Estanislao (not his real name), a man born in Barcelona in 1976 and the son of a British mother, began legal proceedings to regain Spanish citizenship in 2019. He argued that at the time of his birth he could not receive that His mother has British nationality and he must be considered Spanish since childhood according to Law 51/1982 have born stateless in Spain. After a long administrative and judicial battle, the Supreme Court rejected his request and maintained the refusal to recognize this right, although admitting that the 1982 Spanish law was aimed at avoiding cases like his.
The Supreme Court ruling recognized that Estanislao “fulfilled the legal requirements” of the 1982 legal reform: he was born in Spain, could not inherit his mother’s citizenship due to the law in force in his country, and was in a stateless situation until 1983. He received British citizenship at the age of six through naturalization. However, the judges stressed that he had neither exercised the rights associated with Spanish nationality nor processed documents in the country.
The top court also argued that although the law provides for the retroactive acquisition of nationality for those who are stateless after the reform, Estanislao has lost this nationality by virtue of being a permanent resident of the United Kingdom and holding only British citizenship. for decades. His subsequent attempt at “recovery” was ruled out because legislation requires the applicant to prove legal residence in Spain or family ties as a Spanish emigrant, conditions he was unable to prove.
Information about the father’s identity and Spanish nationality remained inaccurate, authorities said They never considered it accredited. In 1983, Estanislao obtained British citizenship through naturalization and remained resident in the United Kingdom since childhood, where he moved with his mother.
Estanislao’s defense was based on Article 17.1.c) of the Civil Code, adopted by Law 51/1982, which recognizes as Spaniards of Spanish origin those who were born in Spain without having acquired another nationality by law Rules of private international law of their parents. He argued that he spent part of his childhood stateless and that the principle of “favor nacionalitatis”, which guided the reform to prevent cases of statelessness, should be considered to grant him Spanish citizenship retroactively.
presented Documentation about your birth and the legal background to British citizenship. The General Directorate of Legal Certainty and Public Trust and then the courts recognized the spirit of the law, but in their case did not find sufficient legal basis to allow recovery.
The state, through the legal profession and the public prosecutor’s office, claimed that Estanislao never officially held Spanish nationality. He has never lived in Spain since he was a child Nor did he carry out any procedures related to the exercise of local citizenship. They emphasized that the law provides for the recovery of citizenship only for those who meet the requirement of legal residence in the country or are exempt from it for reasons of accredited emigration.
The court found that because he left the country as a minor In the case of a foreign mother who returned to her place of origin, her situation did not legally fall under the case of “emigration” and there was never any exemption or exemption from the Ministry of Justice.
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