Dual citizenship with Spain

Overview

Spain doesn't generally allow dual nationality — becoming Spanish usually means formally renouncing your previous nationality. But Spain has specific agreements with a defined list of countries that change this, letting nationals of those countries keep both.

Requirements

• Relevant to anyone applying for Spanish nationality who wants to understand whether they'll need to give up their existing nationality

Step-by-step process

• Check whether your country of origin is on Spain's list of dual-nationality agreement countries — this includes most Ibero-American countries, plus Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, and (more recently) France
• If your country is on the list, you can formally hold both nationalities without conflict from the Spanish side
• If your country isn't on the list, understand that during the Spanish nationality oath, you'll be asked to formally renounce your previous nationality — this renunciation only has legal effect within Spain, and doesn't get communicated to your home country
• Separately, check your home country's own laws on whether they still consider you a citizen despite a renunciation made in Spain — Spain's renunciation doesn't automatically strip you of your original nationality in your home country's eyes, since that depends on your home country's own rules

Required documents

• None specific to this topic — it's assessed as part of your standard nationality application

Common mistakes

• Assuming renouncing your original nationality during the Spanish oath automatically ends that nationality everywhere — in practice, this depends entirely on your home country's own laws, not Spain's
• Not checking your specific country's status on the dual-nationality list before assuming you'll need to give anything up

Practical tips

• If you're a national of an Ibero-American country, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, or France, dual nationality is very likely available to you without practical conflict
• If your country isn't on the list and dual nationality genuinely matters to you, research your home country's specific rules on retaining citizenship despite a formal renunciation elsewhere, since some countries don't recognise a foreign renunciation as effective

How Tuchati can help

If you're not sure whether your specific nationality allows dual citizenship with Spain, Tuchati can help you check before you apply.