Spain revokes citizenship of 78 Moroccan babies

Spain has stripped citizenship from 78 babies born in Melilla after uncovering a network aiming to fraudulently obtain citizenship. The Spanish (men) pretended to be the biological fathers of these babies.

A network of “falsification” of Spanish nationality has been discovered by the police but the date on which this system of fraud began remains unknown. For the moment, 78 babies born on Spanish soil, in Melilla more precisely, are concerned by a procedure for revocation of nationality.

For the most part, the children are from Moroccan parents who would have paid between 1,500 and 3,000 euros for them to be recognized by Spaniards residing in the city of Melilla.

The mothers arrived in the city in a state of advanced pregnancy to give birth at the regional hospital of the city, and subsequently the men who were part of this criminal network presented themselves to the registry office to recognize the babies as their children.

The fraudulent network concerns Spaniards, in particular of Moroccan origin, residing both in Melilla and in the Iberian Peninsula. In total, the Spanish police announced that they had arrested 51 people in Melilla and 28 others on the peninsula. And 38 other people involved are currently wanted.

There would be a total of no less than 117 people involved in the plot, including mothers, fictitious fathers and intermediaries. Those arrested and wanted are accused of violating the rights of foreigners, false papers and membership of a criminal organization.

This system of obtaining nationality fraudulently finds its interest in the parents because through these children, the mothers obtain facilities to go to Spain or obtain residence.

The government delegation has already started the procedures to withdraw the residence to the mothers and urged the prosecution to revoke the Spanish nationality of the minors, indicates El Pais which reports the case.

For the media, this procedure would make it possible to obtain various advantages for the parents of newborn babies, in particular obtaining passports for the little ones, a residence permit in Spain given that they are parents of a minor of Spanish nationality, and which would subsequently make it possible to make requests for family reunification for the true biological parents of the children.