According to data published by the Eurosteat last June, Spain is the country of the European Union's foreign nationalized since 2014 (the last year for which data are available from all member countries of the European Union). Figures from the Eurosteat show that one in four nationalized in the Twenty-eight (there are 28 member countries of the European Union, hence it is called Veintiocho) obtained Spanish citizenship, ie, 23% of the total.
The main reason for this increase is nothing more and nothing less than the Spanish standard, which indicates that in 2014 the number of foreigners dropped while Spanish increased; a direct derivative of nationalizations in a context of low birth. This was noticeable also in the unstoppable growth of Spanish emigration including foreign nationals who choose to return to their country of birth / origin.
The list of the countries of origin of the Spanish nationalized the leading Morocco, Ecuador and Colombia. More than 90% of the nationalized come from these countries.
Morocco is the country where most European passports were obtained. According to data from the Eurosteat, 92,700 Moroccans are from 2014 full citizens of the European Union. This represents more than 10% of the 890,000 people who obtained the nationality of a Member state of the European Union. A Morocco followed by Albania, Turkey and India.
Despite the increase of people who obtained citizenship in 2014 (almost 900,000 people), the total number in the European Union fell by 9% compared to 2013.
The continents with the highest number of naturalized Spaniards are:
- Africa with 28, 7%.
- Europe with 28, 3%.
- America with 21, 2%.
- Asia with 19,8%.
Obtain Spanish nationality requires a successfully passed test exam and pay between 185 € and 306 €.
Last year 2015 came into force the reform of the Civil Registry which modified the procedures for obtaining the Spanish nationality. Until then, management was free. Thereafter, the management costs between 185 € and 306 €, depending on the language of the country of origin of the applicant. This rate includes the paperwork, proof of constitutional and cultural knowledge of Spain and, in some cases, other language.
The knowledge test is a multiple-choice test of 25 questions on constitutional and socio-cultural knowledge of Spain. To overcome and thereby to obtain Spanish citizenship, applicants must correctly answer at least 15 questions in 45 minutes. Such proof is priced at 85 € and two opportunities.
If the applicant does not come from a country where the Castilian is the official language, also must undergo a language test at the Instituto Cervantes to obtain a diploma as that person can speak and understand Spanish (Diploma of Spanish DELE). This test has a cost of 124 €.
If the applicant citizen has the Spanish as their mother tongue, shall be exempt from the language test but must demonstrate their knowledge of the Spanish Constitution and the social and cultural reality. The integration examination is required.
The only exempt applicants from the language test and the constitutional and sociocultural knowledge SPAIN (integration testing) are under 18 and people "capable judicially modified".
Reform of the Civil Registry was decided to carry out in 2015, because the system used until then was controversial because there was no common approach in the integration exam questions.
