‘A historic day’: Spain moves closer to citizenship for Western Saharans

Spain’s parliament backs citizenship for tens of thousands of Sahrawis amid tense relations with Morocco after the Ceuta crossing.

Members of Sahrawi organisations and solidarity groups react after a vote to grant Spanish citizenship to Sahrawis born under the former Spanish administration at Spain’s parliament in Madrid, Spain, on September 10, 2026 [Susana Vera/Reuters]

Madrid, Spain – For Mohamed Mohamedna, it was a historic moment.

On Thursday, the Spanish parliament backed citizenship for Western Saharans born in the North African territory when Madrid ruled it as a colony.

list 1 of 1 Spain’s Parliament backs citizenship for Western Saharans born before 1977

Like other campaigners, 52-year-old Mohamedna had been waiting for years for this gesture.

“This is a great, historic day,” he told Al Jazeera. “I have been living in Spain for 21 years but I have always been classed as having ‘no state’.”

Mohamed Mohamedna is one of tens of thousands who could soon be granted Spanish nationality [Courtesy of Mohamed Mohamedna]

Mohamedna, who has been living in Vitoria in northwestern Spain and works for a private company, has been stateless since he arrived in Spain.

Spain’s lower house of parliament overwhelmingly voted for the move, which analysts say could benefit more than 100,000 Sahrawis.

Mohamedna hopes he will soon be able to apply for a Spanish passport.

But the bill, which requires Senate approval before becoming law, comes amid tensions between Spain and Morocco after more than 70,000 migrants crossed into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in July.

Rabat on Thursday refuted claims by Spanish opposition parties that it had been involved in the mass crossing which caused an international diplomatic row.

The Moroccan foreign ministry said, “Why continue to level accusations against Morocco when no evidence, facts or reports establish any involvement on the part of Moroccan authorities?”

‘Recognise the Sahrawi population’s ties to Spain’

From 1884 until 1976, Western Sahara was under Spanish colonial rule. Morocco has long laid claim to the area, which the United Nations classifies as a non-self-governing territory.

Attempts to organise a referendum on whether it should become independent or a part of Morocco have lagged for years.

Spanish law says it will “recognise the Sahrawi population’s ties to Spain” and would also allow descendants of those granted citizenship to gain it.

According to representatives from the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, the independence movement which has fought for freedom for the territory from Morocco, some 110,000 Sahrawis could be eligible for Spanish citizenship.

Once the law takes effect, applicants have three years in order – extendable to four years – to seek citizenship. Up to 70,000 Sahrawis can get Spanish citizenship as well as their direct descendants – their sons or daughters – who will have five years to apply after their parents are registered.

Sahrawis will be eligible to access nationality by residence via an accelerated route, needing only two years of legal residence in Spain instead of 10 years generally required for nationality.

This will put them on equal standing with citizens of most Latin American countries, Sephardic Jews, nationals of the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal.

The bill was passed by 168 votes in favour with 31 votes against.

The ruling Socialists, the far-left Sumar and other regional parties supported the bill, while the opposition conservative People’s Party (PP) abstained and the far-right Vox party voted against it.

“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,” said Tesh Sidi of the leftist Sumar coalition, who is the first woman of Sahrawi origin to serve in parliament, Reuters reported.

Spain’s delicate ties with Morocco

Spain and Morocco have a sticky diplomatic relationship over issues including migration, airspace, territorial waters, customs and land borders.

Pablo Simon, a political analyst at the University Carlos III in Madrid, warned of a clash with Morocco.

“There are always reasons for confrontations between Spain and Morocco,” he told Al Jazeera. “But this is a historic [restoration of nationality] on the part of Spain. Even the opposition PP has abstained.”

However, Rabat has not officially condemned the citizenship move for Sahrawis.

In 2020, Morocco agreed to reopen its diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv as part of the Abraham Accords signed during United States President Donald Trump’s first term. In return, the US recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Last year, the US government said it was authorising major investments in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.

The Polisario Front independence movement seeks recognition of an independent state called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Many Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, or elsewhere abroad, while others remain in Western Sahara.

Spain had supported a referendum in the territory – in line with UN resolutions – until Pedro Sanchez’s government made a surprise change of policy in 2022 and backed Morocco’s position.

The policy switch came in the wake of the crossing of more than 8,000 migrants into Ceuta in 2021. Rabat said it had allowed the migrants to cross the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave in reprisal for Spain treating a Polisario leader, Brahim Ghali, in hospital in Logrono for COVID.

Tensions eased somewhat after the shift, with Madrid describing Rabat’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara as “serious, credible and realistic”.

The law which has granted citizenship to Sahrawis is part of a series of initiatives under the so-called “grandchildren law”, which allowed descendants of Spaniards who went into exile or emigrated during the Spanish Civil War, between 1936-1939 and during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco until 1975, to claim citizenship.

In a move to avoid controversy with Morocco, the Socialist government agreed to remove the words “Sahrawi people” and replace it with “Sahrawi population” or simply “Sahrawis”. But this upset the Socialists’ left-wing allies, Sumar, and they were defeated.

To prove Sahrawi status, applicants may show a variety of documents, including a receipt showing registration on the United Nations roll for the Western Sahara self-determination referendum, which never took place as it was banned by Rabat.

Other examples of proof include a driver’s licence, a pension payment receipt, and other documents issued by a Spanish administration showing birth in the territory before September 29, 1977.

“We have been fighting for this for many years and finally it has come to pass,” said Mohamedna.

在休达偷渡事件后，西班牙与摩洛哥关系紧张，西班牙议会支持给予数万名撒哈拉人公民身份。

2026年9月10日，在西班牙马德里，西班牙议会投票决定授予在西班牙前政权统治下出生的撒哈拉人西班牙公民身份后，撒哈拉组织和声援团体的成员做出反应。[苏珊娜·维拉/路透社]

西班牙马德里——对于穆罕默德·穆罕默德纳来说，这是一个历史性的时刻。

周四，西班牙议会支持给予在马德里统治西撒哈拉时期出生于这片北非领土的西撒哈拉人公民身份。

列表 1/1：西班牙议会支持给予 1977 年前出生的西撒哈拉人公民身份

和其他活动人士一样，52岁的穆罕默德娜多年来一直期待着这一举动。

“这是伟大的、历史性的一天，”他告诉半岛电视台。“我在西班牙生活了21年，但我一直被归类为‘无国籍人士’。”

穆罕默德·穆罕默德纳是数万名可能很快获得西班牙国籍的人之一。[图片由穆罕默德·穆罕默德纳提供]

穆罕默德纳一直居住在西班牙西北部的维多利亚，在一家私营公司工作，自抵达西班牙以来一直没有国籍。

西班牙下议院以压倒性多数投票赞成这项举措，分析人士称，这可能会使超过 10 万名撒哈拉人受益。

穆罕默德纳希望他很快就能申请西班牙护照。

但这项法案在成为法律之前需要参议院批准，而此时正值西班牙和摩洛哥关系紧张之际，此前 7 月份有超过 7 万名移民涌入西班牙位于北非的飞地休达。

周四，拉巴特方面驳斥了西班牙反对党关于其参与大规模偷渡事件的说法，该事件引发了国际外交争端。

摩洛哥外交部表示：“在没有任何证据、事实或报告表明摩洛哥当局参与其中的情况下，为什么还要继续指责摩洛哥？”

“承认撒哈拉威人口与西班牙的联系”

从1884年到1976年，西撒哈拉一直处于西班牙的殖民统治之下。摩洛哥长期以来一直声称对该地区拥有主权，但联合国将其列为非自治领土。

多年来，组织全民公投决定该地区是应该独立还是成为摩洛哥的一部分的尝试一直进展缓慢。

西班牙法律规定将“承认撒哈拉人民与西班牙的联系”，并允许获得公民身份者的后代获得公民身份。

据阿尔及利亚支持的波利萨里奥阵线（为争取该地区摆脱摩洛哥统治而进行的独立运动）的代表称，约有 11 万撒哈拉人可能符合获得西班牙公民身份的条件。

该法律生效后，申请人有三年时间（可延长至四年）申请入籍。多达7万名撒哈拉人可以获得西班牙国籍，他们的直系后裔——子女——也可在其父母获得西班牙国籍后五年内提出申请。

撒哈拉人将有资格通过居住途径获得国籍，只需在西班牙合法居住两年，而不是通常获得国籍所需的 10 年。

这将使他们与大多数拉丁美洲国家的公民、塞法迪犹太人、菲律宾、赤道几内亚和葡萄牙的国民享有同等地位。

该法案以168票赞成、31票反对获得通过。

执政的社会党、极左的苏玛党和其他地区政党支持该法案，而反对派保守的人民党（PP）弃权，极右的Vox党投了反对票。

据路透社报道，左翼苏马尔联盟的泰什·西迪表示：“通过这项立法，我们正在恢复——我强调，是恢复——西班牙国民身份证，让那些曾经持有该身份证但被国家剥夺的撒哈拉人重新获得它。”泰什·西迪是第一位在议会任职的撒哈拉裔女性。

西班牙与摩洛哥之间微妙的关系

西班牙和摩洛哥在移民、领空、领海、海关和陆地边界等问题上存在着棘手的外交关系。

马德里卡洛斯三世大学的政治分析家巴勃罗·西蒙警告说，可能会与摩洛哥发生冲突。

他对半岛电视台表示：“西班牙和摩洛哥之间总是存在冲突。但就西班牙而言，这是一次历史性的（恢复国籍）行动。就连反对党人民党都投了弃权票。”

然而，拉巴特方面尚未正式谴责给予撒哈拉人公民身份的举措。

2020年，摩洛哥同意重开其驻特拉维夫外交使团，这是美国总统唐纳德·特朗普第一任期内签署的《亚伯拉罕协议》的一部分。作为交换，美国承认摩洛哥对西撒哈拉的主权。

去年，美国政府表示将批准对摩洛哥控制的西撒哈拉进行重大投资。

波利萨里奥阵线独立运动寻求建立一个名为“撒哈拉阿拉伯民主共和国”的独立国家，并寻求国际社会的承认。许多撒哈拉人居住在廷杜夫、阿尔及利亚或其他海外地区的难民营中，而另一些人则留在西撒哈拉。

西班牙曾支持在该地区举行全民公投——这符合联合国决议——直到佩德罗·桑切斯政府在 2022 年出人意料地改变政策，转而支持摩洛哥的立场。

这项政策转变发生在 2021 年超过 8000 名移民涌入休达之后。拉巴特方面表示，允许这些移民从摩洛哥越境进入西班牙飞地休达，是为了报复西班牙将波利萨里奥阵线领导人布拉希姆·加利送往洛格罗尼奥的医院治疗新冠肺炎。

这一转变之后，紧张局势有所缓和，马德里方面称拉巴特提出的西撒哈拉自治方案“严肃、可信且现实”。

赋予撒哈拉人公民身份的法律是所谓的“孙辈法”下的一系列举措之一。该法允许在1936年至1939年西班牙内战期间以及弗朗西斯科·佛朗哥将军独裁统治时期（直至1975年）流亡或移民的西班牙人的后裔申请公民身份。

为了避免与摩洛哥发生争议，社会党政府同意删除“撒哈拉人民”一词，代之以“撒哈拉人口”或简称“撒哈拉人”。但这激怒了社会党的左翼盟友苏玛尔党，导致他们最终失败。

为了证明撒哈拉人身份，申请人可以出示各种文件，包括显示已在联合国登记参加西撒哈拉自决公投的收据，但该公投从未举行，因为它被拉巴特禁止。

其他证明文件包括驾驶执照、养老金支付收据以及西班牙行政部门签发的其他文件，证明在 1977 年 9 月 29 日之前出生于该地区。

“我们为此奋斗多年，终于实现了，”穆罕默德娜说。