The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that since 2015, the Portuguese and Spanish governments have naturalised more than 10,000 applicants for citizenship, based on their proven Jewish ancestry.
The figures have been published in El País and Lusa, outlining the effects of the countries’ similar laws passed in 2015.
Spain leads with 8,365 applicants who successfully have negotiated the original law's requirements and to follow-up decrees that removed several hurdles, including the original need to pass a Spanish exam, even though some were fluent in Ladino, a Sephardic language similar to Spanish.
Spain also has extended the time period for applications by one year, until October 2019 and reported that a further 5,682 applications are still being processed.
In Portugal, 1,713 applicants were naturalised in 2017, based on their Sephardic roots. This constituted the largest group of non-residents receiving a Portuguese passport last year and represented 10% of those granted citizenship.
In both Spain and Portugal, the laws to welcome Sephardic Jews officially were described as an atonement for their persecution in the 15th and 16th centuries during the Inquisition.
