Spanish Nationality
By having registered Administrative Managers, the application for Spanish nationality based on length of residence with España Más is much more agile. Thanks to the Agreement between the General Council of Colleges of Administrative Managers of Spain and the Ministry of Justice, we can process applications for Spanish nationality files through the College of Managers’ telematic platform, which allows us to speed up nationality files and reduce resolution times up to 1 year.
Spanish Nationality by Residence:
Through this procedure, a foreigner who has been residing legally and continuously in Spain for some time can apply for and acquire Spanish nationality.
Requirements:
- Reside legally and continuously for 10 years in Spain;
- Ausência de antecedentes criminais na Espanha;
- Passing the exams on Spanish proficiency (for non-Spanish speaking countries) and constitutional and sociocultural knowledge of Spain.
There are cases in which the period of legal and continuous residence can be reduced:
- Five years: persons who have obtained residence on the basis of refugee status;
- Two years: nacionais de países ibero-americanos, Andorra, Guiné Equatorial, Portugal ou Filipinas;
- One year:
- Anyone born in Spanish territory;
- Anyone who did not exercise his or her right to acquire Spanish nationality by option;
- Anyone who has been legally subject to the guardianship, custody or foster care of a Spanish citizen or institution for two consecutive years;
- Anyone who, at the time of the application, has been married to a Spanish man or woman for one year;
- The widow or widower of a Spanish man or woman if they were not separated at the time of the spouse’s death;
- Anyone born outside of Spain who has one of the parents or grandparents originally born in Spain.
Spanish Nationality by Choice:
This is the case of nationality granted to some children born in Spain to foreign parents of certain nationalities who live in the national territory. For this to occur, the parents must first deny the child their own nationality (that of the parents), so the child would be stateless.
- Nationalities allowed for this case (both parents must be from the same country or combined: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Uruguay.
- Special cases:
- Ecuador: Only those born before October 19, 2008, inclusive;
- Morocco: Only valid in the case of a Moroccan mother and a father from the above countries;
- Palestine: Consult your case specifically.
Spanish Nationality for “Simple Presumption”
This is the case of nationality granted to some children born in Spain to foreign parents of certain nationalities who live in the national territory. For this to occur, the parents must first deny the child their own nationality (that of the parents), so the child would be stateless.
- Nationalities allowed for this case (both parents must be from the same country or combined: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Uruguay.
- Special cases:
- Ecuador: Only those born before October 19, 2008, inclusive;
- Morocco: Only valid in the case of a Moroccan mother and a father from the above countries;
- Palestine: Consult your case specifically.
Loss of Spanish Citizenship
Spanish citizens will lose their nationality when:
- They are emancipated, reside abroad and voluntarily acquire another nationality or exclusively use the nationality they had before emancipation and also do not declare within 3 years their will to retain their Spanish nationality. The acquisition of the nationality of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal is not sufficient to produce the loss of Spanish nationality for this reason;
- Emancipated Spaniards who have another nationality, habitually reside abroad and voluntarily renounce it.
- In the case of Spaniards who were born abroad and are Spanish because they were born to a Spanish father or mother also born abroad, they will lose Spanish nationality if within three years from emancipation or coming of age, they do not declare their will to retain Spanish nationality.
Spaniards who are not of Spanish origin will lose Spanish nationality if:
- After acquiring Spanish nationality, they use for a period of three years the nationality that they had renounced when acquiring Spanish nationality.
- When they voluntarily enter into military service or hold a political office in a foreign State against the express prohibition of the government.
- When a judgment declares that the interested party committed falsehood, concealment or fraud in the acquisition of Spanish nationality.
Loss and Recovery of Spanish Nationality
Once Spanish nationality has been lost, it is possible to recover it; to do so, the following requirements must be met:
- The applicant must be a legal resident in Spain. However, this requirement will not apply to emigrants or the children of emigrants. In addition, this requirement may be waived by the Minister of Justice when exceptional circumstances arise.
- The interested party must declare before the Civil Registry Officer his or her desire to recover Spanish nationality.
- The recovery of nationality must be registered in the Civil Registry.
Administrative Litigation for Spanish Nationality
If your entire Spanish Nationality process was well founded and there is no resolution after 12 months from entry, we can file an administrative appeal to speed up the process.