Leaders of Spain and France sign dual nationality agreement

SPANISH Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, have signed an agreement that will allow dual citizenship.

Thanks to the agreement which was signed during the Spanish-French summit on Monday, March 15, in Montauban, France, Spanish citizens who want to obtain French nationality would not first have to renounce their own as had happened until now.

According to the calculations of the Spanish Prime Minister, this could benefits more than 350,000 Spaniards in France and some 160,000 French citizens in Spain.

This is Spain’s first dual nationality agreement in Europe although there were already several in place with countries in the Ibero-American space, that is, those who have Spanish or Portuguese as one of their official languages.

There are currently dual nationality agreements in place with Portugal, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and twelve American countries: Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Bolivia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Colombia.

The plan for dual nationality with France had already been approved by the Council of Ministers in Spain in November and had been proposed in March 2019.

The aim was to prevent citizens of either country from having to renounce their nationality when they want to acquire the other. However, there are no privileged access routes to carry out the procedure to obtain Spanish nationality by residence, which will continue to be 10 years for French citizens.

The signing of the agreement marked the exile of thousands of Spaniards to France to flee the  Civil War and Franco’s dictatorship. The remains of the President of the Second Republic in Spain, Manuel Azaña, are in the cemetery in Montauban where the Spanish and French leaders have paid their respects.

Hacemos realidad una reivindicación histórica de los descendientes de españoles exiliados a Francia. El Convenio de Doble Nacionalidad que hoy suscribimos en Montauban es un acto de restitución pasada y de futuro: tenemos una identidad común y la firme voluntad de avanzar juntos. pic.twitter.com/KMDp2l35oA

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) March 15, 2021

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