Are you Spanish but live in UK and have UK-born children with a British and a Spanish passport?

[SpanishBureaucracy]

Long shot, I know, but I don't know who else to ask and the Consulate don't reply to emails.

I am Spanish, have lived in the UK for 30 years. Son has British and Spanish passports. He has just turned 18 and his Spanish passport has expired.

Can we renew his Spanish passport as usual, without giving up the British one, or has the time come that he needs to pick one or the other?

I think he should be able to keep both. I know several people who were born in Britain to Spanish parents and now have both British and Spanish passports.

The best thing to do is to check with the Spanish consulate. Each specific circumstance is different.
In general, Spanish nationals who acquire a second nationality, like British, need to apply to keep Spanish citizenship within 3 years, otherwise they lose Spanish citizenship. Children don't need to do this, but need to demonstrate the will to keep the Spanish nationality i.e. keep renewing passport, get a DNI, use Spanish passport to travel, register to vote in Spain etc when they turn 18.

Should be able to keep both. Spanish embassy should have a renewal process. Just follow that. You are allowed to be a citizen of two countries. Very very few don’t allow it (I think maybe even China only)

Sorry I meant to say, to keep both British and Spanish passports

Honestly the info in the spanish consulate website is not at all clear and they don't respond to emails. Son has always had both passports, British and Spanish. As he is now turned 18, so he's an adult, I wonder if he's legally entitled to still have both as Spain doesn't recognise dual nationality with UK.

My Spanish born friends have dual passports - they had to apply for British passports due to Brexit. So I don’t think there is a situation where your son will need to choose? They were all born in Spain though - except one child was born in Japan. He still has Spanish and English passports now.

Sorry I should have said the child born in Japan but has Spanish and English passports is over 18.

My understanding is that Spain doesn't allow dual citizenship with the UK, so once the child reaches 18, they have to renounce of one of the two passports.
The UK doesn't care if someone has two passports, but Spain does.

I don’t have evidence but my Spanish friend herself is so patriotic about Spain they still only speak Spanish at home and she herself did not get an English passport (although she could) because she doesn’t like the idea of having an English passport. There is no way she would agree to her husband or children denouncing their Spanish passports so maybe the rules have changed.

Maybe that’s the case if they go back to live in Spain - but for the time being they live in England I know for sure they have both passports - they travelled to Spain last week on their Spanish passports.

If you're British you can have duel nationality but I'm unsure if Spain allows the same...

Technically Spain doesn’t allow foreigners who gain Spanish nationality to retain their original nationality. However in practice you just have to verbally renounce your nationality and you just keep both of your passports

I have dual nationality and renewed both Spanish and British passports in the last year. Spanish consulate didn't ask me if i owned any other passports but I remember years ago, I was at the consulate regarding the Libro de Familia and asked about dual nationality as at the time, I hadn't had a valid British passport for years and the man said to me that if i ever renewed my British passport, not to tell the consulate.

There's no such thing as an English passport. We only have a British passport bearing the single name of our state - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

England is not sovereign, so no passport.

Some info for you @SpanishBureaucracy:

"To put it simply, Spain does not currently recognise Spanish and British dual nationality, and in fact it only recognises dual citizenship from a select few countries that fulfil requirements set out in the Spanish constitution. These include Spanish-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and you are also eligible if you are of Sephardic Jewish origin.

So, if you are not on the list above, you have to renounce your original nationality to become a Spanish citizen and, as far as the Spanish authorities are concerned, you would be considered to be Spanish only and would not be considered to be a citizen of any another country."

And:

"But what does this mean for British citizens who wish to apply for Spanish citizenship? And what are the implications and considerations that need to be understood?

Probably the most asked question is… “Do I have to give up my British Passport?”

This is a bit of a grey area, as technically, as part of the Spanish Citizenship application you sign a declaration denouncing your British citizenship, but you do not actually have to surrender your British passport with the application or give it to the Spanish Authorities.

To officially renounce your British Citizenship you would actually complete the relevant documents and pay for this service with the British authorities, not the Spanish Authorities. In fact, it is not an official requirement of the British authorities to surrender your passport to them as part of your Spanish application.

However, you need to be aware that even if you still have possession of your British passport you would not be able to use it in Spain, as this could affect the status of your Spanish Citizenship and you could risk losing it altogether. In the eyes of Spain, if you have Spanish citizenship, you are Spanish and you are not a citizen of the UK so your identity documents or rights as a British passport holder do not apply in Spain.

Therefore, applying to change your nationality or citizenship is not a decision to take lightly, and it is highly recommended that you seek legal advice in both your country of origin and the country of application, as you need to be clear about the rules and regulations and the rights you have in each country in order to make the right decision for you.

For example, if you do officially renounce your British citizenship, although this only affects you and not the other members of your family, it could directly affect the status of future children you may have.

In addition your right to live in the UK would also be affected. You also need to be aware that if you become a Spanish Citizen but then choose to live abroad for 3 years or more you may lose your Spanish citizenship, which would mean you need to go back to your previous nationality or take up another nationality."

Read more here:

www.caserexpatinsurance.com/blog-typical-non-spanish/can-i-have-spanish-and-british-dual-nationality

Spaniard living in New Zealand here and I have both the Spanish and Kiwi passports, I can help.

Spain does not recognise dual nationality, but accepts that a person can have additional passports.

Your DS just needs to officially express the wish to keep his Spanish passport, by getting in contact with the closest Spanish consulate. Here is a link which explains exactly how to do this in the UK: www.traduccionesmalfamundi.com/tramites/registro-civil/conservacion-nacionalidad-espanola/

Hope that helps!

I just came on to say what @aurynne did.
It's not shouted from the rooftops so many people don't know about it.
Good luck.
P.S And if you do it please come back and say what it was like, as in if it was straightforward

@Ilovehatecleaning for me it was an extremely easy and straightforward process. You just need to get it done less than 3 years after acquiring your new citizenship and passport.

I think everything that's been said above applied up until very recently, and people were able to maintain both passports because the UK didn't mind and Spain was happy to turn a blind eye. This has changed very recently because of, surprise surprise, Brexit. To obtain a Spanish passport, you may now be asked to issue proof that you have renounced of your other nationality.

Sorry for the mistake but likely because I am not British and don’t have a British passport.

I just sent this to my Spanish friend whose Spanish husband has both a Spanish and British passport and she said he had a certificate to say he can have both. Maybe it’s a work thing as he only applied for a British passport due to Brexit.