Applyling for Spanish Nationality

I've been here just over 10 years now, actually I hit 40 a few weeks ago so over a quarter of my life has been spent here, my 3 lads were born here, my girlfried is Spanish - I'm curious to know if anyone has applied not for residencia, but gone the whole hog and "become Spanish" by applying for citizenship. Is it still possible or being an EU resident it no longer applies?

What are the benefits? Aside from a proper DNI and being able to leave the passport and idiotic A4 bit of paper at home are there any other advantages? Anyone actually done it or considering it? What are the disadvantages?

Clearly I'm going to follow England in cricket, rugby and football until the day I die, so foregoing my British nationality is never going to affect my allegiance when it comes to the sporting arena. 

We haven't ruled out a move to the US / AUS / NZ in the future, wouldn't being a Spanish citizen help in that respect? Don't the UK have agreements with some of those countries that limit UK nationals emigrating, organised years ago to prevent a brain drain - it's easier to move to the US if you are Irish for example?

My apologies if I'm hopelessly misinformed, I need to properly Google it all, just wondered if anyone had any experience?

Regards

Orinoco

Anyone any thoughts on it?

 RIGHT 10 Years residence gives you the right to apply for spanish nationality.

you dont give up your british nationality

cant see how spanish nationality could help with aus etc but brit will

i am looking at other complicated ways of doing it as you say to escape the uk passport rip off

as for USA irish or brit the same but if you have stacks of money haha helps

just wonder why you would bother leaving spain but your choice

ps 

re brain you have a brain? i idid but its now in a bucket under the bed

This message was last edited by stillgoin on 31/03/2012.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Reasons for leaving Spain:

3 bilingual kids, 51% youth unemployment - the pain has only just begun. Girlfriend is a local PP concejal but also the USO union rep in the school in which she teaches. She's already had her pay cut twice (5% each time) in the last 2 years. Obviously our bank hasn't cut our mortgage payments to accommodate that.

Paid 150,000€ for my house, identical house opposite just sold for 60,000€ - Can't help feeling miffed, more so when the bank refuses to change the mortgage payment date to just 13 days later, so instead of having to pay my mortgage on the 31st of the month (when we both get paid), I have to pay it on 18th, taking me overdrawn, every single f&%$ing month, and winning them 40€, month in month out for the last 6 years. To change it I need a notary apparently.

I think the EU is doomed, not just the EZ but the whole EU. Riots are coming to Spain. The have nots will steal from those that have. It might be a few years away yet but revolution is on its way.

I want options.

 orinoco after reading what you just wrote why would you want to become a spanish national?

from what i have seen oz is a good option but you must have a skill which they require to get in there

and john what a typo brutish nationality!     cheers

The reasons are very straight forward. I have no plan whasoever of returning to the UK, I haven´t even visited in 7 years yet I still have to pay 200 quid for a British passport because Social Security / Familia Numerosa etc won't accept my driving licence. I think my girlfriend's was 15€ when we renewed it about 4 years ago, and it was done in half an hour.

Secondly, as I mentioned in my initial post, it used to be the case that it was easier to relocate to the US for example if you were from Eire than Great Britain - I even recall lotteries for citizenship that were open to most nationalities except Brits, so if I were to become a Spanish passport holder I was questioning whether, should my g/f decide she fancies teaching Spanish in an Australian school for example, would it make applications easier?

 if we assume they teach spanish in australian schools then i assume that would make it  a desirable skill

best contact the oz embassy

We don't have to assume, we can Google it and find that they do. Point is, would life in Spain be any easier being a national. Who's done it and why? Is car insurance any cheaper, is it easier to get approved for a store card etc etc. Any tax benefits if you bothered to do it?

If it costs 5000€ to go through the process and the only benefit is a DNI card and a reduction in passport costs then clearly it's not worth my while. 

Good to know John, thanks. I thought it might involve hundreds spent on getting police reports from your country of birth, documents officially translated, etc.

 orinoco, if you dont want to assume why didnt you google it in the first place?

Stillgoin, you'll note from my first post I said "  I need to properly Google it all, just wondered if anyone had any experience?".

Thanks for your input so far, all taken on board.

Yasta.

 sorry orinoco you just caught me at a bad moment we wanted to go somewhere else checked bus timetables went to bus stop checked timetable again came the 127 but it stopped across the road at the 220 stop then went of in the exact opposite direction

so just had a coffee in the sun and came home

Orinoco,

I lived in Europe for 40 years and have just retured to my native Oz.

As long as you speak English and have a skill you will be most welcome here. We have openings for most skills and I believe a recruitment drive is on at the moment to attract more people. We have a problem due to the strength of the AUD against European currencies but there are certainly opening for people with teaching skills.

Limited opportunities in WA but loads in the Eastern States.

If you're looking for the weather we have the weather the Califorians think they have - all be it's been a bit warm this past winter with temps over 40C and even in Spring its 24C.

Way of life is as laid back as I remember, but we still have to put up with winging POMs but that also seems to be the case in Spain and even the UK.

Downside - its remote no ESY or RYAN cattle trucks to/from the UK.

David

Post post edit: BTW I'm back in the UK working with Oxford Univercity to set up Internships in the Mining Industry such is the shortage of qualifies people in Oz. If anyone is interested PM for details must have or be studying for PhD.

Thanks DBS, I know we've spoken before, you were planning on sailing back from Dubai to your homeland weren't you? How did that go? Did you manage to organise a crew? (Probably better to answer that in a private message so as not to bore the world!) Glad you got back anyway!

I have a lot of good mates in Oz that I worked with in London during my time at UBS, Pershing, Cantors etc and they all reckon the lifestyle is for me. I am aware you're probably sick of the whinging Poms turning up by the planeload but the cricket, the rugby, the weather and the BBQ culture sound great. One mate's Dad runs a pharmaceutical company and would be happy to hire me, my Spanish girlfriend has a good degree, speaks fluent English, teaches accountantcy and so should get enough points for entry.

Of course we're seriously committed here, aside from the mortgage (who can sell a house now?) our kids are settled in schools so for the next 5 - 10 years we're probably not going anywhere, a pipe dream perhaps, but who doesn't need goals?

I'm glad you're back and things are looking good. I hope to get there at some point, I read Bryson's book on Australia last year and it only heightened my curiousity.

Stillgoin, no hard feelings!

Orinoco,

Boat still in transit - using professional delivery crew expect it end of May.

For information the Oz points system uses several categories but if you speak english (20 points), have at least a BSc (15 points), aged between 40 and 44 (15 points) have 5-years work experience (10 point) have a second language (5 points) you  meet the 65 target for 2012.

Accountancy and teaching are a strong combination.

For those interested google will point you to all the info you need.

Dreams are what we all get up to achieve otherwise where's the excitmentor indeed the purpose in life.

I'll now let this thread get back to the topic.

David

Great info David, appreciate it. 

:)

Back to thread, no real benefits to adopting Spanish nationality if you're already an EU citizen?

TBH, I suspected as much but, wouldn't a real DNI be handy! lol

Good to know though, cheers everyone!

 I think you'll find, Orinoco, that there is not the demand in Australia these days for teachers of European languages - they are two a penny.  However, if your partner could teach Mandarin or Japanese then it would be a different matter.  

I think you're probably right Dougie, I know the Italian population in Aus is considerable, I've no doubt that French, Spanish and German teachers are everywhere. That said my partner has an economics degree, but is qualified to teach English, Maths and various "job skills" Pay Roll / International Freight / Taxation to a diploma level here for adult students. The fact that she coud teach Spanish as well might be advantageous to college out in the bush!