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Local Spain
18-02-2025
- General
- Local Spain
What happens if my Spanish citizenship application is rejected?
If you're a foreigner who has been legally living in Spain for a total of 10 years (or two years if you're from a Latin American country, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal or are of Sephardic origin) you can apply for Spanish citizenship via residency. This can be a somewhat complex process with lots of requirements that need to be met and documentation you need to prove, as well as having to pass a language and a general Spanish knowledge exam. On a more positive note, processing times have reportedly been considerably shortened recently. But what happens if after all your efforts your Spanish citizenship application is denied? Is there anything you can do? If this has happened to you, rest assured that you're not alone, as in 2024 Spain rejected a record number of people for Spanish citizenship: a total of 20,099. Firstly, there are several reasons why you may have been rejected. It could simply be down to timing – having not lived in Spain for long enough, because you have submitted incorrect documentation, you have a criminal record or because you didn't respond in time, if the administration needed more information. Spanish nationality application procedures usually take some time to be resolved, but, in most cases, the Administration's decision is favorable and nationality is granted. According to Vicente Marín, a lawyer at Parainmigrantes, around 15 percent of citizenship applications are denied. If this happens, you have three options. The first is an appeal for reconsideration which should be filed with the Ministry of Justice. It is called the Recurso potestativo de reposición or Potential Appeal for Reinstatement. Preferably, you should present this appeal within one month of receiving your rejection. You need to file it at any of the registries and offices with the Ministry of Justice. It's important to check that all the requirements have been met and that the documents are updated and are available to present. If you have missed something you can usually include it in your appeal. According to Parainmigrantes, the main problem with these appeals is that they take a very long time and it's not uncommon to have to wait more than a year to hear back and wait for a response. The second option is to file a Contentious Administrative Appeal in court, which is heard before the National Court. For this you must hire a lawyer to represent you. It can also be filed when the Public Administration has not responded to your initial appeal, and you've exhausted all other avenues. This is a much more complex process than an administrative appeal because ultimately it will be a judge who decides whether you have the right to Spanish nationality or not. But the good news you can use this option if your file has been in process for more than a year. Using this method, if you haven't received a response to your appeal you will also be able to claim approval due to administrative silence. Your third and final option is to simply re-apply and start the process all over again. This time you must make sure you have all your documents in order and you meet all the requirements so that it will be successful. It's best to hire a lawyer to make sure you have everything in order so it is not denied again.
Local Spain
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Local Spain
Spain rejected record number of citizenship applications in 2024
New data revealed by the Spanish Ministry of Justice shows that Spain rejected a record number of people for Spanish citizenship in 2024, a total of 20,099. This is more than double the number of rejections that were issued in 2023, which was a total of 7,399 people. Legal experts do not know the exact reason why so many have been denied Spanish nationality in 2024, but several theories have been put forward. Lawyer Vicente Marín and director of the website believes that many applications were on "stand-by" for a long time and then were subsequently denied. 'We have seen the same thing other years, how many files spent long periods of time in a specific state and then were denied, all at the same time', he explained. It is likely that many of the solicitudes (applications) that were denied were in the 'in processing' status for longer than usual. Marín also suggests that many did not meet all the requirements or did not provide the correct evidence to show that they did. It's worth noting that there was a total of 244,464 applications for Spanish citizenship sent in 2024, which was the highest figure since 2019, suggesting that there were many more requests than usual too. This means that Spain also granted a total of 221,466 applications in 2024, while 10,785 were archived – so neither granted nor denied. Furthermore, in 2023 the number of foreigners getting Spanish nationality increased by 32.3 percent, to 240,208 in total, the highest figure for a decade. There are several reasons why the number of applications keep increasing. The first is that getting a response for your Spanish citizenship application now takes far less time. New automated technology was launched in August 2024 which reviews submitted files rather than it being done manually by civil servants, speeding up the process considerably. According to law firm Para Inmigrantes waiting times in 2023 and 2024 have been reduced to six months or less. Another reason for the jump in applications is that in November 2024, the government simplified the process for children and grandchildren of Spanish emigrants or exiles to apply for Spanish nationality through the Law of Democratic Memory. Spanish authorities announced that documentation was allowed to be submitted after the deadline if the appointment was requested within the established timeframe when the relevant consulate didn't have any vacancies. They also extended the deadline to apply for citizenship through the Grandchildren's Law (Ley de Nietos in Spanish) until the end of 2025. It was initially scheduled to be October 2024. If you are waiting for results on the results from your citizenship application and it has been 'in processing' or 'pending' for a long time, Para Inimigrantes say it's worth checking over everything again and making sure you've sent in everything correctly.
