How renouncing your previous nationality works at the oath

Key rules

• Deadline: Take the oath and renounce within 180 days of being notified, or the grant is lost and you apply again.
• Irrevocable: Once made, the renunciation cannot be withdrawn under Spanish law.
• Home country: Spain does not check whether your home country accepts the renunciation.
• Registration: Spanish nationality takes effect only once it is entered in the Civil Registry, after the oath and renunciation.

The short version

Renouncing is a formal declaration you make out loud at the same appointment where you take the oath. You do it after you are notified that nationality has been granted and before you are registered. You cannot take it back under Spanish law, and Spain does not check whether your home country accepts it.

If your nationality is on the exempt list, you do not renounce. The checklist below tells you how to check this.

What you declare

At the appointment you do three things:

• Swear or promise loyalty to the King.
• Swear or promise obedience to the Constitution and the laws.
• Declare that you renounce your previous nationality.

You also ask to be entered in the Civil Registry. Do this at the same appointment.

If you are 14 or older and have legal capacity, you speak for yourself. If you are under 14, or lack legal capacity, a legal representative acts for you. You need your ID and the resolution granting nationality.

When you must do it

You have 180 days from the day you are notified of the grant. If the 180 days pass, the grant is lost and you must apply again from the start. Count from the notification date, not from the day you read it. Book early, because registry appointments can fill up.

The order is: notification, then oath and renunciation, then registration. Spanish nationality takes effect only once it is entered in the Civil Registry. Until then you are not Spanish, so do not give up your old passport or plan travel on the strength of the grant alone.

Where you do it

You appear before the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) for your home address in Spain. If you live abroad, you go to the Spanish consulate. Appointments are normally booked online through the Ministry of Justice system. Procedures vary by registry, so ask yours what to bring and how to book.

What the renunciation does not do

The declaration is valid for Spain. Spain does not check whether your home country recognises it. Your home country may still treat you as its national under its own laws, or it may not. Only your home country's rules decide that.

It cannot be withdrawn under Spanish law. If you want your old nationality back, you would have to use your home country's own process, if it has one.

So ask your home country's consulate what the renunciation means for you before the appointment. The decision and the "what if" below help you think this through.

Choosing between options

Should you check with your home country before you renounce?

• Ask your home country's consulate first: Your home nationality matters to you, for example for a passport, property or inheritance, and you want to know if you keep it.

• Go straight to the oath: You only need to meet the Spanish requirement and do not mind what your home country decides.

Spain does not check whether your home country accepts the renunciation, and you cannot take it back. If your home nationality matters to you, ask its consulate before the oath, inside your 180 days.

Timeline and deadlines

• You are notified that nationality has been granted: the day you receive the notice, which starts your 180 days

• Book an appointment at your Civil Registry or Spanish consulate: as soon as you are notified

• Swear loyalty to the King and obedience to the Constitution and laws, and declare that you renounce your previous nationality: within 180 days of being notified

• Ask for your nationality to be entered in the Civil Registry: at the same appearance as the oath

• Spanish nationality takes effect once the registry entry is made: after the oath and renunciation

• If the 180 days pass, the grant is lost and you apply again from the start: if you do not appear within 180 days

Checklist

• Check whether your nationality is on the exempt list, in which case you do not renounce.

• Write down the date you were notified of the grant and count 180 days from it.

• Bring your ID and the resolution granting nationality.

• Arrange for a legal representative to come with you if you are under 14 or lack legal capacity.

• Ask for your registration in the Civil Registry when you swear the oath and renounce.

What if your home country does not recognise your renunciation

If your home country ignores the renunciation

Spain treats you as Spanish either way. Spain does not check whether your home country accepts the renunciation. The declaration is valid under Spanish law whatever the other country does.

Your home country may still see you as its national. Plan on that basis:

• In Spain, enter and leave with your Spanish passport or ID.
• In your home country, you may be required to use its passport or ID to enter.
• Obligations may still apply there, such as military service, taxes on worldwide income or exit rules.
• Spanish consular help is limited. Spain generally cannot step in against a country that treats you as its own national.
• Tax depends on where you live, not on your nationality. Some countries do tax on nationality, so ask a tax adviser who knows your home country's rules.

Do not keep using your old passport. Spanish law has no general penalty for it. The risk is in your home country, which may treat use of its passport after renunciation as an offence or as misrepresentation. In Spain, it could be read as bad faith and could count against you if your naturalisation is ever reviewed. Talk to a lawyer before you use it, and check the current position with the Ministry of Justice.

If your home country strips your nationality

Some countries treat the renunciation as a loss of their nationality. In that case you normally lose:

• its passport,
• your civil rights there, and
• its consular protection.

This may be impossible to reverse. You become a foreigner there and may need a visa or residence permit just to enter.

Some countries offer a way back for former nationals, through a declaration of reacquisition, a residence-based route or a descent-based route. Colombia, Italy and some Latin American countries are examples. Find out which route your country offers, and whether you would qualify, before you renounce.

Check how your home country treats renunciation with its consulate or a lawyer before the oath, as outcomes differ by country.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I take the oath and make the renunciation?

You make the oath and renunciation at the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) of your home town in Spain.

Can I take back the renunciation once I have made it?

No, you cannot take back the renunciation once it is made, because Spanish law has no way to cancel it. If you want your former nationality back, you can only try under that country's own rules.

Will my home country accept my renunciation?

Spain does not check whether your home country accepts the renunciation. The declaration is valid for Spain either way. Your home country may still treat you as its national under its own laws, so ask its consulate what applies to you.

What do I need to bring to the oath, and what if my child is under 14?

You need your ID and the resolution granting nationality. A person must be 14 or older, with legal capacity, to appear alone. Someone under 14 or without capacity is represented by their legal representative.