Is a child born in Spain to a US citizen automatically granted residency? Would the mother too?

Last Updated on October 25, 2023 by Bruno Bianchi

Question

Is a child born in Spain to a US citizen automatically granted residency? If a woman from the US gives birth to a child in Spain, and the father has citizenship in a different EU country outside of Spain but has been living in Spain since elementary school and has permanent residency in Spain…

Is that child automatically granted residency or nationality (I’m thinking residency is more likely)? And is the mother able to then eventually obtain residency (arraigo social i think) through the child?

I’ve tried to do research but can’t find the same situation, most of what I’ve found talks about both parents being foreigners but doesn’t specify if that’s within or outside the EU.

Answers

These are the answers of some Facebook group members:

“No Spanish parents, then no. THe child would have to get fathers EU citizenship and your US citizenship. After citizenship is established then the father adds the child to residency not before.”

“Only if the child is registered as a resident and has lived in Spain for a year. Doesn’t matter where parents were born. Now as for mother she can get residency based on the father’s residency.”

“Only stateless children born in Spain of foreign parents are given Spanish citizenship is my understanding. Most of the Americas give citizenship by birthright, but in Europe and the East they mostly don’t, and its just passed down from a parent.”

Bruno Bianchi CEO & Spain Immigration Expert

Bruno Bianchi is the founder and CEO of Spainguru, Spain's largest expat immigration community with 150,000+ members. Since 2014 he has helped thousands of people relocate to Spain through expert guides, webinars and vetted professional services covering visas, residency, taxes and life in Spain.

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