What you give up by naturalising

Key rules

• Renunciation: Most applicants must renounce their previous nationality, but Ibero-American, Andorran, Filipino, Equatorial Guinean and Portuguese nationals can keep it.
• Home country: Your home country's law decides what you lose there, so ask its consulate before you swear the oath.
• Tax: Nationality does not change your tax; tax residence does.
• Losing Spanish nationality: Only a court can declare it, and never if it would leave you stateless.

The short answer

The biggest thing you may give up is your original nationality. Whether that costs you anything in practice depends on your home country's law, not Spain's. Find out before you swear the oath.

Your origin nationality

Most applicants must renounce their previous nationality when they swear the oath. Nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal can keep it.

You make the renunciation in a statement before the Registro Civil official, a notary or a consul. It is a formal declaration. Spain does not check whether your home country accepts it, so your home country may still treat you as its citizen. Other countries treat you as having lost your nationality the moment you take another one.

Time matters too. You have 180 days from notification to swear the oath and register, or the grant lapses.

Rights at home

Some countries remove nationality automatically when you voluntarily take another. India, China, Singapore and, in most cases, Japan do this. If that happens you could lose:

• your passport
• your vote
• the right to own land or inherit property, where foreigners face limits

Military service can also continue for men with dual nationality in countries such as Morocco, Turkey, Israel, Colombia or Ukraine.

Ask your home country's consulate, or a lawyer there, before you swear. The checklist below lists the questions to ask.

Pensions and benefits

Spanish Social Security entitlements depend on your contributions and residence, not your nationality. Pensions you have earned in Spain stay payable.

The risk lies elsewhere. Some bilateral social-security agreements cover only nationals of the countries involved. A new Spanish nationality can change which agreement or coordination rule applies to you. Losing your old nationality can also affect pension or treaty rights in your home country. Check the specific agreement and ask your home country's pension body.

Tax

Nationality does not change what you pay. Spain taxes by tax residence: more than 183 days in a calendar year, where your main economic interests are, or where your family lives. A Spanish national living abroad is generally a non-resident, taxed only on Spanish-source income.

Two exceptions exist. If you move to a tax haven, you are treated as a Spanish tax resident for the year of the move and the next four years. Some Spanish diplomats and officials posted abroad also stay resident. Nationality can also matter for the Beckham regime and for tie-breaker rules in tax treaties.

Can you lose Spanish nationality?

Only in limited cases, and only if you were not Spanish by origin. A court must declare the loss. You can lose it if:

• you use only the nationality you renounced for three years after acquiring Spanish nationality
• you voluntarily enter foreign military service or take political office abroad, against the Spanish government's express prohibition
• a final court judgment finds you acquired nationality through fraud, false statements or concealment. This action must be brought within 15 years

A criminal conviction alone does not cost you your nationality. Spain cannot take your nationality if that would leave you stateless.

Deciding

Use the decision below to choose between going ahead, getting advice at home first, or weighing whether to naturalise at all. If your country is not on the exempt list, get that advice first.

Choosing between options

Should you go ahead and swear the oath, given what you could lose at home?

• Go ahead and naturalise: Your country is allowed to keep its nationality, allows dual nationality, or treats a renunciation before Spanish officials as having no effect.

• Get advice from your home country first: You do not yet know how your home country treats a renunciation, or you could face limits on property, inheritance or military service.

• Weigh whether to naturalise at all: Your home country removes nationality automatically when you take another, so you would lose your passport, voting rights or property rights there.

Spain requires renunciation unless your country is exempt, as set out in Which route to Spanish nationality fits you?, but what you lose at home depends entirely on your home country's law.

Home-country consequences vary and change, so confirm them with your consulate or a lawyer there before swearing the oath.

Timeline and deadlines

• Swear the oath, make the renunciation statement and register the nationality in the Registro Civil (civil registry): within 180 days of being notified of the grant

• Check your tax residence each calendar year: more than 183 days in Spain makes you a Spanish tax resident: every calendar year

Checklist

• Check whether your country is one whose nationals can keep their nationality, as set out in Which route to Spanish nationality fits you?

• Ask your home country's consulate whether it still treats you as a citizen after you renounce before Spanish officials.

• Ask whether acquiring another nationality costs you your passport, voting rights, or the right to own land or inherit.

• Ask whether you would still owe military service at home, if you are a man from a country that keeps that duty for dual nationals.

What to watch out for

• Using only your old nationality: If you were not Spanish by origin, you lose Spanish nationality if you use exclusively the nationality you renounced for three years after acquiring Spanish nationality. Use your Spanish nationality for your dealings with Spain, and do not rely only on your old one.

• Foreign military service or political office: Voluntarily joining a foreign army or taking political office in a foreign state against the express prohibition of the Spanish government can cost you Spanish nationality. Get advice from a Spanish lawyer before accepting any such role abroad.

• Fraud in your application: A final court judgment that you acquired nationality through fraud, false statements or concealment removes it, and the action can be brought within 15 years of acquiring nationality. Give complete and accurate information in your application and keep copies of what you submitted.

• Limits on losing nationality: Only a court can declare the loss, Spaniards by origin cannot lose nationality this way, and you cannot lose it if that would leave you stateless. A criminal conviction alone is not a ground unless fraud is proved. If you receive court papers about your nationality, see a lawyer straight away.

Frequently asked questions

Will my home country still treat me as a citizen after I renounce?

Yes, your home country may still treat you as its citizen, because the renunciation is only a formal declaration in Spain and Spain does not check whether your home country accepts it.

Does Spanish nationality change how much tax I pay?

No, Spanish nationality does not change your tax by itself, because Spain taxes by tax residence, not by nationality. A Spaniard living abroad is generally taxed only on Spanish-source income, but one who moves to a tax haven is still treated as a Spanish tax resident for the year of the move and the following four years.

Does naturalising affect my Spanish pension?

No, naturalising does not change your Spanish Social Security pension, which depends on your contributions and residence, not your nationality.