Hello all! Just signed up because I was looking for information regarding dual American/Spanish citizenship. I am an American (but a good guy, really!) born of Mexican parents, so Spanish residency and citizenship by way of parentage is out. However I am married to a Peruvian woman who is still in Peru while we work out the immigration paperwork (US govt thinks everyone is a terrorist).
It has been mentioned that Spain has special relationships with certain Latin American countries and will grant expedited residency to their citizens. Does anyone know specifically which countries those might be? I wonder if Peru is among them? Interesting that they consider the Philippines a “special” country due to their past status as a Spanish colony yet there is no language connection. I’m hoping that all Latin American countries would get the same treatment, but I doubt it. If anyone knows, I’d be grateful for the info, thanks.
ernman,
spain does NOT grant expedited residency to anybody just because that person is a citizen of latin america.
if a legal resident wants to apply for spanish citizenship, and he or she is a citizen of portugal, andorra or any of the former colonies of spain and portugal in south america, ex colonies of spain in north america and the caribean, africa (equatorial guinea) and asia (the philippines, yes virginia) or if this person is a sephardic jew, then the acumulated residency requirement is reduced to two years.
the language spoken in portugal and brazil is portuguese. so you might also wonder why they are included since they have no language connection to spain.
there are more spanish speakers in the usa, so would you wonder why US citizens are not included in the reduced residency requirement?
as a US citizen, you will have to accumulate 10 years residency before you can apply, of course, you can always recover you mexican citizenship. but i think your peruvian wife would rather be a US citizen first before anything else.
What happens if you renounce your UK citizenship? Say you renounce it while living in Spain, but then move back… since you’re a native born Brit would they give you back your citizenship? Just wondering..
On a similar note, we are just about to have a baby, Im British and my partner is Spanish.
She will be born in Spain. Am i right in assuming that my child will have the right to a British passport? How does it work and what is the process etc. We are in Madrid, if anyone has passed through the same thing I’d appreciate any help.
[...]
Although the Spaniards do not accept Dual Nationality, I had to swear allegance to the King and surrender my UK Passport.
Although being all things Spanish, they cannot force me too as I`m from a country who accepts dual nationality.[...]
Did they seriously make you hand over your UK passport to them? When naturalizing a Spanish citizen and not from one of the Ibero-American countries which Spain has a dual citizenship treaty with, do they actually want you to present a certificate of renouncing your former citizenship from your country?s embassy/consulate? Or is this just a statement you give to them saying that you have renounced and they don?t bother you afterward?
Did they seriously make you hand over your UK passport to them? When naturalizing a Spanish citizen and not from one of the Ibero-American countries which Spain has a dual citizenship treaty with, do they actually want you to present a certificate of renouncing your former citizenship from your country?s embassy/consulate? Or is this just a statement you give to them saying that you have renounced and they don?t bother you afterward?[/quote]
perejil,
one loses his citizenship according to the laws of the corresponding country. you can renounce, say your american citizenship in front of a spanish judge when you swear allegiance to the king and constitution, until lose your voice. but as far as the united states is concerned, you are still american. why? because the usa or uk or etc have specific laws governing citizenship loss. you have to consult the consulate of your country on this matter.
Right. Some countries (like Norway) want to see a certificate of loss of citizenship though before completing the naturalization. So, in Spain, they basically just ask if you renounced and you say yes? However, this could essentially be lying under oath for someone and wouldn?t that be subject to criminal penalties? Are there any laws against holding another passport from a country which Spain doesn?t have a dual treaty with when one naturalizes?
I know that now it?s possible to not lose Spanish nationality upon acquiring another citizenship, as long as one informs the nearest Spanish embassy/consulate of their decision. Spain has also denounced Chapter I of the EU convention on reducing the cases of multiple nationality and military obligations. Therefore, it is rather silly that they haven?t amended their laws to just allow dual citizenship outright, as the only time it seems to be an issue is when one naturalizes. Do you think it?s only a matter of time before it is allowed across the board?
You use your Spanish passport for travel, you don’t loose your rights to UK consulate services and all the other rights of a sole UK passport holder unless your in Spain or her colonies, but you have to contact the Spanish for help and support, as any other national would.
There is very little you would need UK consulate services for, the main need is if you ever want to give up your Spanish nationality and return to being a UK passport holder.
As in you had to fork it over to the UK or Spanish government? Are you saying that you just can?t be in possession of that passport while you?re in Spain as a Spanish citizen?
As in you had to fork it over to the UK or Spanish government? Are you saying that you just can?t be in possession of that passport while you?re in Spain as a Spanish citizen?
as far as i can remember they just called out the names of people, this way—mr so and so, renouncing his so so citizenship.-—he then comes forward and reads the oath and signs it.
it may have changed now. but it is not the way one loses citizenship for usa or uk passport holders.
i have two passports, some friends have 3 passports (american, filipino, and spanish).
while in spain, i use my spanish documents.
when i leave spain i use my spanish passport, but when i enter the philippines i use both to enter and leave.
when i arrive in europe, i use my spanish passport.
common sense will tell you which one to use where and when.
When one naturalizes a Spanish citizen and is not from one of the countries that Spain signed a dual citizenship treaty, is it actually illegal under Spanish law to still possess the other nationality and have a passport from that country? I understand during the citizenship ceremony that one swears allegiance to the king and renounces any former nationality, so perhaps lying to the state in this case could be punishable? How severe is this offense (if any)? Please, advise.
When one naturalizes a Spanish citizen and is not from one of the countries that Spain signed a dual citizenship treaty, is it actually illegal under Spanish law to still possess the other nationality and have a passport from that country? I understand during the citizenship ceremony that one swears allegiance to the king and renounces any former nationality, so perhaps lying to the state in this case could be punishable? How severe is this offense (if any)? Please, advise.
perejil,
it is not illegal.
it is not lying.
say for example, you renounced your usa citizenship when you swore allegiance to the king and the constitution.
and you decided later on you want to recover your usa citizenship and you did. did you lie?
first of all, it is not a felony. there is no article penalizing this in the spanish penal code. so there is no punishment.
your first problem is to get legal residency.
cross the bridge when you reach it.
Hi everyone! I have a question- my mother is Spanish, but when she married my English father she had to change her passport to British and change her sirname to my father’s because he was in the British army. She and I now both live in Madrid and we want to have Spanish passports, but we have no idea how to go about this. We have my grandmother’s DNI, but of course it isn’t my sirname, nor my mother’s and we aren’t sure where to start, where to go, who to ask etc.etc. I am sure my mother could find something with her name on it and her maiden name, then would it be possible for her to get her spanish passport back? After she does this, what do I have to do in order to get dual nationality? Life here would be much easier with a DNI!!! Thanks a lot in advance 😊
Hi everyone! I have a question- my mother is Spanish, but when she married my English father she had to change her passport to British and change her sirname to my father’s because he was in the British army. She and I now both live in Madrid and we want to have Spanish passports, but we have no idea how to go about this.
did your mother renounce her spanish citizenship at the consulate? or did she just stop renewing her spanish passport? did your mother keep her old spanish passport and dni?
thala - 05 September 2010 02:36 PM
what do I have to do in order to get dual nationality? Life here would be much easier with a DNI!!! Thanks a lot in advance 😊
if your mother did not register your birth at the spanish consulate, you will have to be registered at the spanish consulate in the uk. you will need to submit them your british birth certificate, together with other documents they will require you. once you have your spanish birth certificate, the consulate will issue you the passport and you you can get the “literal version” of that birth certificate to get the dni here in madrid.
thala - 05 September 2010 02:36 PM
Life here would be much easier with a DNI!!! Thanks a lot in advance 😊
remember that to get the dni means going thru lot of paperwork, change of names, numbers, ...
Hi! Thanks so much for replying quickly!
You mentioned that I should go to the Spanish consulate in the UK, but I live, work and study in Madrid. I don’t really want to have to go to London to get a Spanish passport… is it impossible for me to start the process in Spain??
You mentioned I need my British birth certificate, what else do you think I will need- or how can I find out what I will need? Is there a website or something?
Thanks again for the great help!
