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Why so few Brits are applying for Spanish citizenship post-Brexit
Spain, home to the largest British population in the European Union, has witnessed a surprising trend since the Brexit vote: a minimal number of Britons have sought Spanish citizenship. Despite the allure of EU citizenship, only 2,363 UK nationals living in Spain have naturalized since the referendum, a stark contrast to the more than 120,000 Britons who acquired citizenship across Europe in the same period.
According to Spain's Immigration Observatory, there were 403,925 registered UK nationals in Spain in 2024. However, the post-Brexit period has seen only a fraction of these individuals opting for Spanish nationality. This means that British nationals represent merely 1 in 50 of those who have become EU/EEA citizens since Brexit.
In total, from 2016 to 2023, 110,295 Britons in EU countries took on the nationality of their country of residence, with Germany leading the way at 36,888 new citizens, followed by France and Sweden. Interestingly, while Spain has granted citizenship to 242,342 foreigners through residency in 2023 alone—double the amount from the previous year—the British community is surprisingly underrepresented in these figures.
Several factors contribute to this phenomenon. One major reason is Spain’s restrictive dual citizenship policy. Only certain countries, primarily in Latin America and a few others, allow dual nationality with Spain. As a result, Britons must renounce their UK citizenship to become Spanish citizens, which likely deters many from applying.
Additionally, the process for acquiring Spanish citizenship is notably lengthy. While many countries grant citizenship after five years of residence, Spain requires a full decade. Applicants must also pass a culture and language exam, which may pose a challenge for those who have not yet mastered Spanish.
Moreover, many Britons living in Spain see Irish citizenship as a more attractive alternative. With an estimated 6 million people in the UK having at least one Irish grandparent, the pathway to Irish nationality has opened up significantly since Brexit. This allows UK nationals to sidestep the complexities of Spanish citizenship while still securing EU rights.
The combination of Spain’s dual nationality laws, the lengthy residency requirement, and the appealing option of Irish citizenship explains why just 2,363 UK nationals have taken the plunge into Spanish nationality since Brexit. While a quarter of Spain's immigrants have gained citizenship, for Britons residing in the country, the number is less than 1 percent.
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