Job Discussion Forums

[Ecutsor]

Hey everyone! I've lurked these forums for awhile and it's my first time posting!

I am trying to find a way to see if I am eligible for Spanish citizenship in any way possible. So here is my story:

My grandmother was born and raised in Valencia, Spain. She then moved to the United States in either 1958 or 59 to get away from Franco. My mother was born in the U.S. as well as my sister and I. My mother does not have Spanish citizenship. I was wondering if there is any possibility of me being able to get citizenship through ancestry or any other loophole. I have read about the Law of Historical Memory. It now grants the right of return. It allows my mother to get Spanish citizenship, but not I. But it also mentions this, Regardless of their place of birth, the adult children and grandchildren of original Spaniards (original Spaniards are those who, at the moment of their birth, were born to people who possessed Spanish citizenship) can also access Spanish nationality on softer terms than other foreigners: they require just 1 year of legal residence, and they are exempted from work restrictions.

So according to wikipedia, this temporary change to Spanish Nationality Law, will only last for two years. It went into effect December 2008. Which means it will be over in December 2010. I plan on moving to Spain next summer (2010). For me to get my citizenship, I need to live in Spain for one year. Since I am moving in the summer of 2010, I will not live in Spain for the year I need before the law ends. Does anyone know if it will matter? Will I be exempt because I moved before the law ended? Or after 6 months of living there, will I be an illegal because the law ended before my year?

I will be contacting the spanish consulate on Monday when the offices are open again. Until then I thought I'd post this to see if anyone has any advice or can shed some light on my situation. I really want to move to Spain and teach english. I would love not having the extra stress of working illegally.

Thank you for taking the time to read this all and for any responses I get.

[chenn0]

Shame this hasn't been answered. I'm sorry; I do not have any help. I'm kinda in the same situation. My grandmother and her family are from Spain, but both of my parents are American. I'd like to know of any loopholes as well for me to live and work legally for a long period of time.

[jovencito]

As far as I know, if you have a grandparent that was born in Spain and it can be proved via a birth certificate then it is possible to get Spanish residency.

I do not know the exact process for Spain, but a friend of mine is American with American born parents and Italian grandparents. The process for him was that his parents got Italian residence through the grandparents and then he got Italian residence through his parents. It's all a bit convoluted but it should be possible. I think that getting residence in most European countries is possible if your grandparents were born in Europe.

[spiral78]

Actually, quite a few countries have recently limited this to actual parents, rather than grandparents.

The rules vary by country - you can really only find out from the relevant Embassy in real time.

Good luck

[strictly_nicky]

Have a look at this. Seems like a ton of paperwork (no surprise there, being Spain and all) but you may be eligible.

http://leymemoria.mjusticia.es/paginas/es/descendientes.html

[chenn0]

Thank you very much for your replies. useful information