Are you interested in Immigration Law? Have you just discovered that there is an exceptional way to acquire Spanish nationality? Are you unable to understand how this mechanism works?
As the illustrious writer Mario Vargas Llosa said: “Never let yourself be trampled on by anyone, son. This council is the only inheritance you will have.” And you will say, what does this motivational phrase from the great Mario Vargas Llosa have to do with an article about the nature letter.
Well, let me tell you that this writer of Peruvian origin and Nobel Prize winner in Literature (in 2010), received, in 1993, Spanish nationality through this exceptional means of the nature card. The phrase is simply a reminder to you, maybe you could use a little self-love.
What is a nature card?
The letter of nature is a modality for acquiring Spanish nationality that allows you to apply for it through an exceptional means. The regulation of this resource is found in article 21 of our beloved Civil Code.
The key to this letter of nature is that the exceptional circumstances that must be taken into account for the granting of Spanish nationality must be correctly documented. Any foreign person, as long as they duly prove the exceptional circumstances that we have just mentioned, can apply for Spanish nationality.
Continuing with the example of Vargas Llosa, it was through Royal Decree 790/1992, of June 26, granting Spanish nationality by letter of nature to Mr. Álvaro Mario Vargas Llosa, where this fact was officially published.
The exceptional circumstances that allowed the request to grant Spanish nationality to this writer to be accepted were fundamentally due to his defeat in the Peruvian elections in 1990. His rival, Alberto Fujimori, threatened to withdraw his Peruvian citizenship (which would make him a stateless person, that is, a person who does not have any nationality) and, at the author’s request, the Government of Spain at that time, decided to accept and grant him Spanish citizenship.
How can you request the nature letter?
Continuing with the provisions of article 21.3 of the Civil Code, we must know that those who are over 18 years of age or who are emancipated can apply for Spanish nationality on their own through this natural mechanism. If you are a person over 14 years of age or disabled, you must be assisted by your legal representative.
Regarding the place of submission of the application for a letter of nature, it must be made to the General Subdirectorate of Nationality and Civil Status, General Directorate of Registries and Notaries, in the city of Madrid. However, there are other organizations to which you can submit this request such as the Civil Registry of the Ministry of Justice, the Central Office of Information and Public Service of the same ministry, etc.
In principle, there is no stipulated time for processing this procedure. It will be the volume of requests and the workload of the Council of Ministers (we all know how this story ends; sooner rather than later). The important thing is to make sure you provide all the necessary documentation and follow up on the procedure. There is also the option that the interested person can do so at the Spanish consulate of the country in which he or she is located at that time (if the person resides abroad).
What documentation should I present to request a letter of nature?
Submitting the application for the letter of nature requires, in turn, the presentation of a series of documents that prove that the exceptional circumstances exist that allow the granting of nationality through this exceptional mechanism of letter of nature:
- Request for the letter of nature, including the data of the person requesting it: name, identity document, place and date of birth, the nationality held at the time of making the request. The application form can be found on the Ministry of Justice’s website. Likewise, an email address must be provided for notification purposes.
- If the applicant is married, he must also provide the information of his spouse, as well as his children, if he has them. In addition, you must provide the marriage certificate, which must be legalized, apostilled and translated if the case requires it.
- Documentation that proves the exceptional circumstances on which the claim of the person who wishes to apply for and acquire Spanish nationality through the letter of nature is based.
- Birth certificate legalized, apostilled and translated by a sworn translator.
- Certificate of not having a criminal record in Spain or in the country of origin, the latter must be duly apostilled, legalized and translated (if necessary).
- In certain cases, the granting of Spanish nationality may result in the applicant renouncing his or her nationality of origin, although this will not apply to those people who are natives of Ibero-American countries, in addition to Andorra, the Philippines, Portugal and Equatorial Guinea, and may retain both nationalities.
Exceptionality of the nature letter
The main characteristic that defines this nature letter mechanism is, precisely, its exceptional nature. This means that, while the rest of the ways to apply for Spanish nationality must follow the administrative route, the nature letter represents an exception procedure or mechanism, different from the general rule.
Therefore, this procedure is carried out in special and specific cases, such as an elite athlete who moves from his or her country of origin, resides in Spain and is part of an Olympic team, the aforementioned case of Vargas Llosa, that is, artists or scientists in similar circumstances, victims of terrorist attacks or the descendants of Sephardic Jews.
Real examples of what has been mentioned so far would be the procedure for granting Spanish nationality to those people who are descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1942, by virtue of the Law on the Granting of Spanish Nationality. to the Sephardim Originating from Spain (in force between the years 2015 to 2020) or the granting of Spanish nationality to Johanna Carolina Chávez Aragón, an Ecuadorian citizen and daughter of a victim of the attacks that occurred on March 11, 2004 in the city of Madrid (in addition to 16 more people in relation to this event), in addition to a Turk injured in the jihadist attack on August 17, 2017 in Barcelona.
Most famous examples of obtaining Spanish nationality by letter of nature
Verifying the effectiveness and practicality of this mechanism can only be done correctly through practical examples of famous people (for being recognized and for serving as a connection to the subject). Observing that this is a current mechanism and that it has applicability in practice is what allows us to go from theory to practice and to understand and learn about a subject.
For example, what do you think if I told you that Ansu Fati is, in fact, from Guinea Bissau and that, due to his great sporting performance, in addition to his professional achievements with F.C. Barcelona acquired Spanish nationality through this nature letter mechanism (I know, I’m from Barça, the “professional achievements” thing is quite relative).
Another example would be Maya María Concepción Ruiz-Picasso Walter, at first you may think that you have no idea who she is (although the last name gives a small clue). And yes, she is, indeed, the daughter of the very famous painter Pablo Picasso (born in the French town of Boulogne-Billancour and now deceased).
Recently, we have the less recognized case of Tatiana Pigareva, a fantastic writer of Russian origin who was granted Spanish nationality in 2015. This example serves as an illustration of the current exceptional mechanism of the nature letter (as well as current example, the one mentioned above by Ansu Fati).
Conclusion
First of all, I would like to congratulate you for making it this far. In this article we have delved into the figure of the nature card. The request to acquire Spanish nationality through the letter of nature procedure constitutes an exceptional process, unlike what normally happens in the matter, and which requires meticulous documentation and management, duly considered as the appropriate way for a specific individual can opt for Spanish nationality.
Given that each situation is unique, the aforementioned procedure is characterized by its uniqueness in each instance and taking into account specific circumstances, which is why it is advisable to seek specialized advice from professionals in the field in relation to the conduct of applications for Spanish nationality through the nature letter modality.
Through numerous practical examples from Mario Vargas Llosa, to the descendants of Sephardic Jews, the “great” Ansu Fati and Picasso’s daughter, we have seen the practicality and timeliness of this exceptional mechanism for applying for Spanish nationality.