# Obtaining Spanish Citizenship



## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

Now that UK is definitely leaving the EU, I may wish to apply for Spanish citizenship. I will be eligible through residency in 3 years time.
One question though, If I am granted Spanish citizenship, will my wife also become a Spanish citizen?


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

stevesainty said:


> Now that UK is definitely leaving the EU, I may wish to apply for Spanish citizenship. I will be eligible through residency in 3 years time.
> One question though, If I am granted Spanish citizenship, will my wife also become a Spanish citizen?


Considering that my husband is Spanish and I don't automatically have Spanish citizenship, I would say no.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

stevesainty said:


> Now that UK is definitely leaving the EU, I may wish to apply for Spanish citizenship. I will be eligible through residency in 3 years time.
> One question though, If I am granted Spanish citizenship, will my wife also become a Spanish citizen?


No, she would have to apply separately.

We are thinking about it as well. Apart from the right to vote, what benefits does it bring?


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## DonMarco (Nov 20, 2016)

Alcalaina said:


> No, she would have to apply separately.
> 
> We are thinking about it as well. Apart from the right to vote, what benefits does it bring?


EU membership in all its glory.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

DonMarco said:


> EU membership in all its glory.


OK, that's two things. Freedom of movement within the EU, and the right to vote. What else?


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola 

A member of the Chiclana Foreign Residents association has just become a Spanish resident and has written an article about his experience. 
www.chifra.org - Legal Issues

Davexf 
President
Chiclana Foreign Residents Association


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## Hepa (Apr 2, 2018)

Alcalaina said:


> OK, that's two things. Freedom of movement within the EU, and the right to vote. What else?


Passports and photo I.D. card, are far cheaper than a single U.K. passport. my passport cost 26€.

Spanish nationality was easier for us, than it is these days, no exam, no fee, and all the papers completed for us.

Most immigrants here apply for Spanish nationally, and there are quite a few of us, but none from the U.K.


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## Monkey104 (Aug 24, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> OK, that's two things. Freedom of movement within the EU, and the right to vote. What else?


With regards to freedom of movement within the eu, what is to stop anyone living in Spain legally and driving their Spanish registered vehicle within the eu?


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Monkey104 said:


> With regards to freedom of movement within the eu, what is to stop anyone living in Spain legally and driving their Spanish registered vehicle within the eu?


For holidays - nothing. But as I understand it, you don't have the same right to move country permanently as in move from Spain to say France 

Davexf


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

davexf said:


> For holidays - nothing. But as I understand it, you don't have the same right to move country permanently as in move from Spain to say France
> 
> Davexf


Exactly. Losing freedom of movement doesn't mean you can't visit other EU countries, but you lose the automatic right to live or work in them. If you wanted to move from Spain to France you would have to go through the French immigration process as a non-EU citizen.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> No, she would have to apply separately.
> 
> We are thinking about it as well. Apart from the right to vote, what benefits does it bring?


Can I ask why you are considering it?

Also,

I am presuming that now the Withdrawal Agreement will go through, citizens rights are now guaranteed ?

I understand the freedom of movement stuff but I have no intentions of going anywhere else, so for us it’s as you were?


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> OK, that's two things. Freedom of movement within the EU, and the right to vote. What else?


For me the major impetus is avoiding the onerous process for renewing my residency. I have permanent residency, and I'm married to a Spaniard, but even so, they require extensive paperwork each and every time. Added to that are the problems with getting an appointment to get it done, and then the wait for it all to be processed and the card issued (usually about 6 months from start to finish), during which time I can't leave Spain unless I go through even more paperwork to get a 'regreso'. It's an exercise of Spanish bureaucracy at its finest. 

I seriously can't see myself going through this process until the end of my days. I really have to get going and start the process to get Spanish citizenship.


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## blondebob (Aug 16, 2019)

Megsmum said:


> Can I ask why you are considering it?
> 
> Also,
> 
> ...


But still we have the need at some stage to apply for the T.I.E, something I'm really not looking forward to as I think it's going to be a right old nightmare regarding financials etc....hopefully i will be proved wrong and it will all go smoothly but........


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

kalohi said:


> For me the major impetus is avoiding the onerous process for renewing my residency. I have permanent residency, and I'm married to a Spaniard, but even so, they require extensive paperwork each and every time. Added to that are the problems with getting an appointment to get it done, and then the wait for it all to be processed and the card issued (usually about 6 months from start to finish), during which time I can't leave Spain unless I go through even more paperwork to get a 'regreso'. It's an exercise of Spanish bureaucracy at its finest.
> 
> I seriously can't see myself going through this process until the end of my days. I really have to get going and start the process to get Spanish citizenship.


May I ask please, how often do you have to renew your TIE?


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

stevesainty said:


> May I ask please, how often do you have to renew your TIE?


For me it's once every ten years since I have permanent residency. Before I was permanent, for the type of TIE I get (being married to a Spaniard - family member of an EU citizen) it was once every 5 years.


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