Pinoy DNA and citizenship through bloodline

October is Family History Month, meant to create awareness about family history. On a personal level, October gave me a genealogical surprise: a major update was made to my AncestryDNA results and I was surprised to discover that my mom's side of the family's Spanish ancestry was further broken down into Spanish, Basque, Portuguese, and Sephardic Jew. The Jewish ancestry was something that really interested me since I have been immersing myself in Jewish genealogy for almost two years since starting to work for a Jewish non-profit.

In relation to Spanish ancestry, I had briefly written in a previous article for this column on the Ley de Memoria Democratica, the Spanish law from 2022 that allows citizens from other nations, specifically those from former Spanish colonies, to apply for Hispanic citizenship. To apply for Spanish nationality by descent, several important documents must be provided, categorized into four main groups.

First, documents related to the ancestor are required. These include the ancestor’s birth certificate from Spain and proof of Spanish nationality. If the nationality claim is based on historical exile, proof of exile is necessary, shown through immigration records confirming that the ancestor was exiled. Next, lineage documents are essential to demonstrate the direct bloodline connection from the ancestor to the applicant. Birth certificates for each generation must be provided, tracing the lineage step by step from the ancestor to the applicant. Marriage certificates are also required, where applicable, to confirm family connections between ancestors and their spouses.

An applicant’s valid passport must be submitted as proof of current citizenship, along with proof of residence, and criminal record certificates from the applicant’s country of residence to show a clean legal record. Finally, the process of legalization and translation is crucial. Any foreign documents must be legalized through an apostille. In addition, all documents that are not in Spanish must be officially translated by a certified translator to ensure their validity in the application process.

Contrary to most Filipinos' belief, Spain is not the only option available to use bloodline to gain citizenship. A good example is Japanese citizenship; because of our long relationship with Japan, there are thousands of Filipinos with Japanese ancestry. If a Filipino has at least one Japanese parent, the process is easier. Another way to gain entry to Japan is through ancestry. If one can prove at least one Japanese great-grandparent then one can be qualified for a long-term visa in Japan. A crucial requirement to qualify is the appearance of this great-grandparent in a family register called koseki tohon, which proves someone’s Japanese bloodline.

Another is Portuguese citizenship, granted to those persons born abroad with, at least, an ancestor on the second degree of the succession line who has not lost such citizenship.

The most interesting is perhaps Italian citizenship, which, so far, is the best option for anyone hoping to get another citizenship. Italy does not have a limitation to the number of generations acceptable for application. As long as one can prove through documentation that one has at least one ancestor who was born in Italy after 1861 then one becomes eligible.

Many more European nations allow citizenship through ancestry with varying degrees of difficulty. German citizenship, for instance, does not allow generational skipping. Even if your grandparents were German, but your parents renounced their German allegiance, you cannot apply for German citizenship.

There has been a rise in Filipinos wanting to become Spanish citizens. While most just want to also enjoy the benefits of a European passport, many have lost faith in our leaders and want to start a new life elsewhere. For more than a century, many Filipinos have moved to other countries for a better life. With the rise of DNA testing and many first-world countries having a graying population, Filipinos are now able to move to other countries for a better life.