Thanks to Colonization, Here's How Filipinos Can Become Spanish Citizens in Just Two Years
Well, well, well. How the turntables.
Three hundred years ago, the Spaniards would have scoffed at the notion of giving us plebians Spanish citizenship. But look at us now. Filipinos, as former members of the Spanish colonies, have a clear-cut path to becoming Spanish citizens in 2023. Oh, how the colonizers must be rolling in their graves.
Colonial jokes aside, Spain’s path to citizenship for Filipinos wouldn’t be possible if they didn’t acknowledge their colonial past. Perhaps as a way to heal history, the Spanish Civil Code makes it almost easier for a Filipino to become a Spanish citizen than a U.S. resident.
Also read:
Citizenship By Investment? Here's How Much You Need to 'Buy' Citizenship in These Countries
In Ranking of Best Citizenships in the World, the Philippines Has a Lot of Catching Up to Do
Who is eligible to become a Spanish citizen?
The answer is simple enough: all Filipinos.
In Article 22 of the Spanish Civil Cod, it states that for nationalities like Filipinos, to gain Spanish citizenship, you only need “two years for citizens by birth of Latin-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal, or for Sephardic Jews.”
Most of the countries that fit this description are either former colonies, part of the Iberian peninsula, or part of the Spanish diaspora.
Unlike other nationalities that require five to ten years of residence, Filipinos and other former Spanish colony nationalities only need two years. These nationalities include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Those two years of legal residency should be continuous and complete before you process your citizenship application. Meaning that for two whole years before you apply, you should be residing in Spain and not spending months at a time in other countries.
What are the requirements for residency?
During the two years you're in Spain, you’ll need to make sure your stay meets certain criteria. First off, you ought to avoid criminal activity. Granted, you should avoid crime all the time, but this is especially true for people seeking citizenship. Proper civic behavior will get you your citizenship faster. Authorities will check your criminal background records, and if they find something they don’t like, your chances of becoming a Spanish citizen are shot. Even just a speeding ticket can affect your application.
Another thing to consider is your permanent residency period. If you’ve stayed in Spain for two years and three months, and four of those months were on a tourist or student visa, then you technically haven’t met the citizenship requirements. To meet the residency requirement, you can only count the time spent as a permanent resident.
The last thing you need to remember is holidays—or lack thereof. If you want citizenship right away, then hold off on long vacations. You need to live those two years in Spain without interruption. That means postponing long periods of out-of-country holidays until your citizenship application is over.
Do I need to speak Spanish to get Spanish citizenship?
The short answer is yes, of course you do. If you want to live in this country, you might as well know the language. To verify that you can speak Spanish, you’ll need to pass two required exams, DELE A2 and CCSE, which will quiz you on the language, history, and culture of Spain.
How to get started
1| Gather documents
Here are all the documents you’ll need.
- Passport
- National identity card (NIE)
- Residence permit
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate (if applicable)
- Criminal record certificate
- Current census and historic
- DELE A2 and CCSE certificates
- Proof of economic means (such as a work contract or bank statements)
- Proof of application payment
2| Submit your application
Submit your application at the Civil Registry Office in the province where you reside. But you can also submit it online to save you time.
3| Wait for approval
After submitting your application, it will be reviewed by the Spanish authorities. The processing time can vary depending on the complexity of your case, but it typically takes around one year. In extreme cases, it can take up to three years. According to Balcells legal group, you should receive a response within four months, but if you haven’t gotten a response after a year, the likelihood is that your application was rejected.
4| Attend the citizenship ceremony
After your application is approved, you will be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony where you will take an oath of loyalty to the Spanish constitution and receive your citizenship certificate.
5| Retain your Filipino citizenship
The best part of the entire process? You won’t lose your Filipino citizenship. As a natural-born citizen of a former Spanish colony, Filipinos don’t need to renounce their previous nationality upon naturalization. This means that if you complete the whole process, you’ll be a dual citizen and you’ll be able to travel between the Philippines and Spain freely.
