Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the Partido Popular, accused the government of using citizenship and immigration measures to reshape Spain’s electoral field at a party forum in Castellón. He called the approach “social engineering” and argued that the so-called Ley de Nietos and the extraordinary regularization of immigrants could significantly alter the country’s voter base.
Feijóo focused on the Ley de Nietos, the nationality-by-option route established by Spain’s Democratic Memory Law, Law 20/2022 of 19 October. It covers qualifying people born outside Spain to a Spanish parent or grandparent, including certain descendants of Spaniards who lost or renounced their nationality because of exile. Applicants must document their eligibility through consulates or civil registries. Nationality is not conferred through automatic entry on the electoral roll. The application period, initially set at two years, was extended by one year and closed in October 2025.
Feijóo said the law could add around 2.4 million people to the electoral register. The Partido Popular has also cited an estimated four million children of Spaniards born abroad, while Feijóo referred to the regularization of nearly 1.2 million immigrants and warned that Spain could face an influx of up to eight million new citizens. These are political estimates covering different stages: potential eligibility and applications, whether submitted or approved, are distinct from eventual registration to vote.
Spanish electoral rules distinguish citizens resident in Spain, included in the Censo Electoral de Españoles Residentes en España (CER), from citizens living abroad, recorded in the Censo Electoral de Españoles Residentes-Ausentes (CERA). Acquiring nationality does not itself place someone on the electoral roll. Registration follows separate administrative procedures, including consular registration for eligible citizens abroad. The Oficina del Censo Electoral and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística maintain the relevant census structure. A projection of eligible descendants, by itself, cannot be read as a confirmed increase in registered voters.
The nearly 1.2 million figure cited in the debate concerns immigration-status regularization, a process legally distinct from acquiring Spanish nationality. A residence authorization does not itself make a person a Spanish citizen or place them on the Spanish electoral roll. Nationality by residence involves additional legal requirements under the Civil Code, including a qualifying period of lawful residence that varies by category. Applicants must also meet requirements for good civic conduct and integration. This distinction separates the scale of a migration measure from any direct calculation of citizenship or voter totals.
The opposition leader questioned whether the country had been adequately prepared for the demographic changes and suggested the government’s motives were not as neutral as presented. He argued that the policies could affect future elections, raising concerns about the integrity and capacity of Spain’s electoral system. The Partido Popular has framed the issue as electoral manipulation rather than humanitarian policy, amid a wider dispute over immigration and citizenship.
Vox has also called for the elimination of overseas postal voting and echoed suspicions of potential electoral fraud. Overseas voting is governed by Spain’s Organic Law 5/1985 on the General Electoral Regime, which regulates electoral censuses and voting from abroad. The procedure is part of the statutory system. Allegations of systematic fraud concern specific conduct and are distinct from the legal structure for postal voting.
Spain’s nationality-by-descent policy grew from efforts to address the legacy of the Civil War and Franco dictatorship, particularly exile, rather than from electoral policy. The earlier Historical Memory Law 52/2007 already allowed certain descendants of Spaniards to obtain nationality by option; Law 20/2022 expanded the eligible groups under the country’s Democratic Memory policy. The laws provide a historical and reparative route to nationality. Any electoral effect depends on later eligibility and registration under separate census rules.
Spain’s foreign-born population has grown steadily, and the country remains a major destination for migrants within Europe. Managing nationality applications and integrating newcomers continue to challenge public administration. The debate brings together historical redress and migration policy, alongside questions of administrative capacity and electoral registration. Each process operates under separate legal rules.
