Do you know if your family has a Sephardic ancestor?

The possibility of obtaining Portuguese nationality through the so-called "Sephardic Law" has been of great interest to Latin Americans, who see in this legislation the option of having a European passport, with all the advantages that this implies.

Let us remember that, in 2015, Portugal passed Law 30-A/2015This law allows for the granting of citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled during the Inquisition. The main requirement is to demonstrate lineage; in addition, applicants must prove a connection to the country and have no criminal record.

Due to the interest in learning more about the subject, various lists of surnames with possible Sephardic origin published in the press, not always citing reliable sources. 

But even when the publications They had expert opinions.Many people were skeptical. How could seemingly English surnames like Edwards or Mackenna, or Basque surnames like Undurraga or Echeñique, have Sephardic Jewish ancestry?

To resolve this, we turned again to the expert and chief genealogist of AIM Global, Francisco de Segovia, who immediately addressed the issue: “Indeed, the surnames mentioned are, depending on the case, of Basque origin (Echenique, Undurraga, Urzúa, Hurtado, etc.), Galician (Puga, Novoa, Rivadeneira, to mention a few), Castilian (Carvajal, De la Cerda, Riveros, Fuentes) or Irish (for example, Mackenna, O'Shee); what happens is that the founders of these surnames in Chile joined early on with families of Iberian origin -Spanish or Portuguese- who, through one of their lines, had a remote Sephardic ancestor.”

For the purposes of this naturalization law, De Segovia explains, “it is essential to prove the link with an ancestor of this origin and that is why it is requested to prove that relationship with a genealogical report (historical documents).” 

“The surnames mentioned have been extensively studied, and it is relatively less complex to verify their genealogies,” the expert explains. “Now, that link, It doesn't turn those families into Jews.It simply proves that among a person's numerous ancestors (Basques, Galicians, Germans, Mapuche, among others), there may be an ancestor in the Iberian Peninsula, associated with the Sephardim, that allows them to qualify for that visa."

It is said that a high percentage of the Chilean population—almost 80 percent—could apply for Portuguese nationality under the terms of the Sephardic Law. Why is this?

In this regard, the genealogist states that "given that in Chile, a large percentage of the population comes from Spaniards from the 16th century and later, such as the Valenzuela, Moraga, Jufré families, among others, there is a high probability that a Chilean has this ancestry." 

“Currently, the cases that have been successfully validated, for example, are the descendants of the conquerors Diego García de Cáceres and Juan Jufré y Montesa, who came respectively from new Christians (or Jewish converts), on the paternal side, the first, and on the maternal side, the second,” he adds.

Finally, we asked De Segovia about the importance of knowing about our ancestors, whether or not there is indeed a Sephardic origin.

“People, regardless of our origin or life experience, have always looked to the past for answers to understand our existence and the historical development of humanity,” the expert points out, “so it seems natural to discover in our own family history the memory necessary to identify the experience, the trades, the interests or the motivations of our ancestors.” 

“The possibility of learning their names and stories today, in a globalized world, will always open opportunities beyond bureaucracy and the dictates of nations and their laws. Today, it is the descendants of Sephardic Jews; tomorrow it may be other groups around the globe, allowing us to delve deeper into our roots, observing our culture through time,” he concludes.

If you are interested in learning more about the requirements to qualify for Sephardic Law, or if you have already decided that you want to start the process, Schedule a meeting with usYou can start the exploratory research from Chile; our team will accompany you throughout the entire process.