Spain's Supreme Court suspends CERA voting for some people naturalized under the grandchildren's law: what changes and what doesn't

Spain's Supreme Court (Third Chamber, Fourth Section) has provisionally suspended registration in the Censo Electoral de Residentes Ausentes (CERA) —the electoral roll Spaniards living abroad vote with— of people who obtained Spanish nationality under additional provision eight, section 1, first sentence, of Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory, commonly known as the «grandchildren's law». There is an exception: anyone holding a certificate from the Consular Registry that their ancestor was an exile, established without applying the presumption of the 2022 Instruction.

The decision came in two orders with identical operative parts, ATS 7774/2026 (appeal 1013/2026, brought by Iustitia Europa) and ATS 7773/2026 (appeal 1015/2026, brought by Vox), against Agreement 204/2026 of 16 July of the Junta Electoral Central (Central Electoral Board). The orders carry the dissenting opinion of one judge, who argues that the measures adopted do not match the subject matter of the appeal.

Do I lose Spanish nationality?

No. The orders do not touch nationality. What is suspended is registration in the CERA or, if you were already registered, its electoral effects. The nationality of origin obtained under Law 20/2022 remains the same.

Who is affected and who is not?

The suspension concerns people who obtained nationality «por el ejercicio del Derecho de opción previsto en la Disposición Adicional 8ª.1 Inciso primero de la Ley 20/2022» (by exercising the right of option in additional provision 8.1, first sentence, of Law 20/2022). That sentence is the first one in the provision: «los nacidos fuera de España de padre o madre, abuelo o abuela, que originariamente hubieran sido españoles, y que, como consecuencia de haber sufrido exilio […], hubieran perdido o renunciado a la nacionalidad española» (those born outside Spain to a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, who were originally Spanish and who, as a result of exile, lost or renounced Spanish nationality).

• It does not affect the other two routes in the same provision, in its letters a) and b): sons and daughters born abroad to Spanish women who lost their nationality by marrying foreigners before the 1978 Constitution, and adult sons and daughters of people who already obtained nationality of origin by option.
• Nor does it apply to anyone who obtains from the officer in charge of the Consular Registry a certificate that they are the child or grandchild of a Spaniard of origin who suffered exile and lost or renounced nationality, «sin haber aplicado la presunción» (without applying the presumption) of the Instruction of 25 October 2022.

What is that «presumption»?

The Instruction of 25 October 2022 of the Dirección General de Seguridad Jurídica y Fe Pública (Directorate-General for Legal Certainty and Public Faith) provides that, for this route, «se presumirá la condición de exiliado respecto de todos los españoles que salieron de España entre el 18 de julio de 1936 y el 31 de diciembre de 1955» (exile status is presumed for all Spaniards who left Spain between 18 July 1936 and 31 December 1955); in those cases proving the departure is enough. If the departure was between 1 January 1956 and 28 December 1978, exile must be proven. The orders separate those who obtained nationality by directly proving exile from those who obtained it thanks to that presumption.

If I am not yet registered in the CERA

Your registration file keeps being processed to the end. Once it is finished, the registration is suspended until there is a judgment (section 1, i, of the orders).

If I was already registered in the CERA

The electoral effects of your registration are suspended «para los sucesivos procesos electorales que puedan convocarse» (for any elections that may be called), until the judgment (section 1, ii).

What can I do to vote?

The route the orders give is the Consular Registry certificate in section 1, iii: the consulate certifies that you were born outside Spain to a father, mother, grandfather or grandmother who was a Spaniard of origin, suffered exile and lost or renounced nationality, without applying the presumption. On 14 September, the Junta Electoral Central (Agreement 223/2026) asked the Dirección General de Españoles en el Exterior y de Asuntos Consulares to order the Consular Registries to issue that certificate «en los casos de las personas que […] hayan demostrado» (in the cases of people who have proven) that status. To find out how to request it in your case, ask the Consular Civil Registry where your nationality was processed.

What have the Electoral Board and the electoral roll done since?

• 14 September 2026 — the Junta Electoral Central (Agreement 223/2026) forwarded the orders to the Oficina del Censo Electoral (Electoral Roll Office) and ordered it to separate files coming from the direct application of the law from those approved under the interpretation and presumption of the 2022 Instruction, as the orders require.
• 24 September 2026 — the Board took note of the Electoral Roll Office's technical instructions to consular offices to comply with that agreement (Agreement 230/2026).

Is it final?

No. It is an interim measure: the Supreme Court still has to rule on the merits of the appeal against the Junta Electoral Central's agreement. The orders themselves say they impose no costs «dada la complejidad de las cuestiones abordadas y las dudas en derecho suscitadas» (given the complexity of the issues and the legal doubts raised).

What additional provision eight and the CERA are

Additional provision eight of Law 20/2022 allowed descendants of Spanish exiles to opt for Spanish nationality of origin (first sentence), as well as children of Spanish women who lost it by marrying foreigners before 1978 (letter a) and adult children of people who were recognized nationality of origin by option (letter b). It set a two-year deadline from its entry into force, extendable by one year by the Council of Ministers.

The CERA is the roll of Spaniards who live abroad; being registered in it is what allows you to vote from outside Spain.

If your nationality is still being processed at the Civil Registry, you can check the status of your Central Civil Registry file (page in Spanish). And if yours is nationality by residence, which is a different route, the nationality file status is checked separately (page in Spanish).

Sources

• Supreme Court, orders of 10 September 2026 (ATS 7774/2026 and 7773/2026), published by the Junta Electoral Central alongside Agreement 223/2026, and the General Council of the Judiciary press note.
• Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory, additional provision eight (consolidated text).
• Instruction of 25 October 2022 of the Dirección General de Seguridad Jurídica y Fe Pública, seventh directive.
• Agreement 230/2026 of the Junta Electoral Central, of 24 September.