Oath of Nationality before a Notary in Barcelona

The Oath of Nationality before a Notary is the final procedure that a foreign person must carry out to obtain and properly process Spanish nationality.

The Oath of nationality in Barcelona before a Notary is a very simple and easy act in which the interested party swears or promises before the Notary of their choice to be loyal to the King, obey the Spanish constitution, and respect the other laws of the Spanish legal system.

In cases where there is no dual nationality agreement with Spain, the interested party must also renounce their original nationality in order to acquire Spanish nationality. Despite this renunciation, it will be the legislation of the country of origin that ultimately determines whether the official documents of that country are effectively withdrawn. The countries whose citizens can obtain dual nationality are the Ibero-American countries whose languages are Spanish or Portuguese, as well as Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, or Portugal.

After these steps, the oath will be submitted to the Civil Registry and the birth certificate will be obtained, which will allow obtaining the Spanish DNI and Passport.

The Notary is a legal professional with extensive training and considerable experience. Among their functions is to advise and counsel impartially and free of charge.

Applying complete impartiality, the Notary's mission is to inform all parties involved equally, providing greater assistance to the party that needs it most. Whatever the notarial procedure or act being considered, it is advisable that the interested party, if any doubts arise, does not hesitate to make the necessary enquiries, both on the day of signing and in the days prior.

It is important to know that for the nationality oath before a Notary, one must appear before a Notary competent in the domicile of the applicant as stated in the grant resolution. If the domicile has changed, the competent Notary will be the one of the last domicile, provided the change was made before the date of the Spanish nationality resolution. It is important to prove this fact with the certificate of registration.

The oath-taking ceremony within the notary's office is resolved in a simple and formal act where the foreign citizen answers yes or no to questions about loyalty to the King and obedience to the Constitution.

Taking an oath before a Notary allows you to obtain advantages such as greater speed and a faster procedure. Bear in mind that when you request an appointment for a nationality oath before a Notary, you will obtain greater flexibility in schedules and programming according to your availability. You will always be offered personalised attention during the intervention and legal guarantee, which is not usually the case at the Civil Registry.

The first step will be to obtain the Spanish nationality concession. For this, the following requirements are requested:

• Periods of legal residence: In general, 10 years of continuous residence are established as the residence period. This can be reduced to 5 years in the case of refugees, to 2 years with countries that have a dual nationality agreement, or to one year if the applicant:
  • was born on Spanish territory
  • did not exercise by option their right to acquire nationality
  • has been under the guardianship, custody or foster care of a Spanish citizen or institution for two consecutive years
  • has been married to a Spanish man or woman for one year
  • is a widower or widow of a Spanish person
  • or was born outside Spain as the child of a Spanish father or mother
• Good civic conduct
• Sufficient degree of integration. For this, and since 2015, it is accredited by passing two tests: the first certifies knowledge of the Spanish language at level A2 or higher (DELE exam) and the second assesses knowledge of the Spanish Constitution, and the social and cultural reality of the country (CCSE exam)
• Having no criminal record
• Valid documentation

Once the certificate has been obtained and after choosing the notary office for the oath of Spanish nationality, an appointment will be requested within the legally established deadlines. It will be essential to prepare all the necessary documentation for the correct processing.

In accordance with current legislation, the documentation to be submitted to a notary for nationality oath is as follows:

• Resolution granting Spanish Nationality containing the personal data of the applicant and the CSV to verify the authenticity of the grant. From the moment the grant resolution is received, there are 180 days to process the nationality oath before a Notary.
• Original birth certificate with apostille: you must obtain your original birth certificate from the Civil Registry of your country, which must be apostilled in the country of origin.
• Certificate of no criminal record with apostille.
• Valid residence card.
• Updated padrón (municipal register) dated less than 90 days: you can obtain it at your Town Hall or authorised offices. Check if the data is correct via Cl@ve on the National Statistics Institute portal.
• Declaration of data form. This is an official document that allows registration in the Civil Registry and can be obtained on the Ministry of Justice website. It can also be provided by the notary’s office. This document is known as Annex 1, which we can supply from the notary’s office.
• If you have only one paternal surname, since it is necessary in Spain that one of the surnames is the mother’s maiden name of the person taking the nationality oath, documents proving which surname this is are required. Usually, the mother’s birth certificate or the parents’ marriage certificate duly apostilled and/or translated, if applicable, are presented.

All documents presented at the Oath must be the same documents previously submitted when processing the file.

Once the applicant has all the necessary documentation, they must attend the appointment with the Notary for nationality oath on the scheduled day and swear or promise Spanish Nationality.

After this step, only the corresponding deed needs to be sent to the civil registry. Do not hesitate to contact us to resolve any doubts or to request your appointment at JLA Notarios.