Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
As the spouse of a Spanish citizen I have been granted temporary residency. I have considered applying for citizenship. I currently have a U.S. passport. Would I have to renounce my U.S. citizenship in order to apply? I realize that this may be a thorny legal issue, pero me gustaria saber cual ha sido la experiencia de otras personas de origen estadounidense.
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
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Start the Moving to Spain Hub →“You have to say you renounce it, but USA will still consider you a citizen.”
“No you will not have to do so regardless of the fact you will sign in Spanish that you ARE. Costs $$$$ to rid oneself of US citizenship. Nothing else you do or say affects it”
“I’m in the same situation. The law as written in the US says that when you swear an oath of allegiance to a foreign state, you automatically renounce your American citizenship. Moreover, Spain requires you to do it. And, although it has not been used to take away citizenship from anyone in a long, long time, I simply don’t trust that future administrations might take this step. I don’t want to risk it, especially considering that there is no practical advantage here.”
“To officially renounce your US citizenship, you’d have to swear an oath and pay something like $2,000. Pretty sure they won’t consider you officially renounced until you take these steps and there’s no way they’ll make you do it.”
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Explore Cities →“You just have to say you renounce to Spanish authorities. But you will still be a US citizen and you will not lose it, unless you go out of your way to formally renounce it with US authorities. I think its very smart to get an EU passport, opens many doors. Best of luck.”
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