when i mentioned "connections" i didn't necessarily mean the famous and/or powerful...just having a friend in the consulate can be a tremendous advantage in wading through the paperwork and bureaucracy...and there's is plenty of it!

ceb, once you apply for citizenship you will get it based on residency. Some people like to think that ancestry is what gives them the right to citizenship. But from a legal point of view, it is the residency and not your blood history that gets you the citizenship. The connection to a Spanish relative only makes the residency requirement shorter. That's how the law is structured. Nowhere in the family based section you will find the right to citizenship for grandchildren of legal age, but you will find it under the residency-based section.

This is exactly the major issue for people trying to change the law. They want the right for citizenship based on family ties and not residency.

Hi. Thank you both. Actually the blood line is very important, because if you don't have it as a grandchild don't expect to get citizenship in Spain after ONLY one year (five years more like it); therefore, residency is required but it's heavily weighted on the heritage factor. Other countries will give the grandchildren the citizenship without much paperwork and while staying in their current residences. The fight of so many is that it's quite unfair for someone that can get an automatic citizenship through let say Italy and then live and work in Spain (an any other EU country for that matter), while those from Spanish heritage have to go through tons of paperwork, time, money and frustration. The perfect example are those Argentians that are of Italian descent but being raised in a Spanish speaking country would rather live in Spain than Italy (since Argentina has had some serious problems), but yet those Argentians that are the granchildren of Spaniards and over the age limit are often times stuck, especially if they have no connections in Spain.

I mentioned the famous and powerful, because you brought up a soccer player, and I know that such individuals do have it easier to immigrate to other countries. Having connections in government is a big bonus, but how realistic is this for the mass amount of grandchildren setting their hopes on returning to the motherland?!

ceb, when you consider that Spain gives automatic citizenship to any citizen from its former colonies (Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, etc.) that has resided legally in Spain for 2 years, the 1 year requirement for granchildren does not sound like a great deal...Don't you agree? It should be automatic, like the French, Italians, and other European countries do.

Hola. Exactly Jabch, my point all along! I wonder when will Spain catch up to other EU countries?! Also, I don't think other EU countries ask (request, demand, or whatever the case may be)you to give up an existing citizenship, regardless of the nationality. Spain does this to U.S. citizens. I got into a long post once about some site stating an American can still keep his/her passport when becoming a Spanish citizen...just seemingly denounce it in front of a Spanish judge .

Yes it s a little weird - as I understand it USA considers you a dual citizen but Spain considers you Spanish .. so apparently renouncing your citizenship only counts in Spain but USA doesnt recognize it.. something like that

(originally posted by ceb on 08-09-2006 07:03 PM)

Hi. I wrote once here about acquiring Spanish citizenship through my late maternal grandfather. There were lots of replies, and also information I posted from what I was told or found elsewhere. The main point was that in Spain I would have to take an oath after I have lived there for a year, stating that I renounce my prior (U.S.) citizenship---although it's known as just a "technicality".

My questions now are: I have read either somewhere on this site or another that Spanish PERMANENT residents can work in Spain PLUS other EU countries...is this accurate? Also, if my mother gets the permanent residency only, is this enough to pass on to me, or will she need to become a Spanish citizen? OR better yet, can I just get my permanent residency card without my mother doing anything about her status---as a granddaughter of a Spaniard?

As a citizen of an EU country / any EU country - you can work thru out the EU - this is, of course, based on local economics and demand for whatever it is you do -

As to the rest of your question - someone else will have to answer

ceb, I'd refer you to the fine people at the Spanish Consulate's office. You'll find their website address in the second posting of this informative thread.

Someone on "the inside" told me that Spain requires you to renounce your U.S. citizenship in order to become a Spanish citizen but they don't walk you to the U.S. Embassy to see that you do it nor do they follow-up later asking you to submit "U.S. Citizenship Renunciation Forms".

And regarding working in other EU Countries with permanent Spanish residency, I don't think - while I'm not at all sure - that you can do this. (those in-the-know, HELP!) Residency gives you rights in the country of residence while citizenship gives you rights in the whole of the European Union. Can anyone confirm this?

I had the same hope, thinking that with my Spanish residency I could then go to, say, Sweden and live/work legally but it seems I found that this wasn't the case - I needed Spanish citizenship for this.

Good luck!

Saludos, MadridMan

MM YOU WROTE: "And regarding working in other EU Countries with permanent Spanish residency, I don't think - while I'm not at all sure - that you can do this. (those in-the-know, HELP!)"

Yes, plz someone help LOL!