colonial rule

Parliamentary approval and vote tallies

On 10 September 2026, the Spanish Congress of Deputies approved a draft law granting Spanish citizenship to Sahrawis born under Spanish administration and their direct descendants. The lower house passed the initiative with 168 votes in favour, 31 against, and 145 abstentions. The governing coalition of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Sumar supported the bill alongside regional parliamentary allies. The conservative People's Party (PP) and Junts abstained, while the right-wing Vox voted against the measure. The bill now proceeds to the Senate for final legislative review before formal enactment. Sourced estimates of eligible beneficiaries range between 70,000 and 110,000 individuals, with other calculations indicating 80,000 or up to 200,000 people.

Legal mechanisms and eligibility criteria

The legislation establishes exceptional circumstances to grant Spanish citizenship by naturalisation charter (carta de naturaleza) to Sahrawis born in Western Sahara before 29 September 1977, regardless of current legal residence in Spain. Applicants can prove eligibility through official records, including expired Spanish national identity cards (DNI), United Nations census receipts for the Western Sahara referendum, birth certificates, or Spanish administrative documents. Applications under this mechanism will be free of charge and open for three years following implementation, with a possible one-year extension. First-degree descendants of those who obtain citizenship will have five years to submit their applications. In addition, the legislation amends the Spanish Civil Code to lower the required legal residency period for Sahrawis seeking citizenship from ten years to two years, aligning their status with nationals of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, and people of Sephardic origin. The law will take effect four months after publication in the State Gazette (BOE).

Floor debate and party positions

The initiative was drafted and introduced by the left-wing Sumar coalition, led by deputy Tesh Sidi, the first lawmaker of Sahrawi origin in the Spanish parliament. During the debate, Sidi addressed the chamber before Sahrawi representatives seated in the public gallery.

With the adoption of this legislation, we are restoring - and I emphasise, restoring - the Spanish national identity card to those Sahrawis who once held it and from whom this state took it away.

While the governing partners framed the bill as legal restitution for territory administered by Spain until 1976, opposition parties challenged the procedure. The People's Party argued that citizenship should follow residency rather than cabinet decrees. PP deputy Pedro Muñoz explained the position during floor remarks.

We defend that there can be naturalisations, of course, but not by naturalisation charter, but after proving residence in Spain for two years, as happens with citizens of Equatorial Guinea or Ibero-American countries.

Vox opposed the bill entirely, stating that the criteria were overly broad and lacked adequate guarantees.

Diplomatic backdrop and relations with Morocco

The vote takes place in a period of strained relations between Madrid and Rabat following the irregular arrival of at least 70,000 migrants in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on 30 July 2026. Morocco claims sovereignty over Western Sahara and opposes international recognition of the territory, while the Algerian-backed Polisario Front seeks independence for the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Spain previously backed a United Nations-supervised referendum for the territory until 2022, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez altered Madrid's stance to endorse Morocco's autonomy plan as serious, credible, and realistic. Many Sahrawis currently live in refugee camps around Tindouf, Algeria, or abroad.