German citizens living in Spain generally have the possibility of acquiring Spanish citizenship through permanent residence in Spain. Although German citizenship is no longer lost upon acquiring Spanish citizenship, certain aspects must be taken into account in order to retain the newly acquired Spanish citizenship alongside German citizenship.

Requirements for Spanish citizenship:

10 years of residence in Spain for all persons not mentioned in the following two paragraphs.

5 years of residence in Spain for citizens of “Ibero-American” countries, i.e. countries on the American continent that were formerly Spanish colonies, as well as Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal.

1 year of residence for applicants who are married to a Spanish citizen, are descendants of Spanish citizens or were born in Spain.

For most German citizens who move to Spain, the requirement is therefore to have lived in Spain for 10 years before submitting the application. In addition, applicants should demonstrate good civic conduct and integration into Spanish society. Further information on the requirements can be found on the website of the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice website).

Legal provisions concerning German citizenship

Following the legislative amendment introduced in 2007, a German citizen who acquires the nationality of another EU Member State no longer automatically loses German citizenship. The amended version of Section 25 of the German Nationality Act (StAG) provides that the loss of German citizenship does not occur if a German citizen acquires the nationality of another Member State of the European Union, Switzerland or a country with which the Federal Republic of Germany has concluded an international treaty pursuant to Section 12(3).

Therefore, if you acquire Spanish citizenship without expressly renouncing your German citizenship before the German authorities, you do not lose your German citizenship.

Acquiring Spanish citizenship and avoiding its loss through non-use

Unlike German law, the Spanish Civil Code (Código Civil) only provides for dual citizenship in certain cases and requires German citizens applying for Spanish citizenship to make a declaration of renunciation stating their intention to renounce their previous citizenship.

However, this declaration of renunciation is essentially a formality, as the Spanish authorities do not subsequently verify whether the applicant has actually renounced their previous citizenship. In this respect, Article 25 of the Spanish Civil Code (Código Civil) provides that Spanish citizenship may be lost if a naturalised Spanish citizen exclusively uses the previous nationality which they had declared their intention to renounce for a period of three years.

In practice, the “non-use” of the newly acquired Spanish citizenship can be avoided by ensuring that you always hold valid Spanish identity documents. The few cases in which naturalised citizens have lost Spanish citizenship due to non-use have generally involved individuals residing abroad who failed to renew their Spanish documents for several years after they had expired.

In this respect, the central authority responsible for the Civil Registry (Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado) ruled, among others, as follows:

“Notificado el Ministerio Fiscal, éste se ratifica en su anterior informe y considera que el señor M., residente en El Líbano, ha perdido su nacionalidad española por asentimiento voluntario y utilización exclusiva de su nacionalidad libanesa durante más de tres años desde la fecha de caducidad de su documentación española en 2003 puesto que no ha solicitado la renovación de su pasaporte hasta 2008. El Encargado del Registro Civil Consular remite el expediente a la Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado para su resolución.” (Resolución núm. 3/2013 de 17 mayo. JUR 2013\329937)

“No hubiese realizado acto alguno que pudiera evidenciar un uso oficial o de relevancia jurídica de la nacionalidad española, ni siquiera había renovado su documento de identidad ni pasaporte españoles, una vez caducados, lo que se produjo en 1998, renovación que no solicitó hasta 2005, mucho después del transcurso del plazo de tres años a que se refiere el artículo 24 del Código civil, ni tampoco llegó a inscribirse nunca como español en el Consulado. De todo ello se deriva la concurrencia de la causa de pérdida de la nacionalidad española que ha sido apreciada por el Encargado del Registro Civil Consular de España en B.” (Resolución núm. 6/2006 de 8 noviembre. JUR 2006\299787)

Therefore, if you live in Spain and always hold valid Spanish identity documents, there should normally be no problems regarding the retention of your Spanish citizenship. The main difference with German citizenship is that, since 2007, German citizenship is no longer lost either through the acquisition of Spanish citizenship or through the non-use of German citizenship.

Applying for Spanish citizenship:

If you meet the requirements set out at the beginning of this article, you can apply for Spanish citizenship at the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) corresponding to your place of residence. You can find the address of the competent Civil Registry using the following link (Search for a Registro Civil). Following the amendments introduced by Royal Decree 1004/2015, since the end of 2015 applicants are required, among other things, to pass a citizenship test and submit proof of Spanish language proficiency.

The following documents are required for the application:

1. Application form. Please note: since 30 June 2017, applications can only be submitted online via the website of the Ministry of Justice. - Link to the online application-.

2. Certificate of registration in the Central Register of Foreign Nationals: N.I.E. (Certificado del Registro Central de Extranjeros. N.I.E.)

3. Municipal registration certificate (Certificado de empadronamiento).

4. Translated and legalised birth certificate (Certificación de nacimiento del interesado).

5. Copy of your identity document.

6. If the applicant is of legal age: translated and legalised German criminal record certificate (certificado de antecedentes penales).

7. Proof of sufficient means of subsistence (Medios de vida). This may include employment contracts, payslips, employment history certificates, etc.

8. Birth certificates of minor children.

9. Proof of payment of the corresponding fee (€100).

10. Additional documents are required if:

- the applicant is a minor

- the application concerns foster care (acogimiento familiar)

- the applicant is married to a Spanish citizen.

11. Since the end of 2015, applicants are required, among other things, to provide a Spanish language diploma (DELE) and pass the Spanish constitutional and sociocultural knowledge test (CCSE). Successful completion of the CCSE test is certified following an examination administered by the Instituto Cervantes. To demonstrate the required knowledge of Spanish, the corresponding DELE certificate must be submitted. A minimum level of A2 is required.

 

Obtaining Spanish citizenship

 

Once you have submitted the application and the required documents, the application will be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for processing. Processing may take several months. You can check the status of your application via the website of the Ministry of Justice (link to the Ministry of Justice website).

Further steps required after Spanish citizenship has been granted

Once you have been notified that Spanish citizenship has been granted, two further steps must be completed. For this purpose, you will need to attend the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) corresponding to your place of residence again.

1. Oath or pledge of allegiance: All adults must swear or pledge allegiance to the King and declare that they will comply with the Spanish Constitution and Spanish laws.

2. Declaration of renunciation: In addition to the oath or pledge of allegiance, you must declare your intention to renounce your previous citizenship. However, as mentioned above, this declaration before the Spanish Civil Registry does not in itself result in the loss of German citizenship, as German citizenship is not automatically lost upon acquiring Spanish citizenship.

Pursuant to Article 226 of the Regulations governing the Civil Registry (Reglamento del Registro Civil), both the oath or pledge of allegiance and the declaration of renunciation may be made orally before the competent Civil Registry official.

Note on surnames

Under Spanish law, Spanish citizens generally have a given name and two surnames (traditionally, the first surname of the father and the first surname of the mother). This rule also applies to German citizens who acquire Spanish citizenship. When submitting the application, it should therefore be indicated which of the two surnames (father's or mother's) should be entered first in the Civil Registry. If no choice is made, the administration chose the orden.

Author:

Christoph Sander
Lawyer and Tax Advisor
CEO, Partner, Director
info@sspartners.es
Tel: (+34) 951 12 13 06
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