Surge in Spanish Naturalizations: Morocco Leads 2023 Rankings

Friday 16 August 2024 - 09:40

In 2023, Morocco, Venezuela, and Colombia topped the list of nationalities obtaining Spanish citizenship. A record 243,481 applicants saw 45,799 Moroccans, 36,409 Venezuelans, and 20,380 Colombians granted citizenship, highlighting a growing interest among migrants to integrate into Spanish society.

According to the Iberian outlet *La Razón*, a significant overhaul of the Spanish naturalization process was achieved through the implementation of robotic process automation, drastically reducing decision times from years to mere months.

Data from the official Spanish news agency *EFE* indicates a fluctuating trend in naturalizations since 2013, peaking at 261,295 that year. Subsequent years, notably 2019 and 2021, also saw increases due to temporary initiatives by the Ministry of Justice aimed at expediting citizenship grants.

Esther Pérez, Director General of Legal Security and Public Faith, emphasized that automation is crucial in speeding up citizenship processing. She credited the Ministry of Justice, under Félix Bolaños, for establishing an effective system that streamlines procedures.

Spanish nationality applications undergo rigorous scrutiny, verifying compliance with specific criteria such as required residency duration, language proficiency, integration tests, and criminal records, aided by intelligent systems.

This technological advancement has accelerated decision-making, with robots minimizing human error, such as data entry mistakes, and reducing fraud. The Spanish Ministry of Integration, Social Security, and Migrations noted a higher prevalence of female applicants aged 35 to 49 among these nationalities.

Out of 130,128 individuals granted Spanish citizenship by residency, the majority hailed from Latin America, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, or were Sephardic Jews, all meeting a minimum two-year residency requirement.

Immigration lawyer Vicente Marín observed a notable improvement in processing speed, drastically cutting the time for completing citizenship procedures and reducing the number of appeals.

As of June 2024, the Ministry of Justice reported 203,674 pending citizenship applications. Despite the backlog, processing times have improved significantly compared to previous years.

Shakira Palacios, a lawyer with Emigrando consultancy, noted that many clients now receive citizenship within two months, down from two and a half years. Experts attribute this improvement to government efforts to streamline procedures and better train new staff, addressing prior administrative errors and training gaps.

Spanish citizenship now requires passing two tests: one in the Spanish language and another on constitutional, social, and cultural knowledge (CSSE), replacing the former personal interview with a judge. This approach aims for a more objective assessment of applicants' integration into Spanish society. Administered by the Instituto Cervantes since 2015, the CSSE test has seen over a million candidates with a success rate between 95% and 96%, covering geography, history, culture, and fundamental constitutional and legal principles.