Spanish citizenship for Sahrawis moved a step closer on Thursday after lawmakers in Madrid approved a bill granting nationality to people born in Western Sahara during Spanish rule, a territory now largely administered by Morocco.
Officials and analysts say the decision could further strain Spain’s complex ties with Rabat, which have been tested in recent years by a border crisis in the North African enclave of Ceuta.
- In favor: 168
- Against: 31
- Abstentions: 145
The proposal would confer Spanish nationality on Sahrawis born before September 29, 1977, and enable their descendants to seek citizenship through naturalization. Estimates of those who could qualify range from roughly 70,000 to more than 100,000. The measure now heads to the senate for consideration.
Many Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, or elsewhere abroad [File: February 25, 2025]
Spanish citizenship for Sahrawis debated amid Western Sahara dispute
The ruling Socialist Party and its left-wing partner Sumar backed the legislation. The conservative People’s Party abstained, and the far-right Vox party voted against it.
Sumar lawmaker Tesh Sidi, the first woman of Sahrawi origin to serve in Spain’s parliament, said the measure restores the “Spanish national identity card to those Sahrawis who once held it and from whom this state took it away.”
Spain administered Western Sahara until 1976. Morocco asserts sovereignty over the territory, while the Polisario Front seeks independence. Morocco controls most of the area. The Polisario Front is based across the border in the Algerian town of Tindouf, where tens of thousands of displaced Sahrawis live in refugee camps. The United Nations still lists Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory.
How the Ceuta influx raised tensions
The vote comes amid renewed friction between Madrid and Rabat following a large influx of migrants into Ceuta in July. Scores of people died trying to reach European Union territory, most by drowning, according to officials.
While most who crossed into Ceuta have since returned, thousands remain, including many unaccompanied minors living in difficult conditions. The episode triggered disputes among EU governments, most visibly between Spain’s left-leaning administration and Italy’s far-right leadership, and followed earlier protests in Spain over the government’s handling of the Ceuta migrant crisis.