Residence and Citizenship

[Patricia]

Hello Andromeda,

In response to your exact questions, please read:

1. Yes, those holding Latin American citizenship are only required two years of legal residency to be eligible for Spanish citizenship by residency.

2. As far as I know El Salvador is a Latin American Country, so Double Nationality Spanish/Salvadoran is possible. You can check this information at the Ministry of Justice Website.

3. You need to renounce to your Canadian Citizenship when getting the Spanish one as there is no Dual Citizenship agreement.

If you wish to discuss this issue further, please contact me by email ( details in My Profile ).

Regards,

[Umme Hani]

Hi I am Umme Hani from Pakistan want to settle in EU to get an EU citizenship. Can you please tell what can I do? One more thing I would like to ask, if I study in Spain for 2 years do I get a Spanish citizenship?

[Marta]

Hello Umme Hani,

Your query is far too vast to be able to answer it in a forum. Please contact us at our law firm’s e-email and we will guide you as to the best possible permit for you, depending on your personal circumstances. Regarding your other enquiry, note that time spent as a student does not count towards citizenship.

[rronald_25]

Dear Patricia & Marta,

I would like to know more about arraigo social, I hope someone can help me clarify & give me some advice

First of all, my name is Ronald, Im Indonesian, few years ago I graduated from University of Amsterdam, then went back to Indonesia and now I am interested to take my master degree in Barcelona, but I would like to know the advantage beside nice city, rich culture, good education system & competitive price.

In this case I would like to know what happen with me when I graduated and would like to find a job experience for few year before I go back to my home country.

From what I know of, in the Netherlands and Germany, they have a scheme called Orientation year (ZOEKJAAR in Dutch), where all graduates are given the chance to find a job without any restriction such as working permit or salary-age restriction (like in Highly skilled migrant policy) and are considered like Dutch & German when finding a job (without complicated process) for 1 year after graduation date.

I have search through the internet & could not find such Orientation year policy in Spain, but instead I found something also quite interesting called arraigo social

In this case I would like to know if I studied in Spain for at least 3 years & receive a job offer, would I be able to apply for arraigo social, and what are the requirements.

From Spainexpat it says:
To be eligible to apply for arraigo social, you must:
1. Have lived in Spain for a minimum of three years.
2. Not have a criminal record in your home country, in Spain, nor in the country you lived in prior to residing in Spain.
3. Have a job in Spain with a legal work contract OR sufficient economic resources.

How can I apply
4. A work contract (signed by you and your employer) with a duration of at least one year from the date of your arraigo application OR proof that you are able to financially support yourself. This might include recent bank, investment or pension statements
5. Documentation attesting to your family ties with other legal resident foreigners (spouse, parents, and/or children only) OR a social integration report issued by your local town hall (ayuntamiento). If you need the social integration report, you should be prepared to do this first. You will meet with a social worker and be asked to provide proof of your financial situation and social ties in the community (for example, local organizations you are a member of) to one or more interviews. Based on the social worker’s findings, the local authorities will issue you a social integration report. It will recommend you as a favorable or an unfavorable candidate.

Now my questions are:
I.Would studying for 3 years count as have lived in Spain for a minimum 3 years?

II.Regarding no.3 will internship count as have a job with legal contract?

III.When I graduate, and would like to find a job experience, do I have to follow the highly skilled migrant policy or normal work contract as long it is minimum salary?

The thing is I am afraid that to have legal work contract means I have to find highly skilled migrant contract (I dont know if Spanish has that policy or not), in this case Im sure it will be hard to find a job which pays me €50.000/year gross since I am over 30

IV.or Proof that I am able to financially support myself, how much would that be?

V.I am still not clear with no.5 above. Does that mean I have to have family or relative in Spain, or I need to join some organizations, or do I have to pass some exams (such as civic integration exam or inburgeringexamen in the Netherlands)?

Please help me understand more

Thank you in advance

Regards

[bindy]

Hi
I have read that even after the 2 years residency for Latin Americans or former Spanish colony countries, that the time to acquire citizenship may take 2 to 4 years. Is this correct? Also, if this is true, is there any way to fast track the process? For example, is there a faster processing for Latin Americans or former Spanish colonies? An extra fee for rushed applications?

Thanks
Bindy

[oscar]

My grandfather is a pure Spanish, but he was born in the Philippines, his parents were migrated from Spain to the Philippines.
Will i be entitled to obtain the Spanish citizenship? and how long processing of application?

Thank you