# Opcion a la Nacionalidad



## gm197 (Apr 22, 2012)

Has anyone on this forum gone through this process at a Spanish consulate in the US?

I'm beginning to gather the necessary documents and I'd appreciate any advice and warnings about possible pitfalls in the process.

Thank you.


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## gm197 (Apr 22, 2012)

Bump


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

gm197 said:


> Bump


doesn't look like anyone here has, but our member AllHeart recently did something similar in Canada - that was nationality by descent I believe


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## gm197 (Apr 22, 2012)

Same here. My father was born in Spain, and naturalized in the US before I was born, and recently "recovered" his citizenship. I'm familiar with the "Magic Expiring Documents" theory of bureaucracy and I've sent off for recent certified copies of his birth certificate from the Ministry of Justice, as well as my BC, my US mother's BC and their marriage license.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Hi gm197. I was actually born a Spanish citizen with passport and all, because I was born in Sweden, where at the time babies took on the citizenship of their father. But when I became a Canadian citizen, my parents gave up my Spanish citizenship (even thought they didn't have to). So I just had mine reinstated. 

So we're kind of in the same situation, though, in that we're both Spanish citizens by virtue of our dad's citizenship. 

So I do have some info that may be of help to you, even though you're in the US and I was in Canada. The biggie for us is this one, which is for what they call the Return Office (office for returning Spaniards). Even though we're not returning Spaniards, we're considered to be by Spain. 

Portal de la CiudadanÃ*a EspaÃ±ola en el Exterior: SecretarÃ*a General de InmigraciÃ³n y EmigraciÃ³n.: Oficina de Retorno

Other than lining up the correct documents in the correct order at the correct place, and bearing in mind the expiry dates of documents, I don't know what questions you're asking. So if you'd like to ask specific questions, fire away, and I hope to be able to help you. Are you planning on moving to Spain, or are you just getting your citizenship?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Gm197, the reason I ask if you're planning on moving to Spain is because, since you've never lived in Spain, unless you're planning to move to Spain, you can only get your citizenship and passport. If you are planning to move to Spain, once you get here, you can get your empadroniamiento, then your DNI, then your social security number, then your health card for public healthcare.


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## gm197 (Apr 22, 2012)

Eventually planning on retiring to Spain. For now I'll be happy if the citizenship and passport go through without undue delay. I'll spend a few weeks to a month there each year.

Can I do the empadronamiento and the rest if I have a permanent address there?

Any thoughts on what I can expect for a processing timeframe? Also, the list of documents the consulate sent me indicate that none of my US documents (certified copies) need to go through an apostille, so hopefully that's correct.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

gm197 said:


> Eventually planning on retiring to Spain. For now I'll be happy if the citizenship and passport go through without undue delay. I'll spend a few weeks to a month there each year.


 You don't even need to be a Spanish citizen or have a Spanish passport to do that. You can enter with your US passport. But if you have your Spanish citizenship and passport, it's recommended that you use those. 



gm197 said:


> Can I do the empadronamiento and the rest if I have a permanent address there?


 You mean once you decide to live here? 



gm197 said:


> Any thoughts on what I can expect for a processing timeframe?


 I dealt with the Consulate of Spain in Toronto and the Embassy of Spain in Sweden to get my citizenship and passport done, and everything was sent by diplomatic pouch, which really lengthened the process. I'm not sure who you're working with to get your papers done, so that will come into play as to saying how long this will take. I can't remember exactly from the time that I had all the documents in order for my citizenship to the time my citizenship arrived, but it was something like 3 months. But it was only about 4-6 weeks after that to get my passport.



gm197 said:


> Also, the list of documents the consulate sent me indicate that none of my US documents (certified copies) need to go through an apostille, so hopefully that's correct.


 I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean by "apostille."


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## gm197 (Apr 22, 2012)

"Certificado literal de nacimiento del interesado, expedido en los últimos 12 meses. Si el nacimiento ha acontecido en un país diferente de EE.UU., este certificado deberá estar legalizado con la Apostilla de La Haya o por el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores del país de expedición."

Basically notarized in accordance with The Hague convention. A very special ($$) notary.

Do I need to be a permanent resident in order to get a DNI?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

gm197 said:


> "Certificado literal de nacimiento del interesado, expedido en los últimos 12 meses. Si el nacimiento ha acontecido en un país diferente de EE.UU., este certificado deberá estar legalizado con la Apostilla de La Haya o por el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores del país de expedición."
> 
> Basically notarized in accordance with The Hague convention. A very special ($$) notary.


I don't know enough Spanish to understand what you wrote, but I understand what you said in English. So I understand why you're happy about not having to do that.



gm197 said:


> Do I need to be a permanent resident in order to get a DNI?


 The short answer is yes, assuming that by "permanent resident" you mean that you have to have your own residence here in Spain. 

Here's the long answer as to why. Since you're asking about time frame, I'll also tell you about that.

The empadronamiento is the document you get from City Hall that says you have a right to be a resident in their city. In order to get your empadronamiento, you will need your citizenship and your Spanish passport and a rental/purchase contract for a house/apartment. You have to sign that you will be living in the city for at least 8 months (that's the time it is for me in Malaga, but it may be different in other cities). You also have to provide a DNI to get the empadronamiento, but you need your empadronamiento to get your DNI. Therefore someone has to vouch for you with their DNI, and I had my landlord provide his for me. It took 2 weeks to get my empadronamiento once I had all my documents in order.

In order to get your DNI, you need your empadronamiento, but your empadronamiento expires for the use of a DNI in three months. Also to get your DNI, you have to have a letter written by someone like an embassy that is written specifically for the purpose of getting your DNI. This letter expires 6 months after the date it is written.

Thankfully, someone warned me on the forum before getting to Spain about getting this letter for my DNI, so it was really quick for me. Within a few days of having my paperwork submitted for my DNI, I had my DNI card. Once I had my DNI card, I just went straight to Social Security to get my social security number and a letter from them to say that I am eligible for public healthcare. I went straight from that office to my local health clinic and registered for healthcare, which was effective immediately.

So that's the long and the short of it. I hope that helps you out.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean by "apostille."


An apostille is a stamp that certain countries (most countries in the world) use to show that a document is authentic. It's usually a bit fancy. The one's I have are red and heavily embossed
https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/apostilles/aboutus.aspx
Having looked at the list of countries that use this method, Canada does not figure on it which I suppose is why you don't know about it!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Thanks for explaining that, Pesky Wesky. Interesting! 

Just to add about my above comments re getting ID... These are the steps for Spanish nationals who are getting all this ID for the first time. We have different rules than nationals who already had this ID, and different rules for citizens of the EU who are not Spanish nationals.


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## gm197 (Apr 22, 2012)

Update: received my citizenship in the mail recently, 3 months to the day from my appointment at the consulate. Of course, I can't get my passport yet because the consulate is closed for the summer...

Anyone else going through this process, feel free to hit me up.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

gm197 said:


> Update: received my citizenship in the mail recently, 3 months to the day from my appointment at the consulate. Of course, I can't get my passport yet because the consulate is closed for the summer...
> 
> Anyone else going through this process, feel free to hit me up.


Closed for the summer? Are you sure? The summer doesn't even start until the 21st June and even in Spain the summer closing doesn't include June.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Congratulations on getting your citizenship! That's fabulous news.


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## gm197 (Apr 22, 2012)

I believe so. When I made the first appointment, I was able to make it for the next week, but now I can't book anything at either the Los Angeles or San Francisco consulates until mid August.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

gm197 said:


> I believe so. When I made the first appointment, I was able to make it for the next week, but now I can't book anything at either the Los Angeles or San Francisco consulates until mid August.


I don't know, but I imagine that's because of increased demand for services before the summer when more people are visiting. As far as I know these places don't close down in the summer.
Anyway, well done for getting this within 3 months


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I don't know, but I imagine that's because of increased demand for services before the summer when more people are visiting. As far as I know these places don't close down in the summer.
> Anyway, well done for getting this within 3 months


The summer is prime time for students applying for visas. This is likely why there aren't many appointments available.

Keep checking the available appointments daily. I have heard that they somtimes open up.


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