Approximately 21 thousand regiomontanos could access European citizenship thanks to the Portuguese law of reparation enacted since 2015, according to the calculation of expert genealogists.
The people who can obtain citizenship would be descendants of Sephardic Jews, who were expelled from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century and who arrived in New Leon in 1570.
In case of proving the ancestry of the persons, these could access all the benefits of having a European passport, conserving their Mexican nationality.
This law of reparation, which was also enacted in a very similar way by Spain, dictates that any person who demonstrates their genealogical connection with Sephardic Jews expelled from Portugal or Spain, has the right to obtain Portuguese citizenship, valid in all countries of the territory european.
It is not necessary to demonstrate current connections with Portugal or Spain, Portuguese knowledge, but it is crucial to obtain the certificate of Sephardic ancestry from the Israeli Community; this document is processed by presenting a genealogical study that understands the sephardic lineage.
According to an expert lawyer, the legal process is simple if it is handled by the advice of experts, and it is not necessary to travel to Portugal to complete the process.
“With the correct advice, any person of Sephardic descent can complete the required legal process. If someone believes they have knowledge of this type of lineage in their family, they can start with an initial genealogical inquiry to analyze whether there is potential to continue the process. Unlike what many think is not a costly process nor out of reach for common people, and it lasts for a total of around 18 months.”, says the expert, who also reports that there are more than 200 successful cases of Sephardic descendants en Latinoamérica that already enjoys European citizenship.