Am I still, or was I ever, eligible for dual citizenship in the EU?

February 16, 2016 9:49 AM

I was born in Spain with a "birth of US citizen abroad" certificate. Can I apply to be a dual citizen of Spain and the US? Is it too late for me? Was this ever even a possibility?

Here's the quick and dirty version: I was born in Spain to US parents and moved back to the US very shortly afterwards. I have been told in the past that this means that I could apply for dual Spanish citizenship, and if that is still the case, I'd like to do so.

However, there are some potential hurdles:

1. I'm well over the age of 18 at this point. Like, more like 28. If there was a time limit for application, I fear it might be closed.
2. I am not fluent in Spanish. Elementary level at best, and even then, I'd need to study up a bit.
3. I was born before the EU was a thing, and I'm not sure how that affects citizenship applications.
4. Also, if I'm not mistaken, there have been some changes/updates to the circumstances under which US citizens can seek dual citizenship with an EU member country? At least the UK has made it considerably more difficult, but I know they have different regulations.

If I've missed my window to apply (if indeed that window ever did exist), then that is something I will learn to live with. But I've encountered enough "so are you a dual citizen then?" questions re: my country of birth lately that it really has me thinking that if it is possible to apply, I would like to do so. Having dual citizenship in an EU country would probably make it easier to work abroad if I choose to go that route.

And if I can't, then it will be enough to be able to tell folks that I wasn't able to do so, or I didn't fill out my paperwork in time. Just to be able to know definitively one way or another will be sufficient. Thanks, hive mind!

posted by helloimjennsco to Law & Government (7 answers total)

Best answer: Bad news: according to the Spanish Government, children should be born from stateless parents or one of the parents should have been born in Spain for them to get Spanish nationality.
posted by clearlydemon at 9:58 AM on February 16, 2016 [3 favorites]

If your only tie to Spain is that you were born there, then I'm afraid not.

You're asking about jus soli. And the entry there on Spain says:

A child born in Spain to foreign parents may acquire Spanish citizenship jus soli if either one of the parents is a permanent resident and legally domiciled in Spain at the moment of the child's birth.

Was that the case?

On non-preview: I'd trust a direct link to Spanish nationality law than my indirect Wikipedia reference.
posted by vacapinta at 9:58 AM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

The information here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_nationality_law

would seem to suggest that you are not eligible for Spanish citizenship, assuming neither of your parents are citizens of Spain.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 10:00 AM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Also, if I'm not mistaken, there have been some changes/updates to the circumstances under which US citizens can seek dual citizenship with an EU member country? At least the UK has made it considerably more difficult, but I know they have different regulations.

I'm a dual US/UK citizen and I'm not sure I know what you are referring to. Do you have any info on this?
posted by vacapinta at 10:06 AM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: My parents were stationed there as part of the US armed forces, and we all shuffled back to the US pretty soon after that, so I don't think Spanish citizenship via jus soli is going to work.

Thanks everyone! I tried to parse this out awhile back and kept getting conflicting information, so it's nice to have a definitive answer!
posted by helloimjennsco at 10:07 AM on February 16, 2016

vacapinta, there were some changes to the definition of 'natural resident' as it applies to the parents of overseas born children of UK nationals with a birthdate after 1984, iirc. I don't know when the changes were applied. I learned this in Googling about the possibility that my birth mother (and or father) were UK nationals living in the US in the mid-sixties. I believe the definitive info (which indicated that even had I been given up for adoption, I would remain eligible for dual citizenship if my birth mother had fit the definition of a UK natural resident) was on a UK State Department website.

As it turned out, my birth mom is not a UK natural resident citizen. You know, I think I have an open correspondence thread on this to pursue with Bunny Sparber!
posted by mwhybark at 7:56 PM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

On the plus side, it does seem that being born in Spain means you can apply for nationality after a year legally resident, which would be a short enough period to make it worth seeing about getting a student/working holiday visa to live there, and keep future options open. If that was possible for you.

Obviously, if you do decide to do this, don't do it without consulting an immigration lawyer first.
posted by ambrosen at 1:40 AM on February 17, 2016 [4 favorites]