# Spanish nationality, parent of citizen



## ber8 (Oct 18, 2010)

The non-EU spouse of an EU national friend exercising treaty rights will soon (well, 1.5yr) be apply to obtain her permanent residency following the initial 5yr period. They are permanently resident in Spain and both speak the language and, whilst I wouldn't say they were completely Spanish, they fit in well and have a great appreciation for the culture.

I did a bit of reading about nationality and I couldn't identify any exception to the ten year rule. Is it the case that she would have to complete ten years of continued residence in Spain to be able to apply for citizenship? 

Concerning children, I read that if they one day have a child, then that child would be able to obtain Spanish nationality after one year, assuming continued residence. Does anything change for the mother of the newly naturalised child in this case?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

ber8 said:


> The non-EU spouse of an EU national friend exercising treaty rights will soon (well, 1.5yr) be apply to obtain her permanent residency following the initial 5yr period. They are permanently resident in Spain and both speak the language and, whilst I wouldn't say they were completely Spanish, they fit in well and have a great appreciation for the culture.
> 
> I did a bit of reading about nationality and I couldn't identify any exception to the ten year rule. Is it the case that she would have to complete ten years of continued residence in Spain to be able to apply for citizenship?
> 
> Concerning children, I read that if they one day have a child, then that child would be able to obtain Spanish nationality after one year, assuming continued residence. Does anything change for the mother of the newly naturalised child in this case?


Rules are in Spanish Civil Code: Cdigo Civil, esp Article 22. I don't see any exceptions to these rules, though naturalisation can be given exceptionally by royal decree (doesn't happen often I'd imagine).


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## ber8 (Oct 18, 2010)

Joppa said:


> I don't see any exceptions to these rules, though naturalisation can be given exceptionally by royal decree (doesn't happen often I'd imagine).


It looked like that but it's unfamiliar territory for me. I wouldn't know about other countries but it just looked like a long time to obtain citizenship. Also a little strange to my eyes is seeing a child able to get a relatively quick nationality but one or both parents having to wait for such a long time. Ultimately it's not life-changing as they're happy and settled.

Anyway, thanks for your quick reply.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

ber8 said:


> It looked like that but it's unfamiliar territory for me. I wouldn't know about other countries but it just looked like a long time to obtain citizenship. Also a little strange to my eyes is seeing a child able to get a relatively quick nationality but one or both parents having to wait for such a long time. Ultimately it's not life-changing as they're happy and settled.


This happens frequently under immigration rules in many countries, including UK. A parent is threatened with deportation for an immigration offence (overstay, breaching visa conditions, wrong visa etc), but their UK-born children can stay because they are British nationals from birth (the other parent is a British citizen or a settled person). Or a family with everyone holding British citizenship except one parent, but they cannot become naturalised until they have lived in UK for a stipulated length of time - admittedly only 3 years (if married to a Brit) or 5 years. Spain shows preference for those with hispanic ancestry/background, where the waiting period is only 2 years, and those married to a Spanish citizen (rather than another EU citizen), where it's only one year.


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