THE British, as the Romanians did in 2014, have just launched a petition on the Change.org platform requesting the possibility of holding dual British and Spanish nationality. Can’t they currently
Let’s see: We can have all the nationalities we want and allow us the laws of the different states. A person born in Argentina of Spanish and British can have three nationalities, another matter is that the three are effective at the same time, in the three countries and throughout life. It will depend on each of the legal systems. The Spaniard in the example, if he habitually resides in the United Kingdom, will lose his Spanish nationality at the age of 21 if he exclusively uses British nationality and has not made an express declaration of his wish to retain his Spanish nationality or has expressly renounced it in Spain. Which explains why the Spaniards who habitually reside in the United Kingdom, may acquire British nationality without losing their Spanish nationality if they express to the Spanish authority their wish to retain it within three years of said acquisition. Except that in Spain they will be Spanish and in England, English.
Let’s go with the British. They may acquire Spanish nationality if they have been residing in Spain for ten years legally and continuously. It would be reduced to two years if they were, in addition to British, nationals of countries especially linked to Spain, such as Latin Americans, Andorrans, Filipinos, Equatorial Guineans, Sephardim and, from the EU, only Portuguese. And one year if he had family or territorial ties with Spain, such as his birth in Spanish territory, his marriage for a year with a Spaniard or Spaniard without separation or divorce, or having been born outside of Spain to a father, mother, grandfather or grandmother originally Spanish.
The “legality” of the residence requires supporting documentation. In the case of the British and after disconnection, they must count the time they were registered in the Registry of foreigners as European citizens, to which the residence permits after disconnection must be added until completing the total period of legal residence required, provided that there has been no agreement to the contrary. Habitual residence without administrative accreditation does not count, a practice that has been common in a high percentage of British people who considered it the best strategy to enjoy rights there and here.
The requirement of “continuity” of residence implies that only certain sporadic and justified departures are allowed. The nine months here and three there, common among many foreign retirees, especially British, complicates the accreditation of continuity.
“Immediacy” means that the residence must be legal and effective at the time of the application for nationality, so previous years of residence will not be taken into account if the subject resides abroad at the time of the application.
Once these requirements are fulfilled, good civic conduct is required, which is not only the absence of a criminal record, but also the adaptation to the norms of civic coexistence, in addition to a sufficient degree of integration into Spanish society through an examination of the knowledge of historical values, constitutional and sociocultural laws of Spain, and knowledge of the Spanish language by obtaining the A-2 level diploma, a requirement that is not met by a large number of British retirees residing on the Mediterranean coast. In addition to all this, the possibility of denying nationality for reasoned reasons of public order or national interest is always open.
Granted the Spanish nationality, the subject must swear or promise fidelity to the King and obedience to the Constitution and the laws; register nationality in the Civil Registry, and renounce British nationality since they are not among the nationals privileged by Spanish law. However, legally, said resignation only implies assuming that in Spain they will only use Spanish nationality since it lacks binding effects in the United Kingdom, so in practice they may continue to hold both nationalities if allowed by British law. Therefore, the request to suppress the renouncement of British nationality is a useless task or perhaps the least relevant, they have some more important requirements to solve if they want to achieve their objective of holding dual nationality.
