Man who cannot speak Spanish loses Spanish nationality
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 @ 12:30 AM
A MAN has lost his newly-acquired Spanish nationality – because it turned out he was unable to speak or understand Spanish.
It is not clear how the Moroccan citizen slipped through the net, although it appears a ministry of justice ruling allowed him to acquire a Spanish passport because he met the requisites of at least 10 years' residence and good conduct.
This was in early 2016, and when he was required to swear allegiance to the Constitution, he was unable to do so as he could not understand it.
Had it been a question of a disability, such as blindness or limited vision, or even dyslexia or illiteracy, it would have been possible for the Magna Carta to be read out to him – but the resident in Vera (Almería province) was not affected by these conditions and it was purely his lack of knowledge of the language which prevented his full comprehension.
This was two years after his application, filed with the Civil Registry and approved.
Citizenship requirements, other than good character and residence, require the applicant to show he or she is integrated in Spanish society, and to pass a general knowledge multiple-choice test on issues relating to culture, society and legal aspects, for which a 60% pass mark is necessary, and also a language test – speaking, reading, writing and listening – at A2 level, which is little more than a good GCSE standard.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com