Aussie wants Spanish citizenship

[Liss]

I'm an Australian thinking of obtaining Spanish citizenship. Does anyone know if it's possible to get dual citizenship, or would I have to give up the Aussie one?
If I have to give it up, how hard will it be to re-obtain it if I want to in the future?
(lived in Spain 9 years, married to a Spanish national 8 years, Spanish legal resident 5 years, don't have any records of European ancestry)
Thanks!

[JAJ]

If you only have to renounce your Australian citizenship before a Spanish judge or official, this will be ignored by the Australians.

[Christophe]

You won't have to give up your Australian citizenship under Australian law. As JAJ says, even if you have to "renounce" other citizenships before the Spanish authorities (I'm not sure if you do or not), that has no effect under Australian law, and you will retain your Australian citizenship, can still use your Australian passport for travel, and will still have the right to return to Australia and to live there at any time.

However, if Spanish law requires you to renounce your Australian citizenship formally, to the Australian authorities, as a prerequisite for obtaining Spanish citizenship, that is a different matter. (I don't think they do, but I am not sure. Does someone else around here know?)

[sakura]

There seems to be some conflicting information out there...

From what I gather, Spain does allow dual nationality for some countries - such as former colonies in the Americas or Africa. For most other countries, I think one would have to formally renounce one's citizenship to obtain Spanish citizenship:

http://www.maec.es/subwebs/SiteCollecti ... d99994.pdf

It's only in Spanish, and my Spanish isn't perfect, but that is what I am picking up from this link. However, the best thing is for you to speak to some qualified legal experts on this matter, as it may not mean formal renunciation.

[Liss]

Thanks for your replies.

I know I'll need to use a lawyer, but I wanted to get some advice and info on things I might not have known or thought about.

Christophe: Do you know where I can find info about the effect under Australian law of giving up the citizenship, as you mentioned?

Sakura: The link is mostly about Spainsh re-obtaining the nationality, although there is some info about who is elegible to apply for citizenship, that I fit into.

JAJ: I'm sure they do request that I renounce Aussie nationality, but it's good to know that if it's only in front of a Judge, then it is ignored by the Aus govt. so I'll look into it a bit more.

[Christophe]

Christophe: Do you know where I can find info about the effect under Australian law of giving up the citizenship, as you mentioned?

Section 17 of the Australian Citizenship Act 1948, which prescribed the loss of Australian citizenship to a citizen who voluntarily acquired the citizenship of another country, was repealed in 2002. Subsequent changes have been made and incorporated into the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, although these changes are not relevant to your situation, and currently a citizen who acquires the citizenship of another country does not lose his or her Australian citizenship under Australian law.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship website carries useful information, including links through to the 2007 Act. The Reader's Guide to the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 is a good place to start.

As to the Spanish situation, it seems to be a bit mysterious. Part of the problem in finding out information may be that naturalisations are conducted by local authorities rather than centrally. Someone here may know more. But I think that you would have to renounce all other citizenships in front of a Spanish judge or similar, and that once you become a Spanish citizen the Spanish authorities would regard you as solely Spanish: however, I don't think that you would be required to renounce your Australian citizenship formally (i.e. according to Australian law). Such a situation is not particularly unusual: the USA, for example, takes a very similar view for its dual US—other citizens.

The article posted by Sakura seems to be more about loss and re-acquisition of Spanish citizenship, but I might have missed something.

When making enquiries about Spain's attitude to dual citizenship, remember that a country not recognising dual citizenship is not the same as a country forbidding it or taking active steps to avoid it (again, for example, the US doesn't really recognise that one of its citizens may be the citizen of another country, but there are plenty of dual US citizens, and the US accepts that this it the case; the same applies to many other countries).