Are you eligible for dual citizenship in Spain? That is exactly what we will explore throughout this article, as well as all its benefits, requirements, and step-by-step instructions to get it.
Read until the end, as we even answer the most typical questions our clients ask on dual citizenship, and we solve them once and for all!
Yes, Spain allows for dual citizenship as long as you meet certain requirements, which basically are related to being a national of a country with historical ties to Spain.
But this is not the norm.
For the vast majority of cases, obtaining Spanish nationality means giving up your origin passport.
And even though the Spanish passport is one of the strongest in the world and grants many advantages (as we will see next), giving up your nationality of origin is never an easy choice.
Nevertheless, there are certain scenarios in which you will not have to give up your origin nationality and will be able to keep it while also obtaining the Spanish one.
What are those scenarios?
Dual nationality elegibility
Who can apply for dual citizenship in Spain? Nationals from:
- Latin-American countries, like Chile, Perú or Colombia.
- Portugal
- Andorra
- The Philpinnes
- Equatorial Guinea
- France
- Individuals who can demonstrate they are Sephardic Jews
As you can see, these are all countries that have strong historical ties with Spain, hence, the country has signed a bilateral agreement and now recognizes and accepts dual citizenship.
We also find the situation in which the individual holds two passports: one that is not on the list above, and the other one which is. This is the typical US and Latin American country passport holder.
If that is the case, you will be able to obtain dual citizenship in Spain after 2 years in the country, but make sure you are always using your Latin-American passport for all your procedures in Spain.
And, finally, if you have Spanish roots, you can also apply for dual citizenship.
Benefits of dual citizenship
What are the benefits of obtaining dual citizenship in Spain?
- You get to keep your passport of origin, which has a big emotional component for many individuals
- You will be allowed to live and work anywhere in Spain
- Move freely within the Schengen Area (Europe), where you will also have it easy to start working. These include countries like Italy, Greece, France or Germany
- Travel without a visa to 190 countries
- Vote in Spanish elections, including general and regional ones
- Capacity to grant Spanish citizenship to your descendants
- Access Spanish social security, education and other social benefits
Step by step to get double citizenship
The process to apply for and obtain dual citizenship is the same as generally obtaining Spanish citizenship.
There are different paths and routes, and the only difference here is that you get to keep your original nationality at the end of the process.
So we recommend you check this other article including all your options to obtain Spanish nationality, but basically these are:
- Citizenship by residency, in case you have lived legally and continuously in the country for 2, 5, or 10 years
- Citizenship by marriage, obtained after arrying a Spanish national and living in Spain for 1 year
- Citizenship by option
The first step would be gathering all required documents, and preparing your citizenship file.
Remember that you will need to pass 2 different exams:
- DELE A2, in case you are not coming from a Spanish-speaking country
- CCSE, the culture exam
Also, a lack of criminal and police records in Spain will be essential for your application.
Once you have all your documents, you can submit your application online using the Spanish government’s SEDE electrónica here.
After 1 year (which is the general waiting period, even though it is likely you will obtain your favorable resolution in just 4 or 5 months), you will have to complete the oath of allegiance and then finally obtain your Spanish passport.
Spain dual citizenship requirements
These are the requirements you will have to meet to successfully apply for dual nationality:
- Meet the eligibility criteria, which means being a member of any of the countries we have seen above
- Provide your birth certificate
- Pass the cultural exam (CCSE), in case you have NOT studied higher education or school in Spain
- Pass the DELE A2 language test exam
- Submit a criminal background check
- Valid passport
- Current residency authorization card in Spain (TIE), in case you are applying for citizenship by residency
- Pay the corresponding citizenship fee (which is around 100€)
Bear in mind that you will NOT be required to have a job contract at the moment of the application.
Frequently asked questions about dual citizenship
Finally, let’s answer some of the most typical quesitions we get asked at the office from clients from all around the world who wish to obtain Spanish citizenship while keeping their origin nationality:
Cost of applying for dual nationality
In order to compute the total cost for obtaining Spanish nationality, these are all items and subcosts you will have to consider:
- First, the general citizenship (administrative) fee, which you will pay when submitting your application. It is currently set at 104,05€
- The cost of translating any foreign document that is not in Spanish, which depending on the amount of pages and documents, can add an extra 50 to 100€
- If you complete the oath of allegiance at a Spanish notary (which can be recommended to speed the process up), around 100€ extra
- The Spanish test fees, which is around 85€
- In case you hire an immigration lawyer to manage your citizenship application (something we strongly recommend), you can expect to pay from 400€ to 500€
These are all the costs you must consider when trying to understand the real cost of applying for dual nationality.
Even though the total can add up to around 1000€, remember that once you obtain Spanish citizenship, you will be able to keep it and enjoy its advantages forever.
Processing time
Legally speaking, the Ministry of Justice has a maximum of 1 year to issue a response and grant you citizenship.
Nevertheless, this is just a frame of reference, as depending on how overloaded they are with files, this time changes.
Several years ago, many applicants had to wait up to 3 years to obtain their resolution.
Nevertheless, currently, the situation is much better, and processing times can be set at 3 to 4 months.
Does Spain support dual citizenship with US?
Technically speaking, no, Spain does not allow dual citizenship with the US, as the United States is not in the list of countries seen above that meet the eligibility criteria.
This means that as a US citizen, when obtaining Spanish nationality, you will have to give up your original passport.
Nevertheless, in practice, this is just a formal declaration taken in Spain, and does not have any legal effect in the United States, as this country will not consider this renunciation and will continue to consider such individuals as U.S. citizens.
But what is true is that you would then face important consequences regarding your taxes, so you must make sure to understand your new tax obligations with an expert tax lawyer to finally decide if it is worth the risk.
Finally, it is worth metioning, some exceptions allow U.S. citizens to retain dual citizenship, such as:
- Spanish nationality by descent (if acquired at birth)
- Naturalization by special circumstances (granted in rare cases for exceptional contributions to Spain)
- Holding Spanish nationality without actively renouncing U.S. citizenship, though, creates potential legal ambiguities
Get in touch with our lawyers and let us guide you step by step:
