Will it be easier for the Argentinians?

Thousands of foreigners with dual citizenship – that of their country of origin and that of Spain – are happy about the change Immigration code This is what the government of Pedro Sánchez announced a few days ago and which will come into force from May next year: the possibility of allowing legal residence in Spain to their partners and their children over 21 years of age who do not have dual residence, without that it becomes a nightmare nationality.

“A residence permit has been created for relatives of Spanish citizens, extending the age of children to 26 years (previously 21) and taking into account realities previously left out, such as the possibility of not including couples.” officially registered, which has an analogous emotional can prove the relationship,” they explain from the Ministry of Integration, Social Security and Migration of Spain.

“The majority of people who will benefit from this measure are people who have acquired Spanish citizenship in recent years and can bring their family with them,” they add.

Last year, 240,208 foreigners residing in Spain received Spanish citizenshipa figure that represents 32.3 percent more regarding immigrants already resident in a Spanish city who obtained dual citizenship in 2022.

Among those who became Spanish citizens last year were 7,208 Argentines, according to data from Spain's National Institute of Statistics.

Although many of those who have Argentine and Spanish nationality did so in one of the Spanish Foreign Ministry's consulates in our country: in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza or Bahía Blanca.

In 2022, the Democratic Memory Law expanded the possibilities to apply for Spanish citizenship for thousands of Argentines “whose father or mother, grandfather or grandmother were originally Spanish.”

Known as “grandchildren’s right”This rule allows more descendants of Spaniards who fled the civil war or were persecuted by Francisco Franco's dictatorship to obtain their ancestors' nationality.

The law provided for a period of two years, until October 2024, but the PSOE-Sumar coalition government has just done so extend for another year.

Argentina is the country that submitted the most applications in the Spanish consulates abroad.

By July, more than 105,000 descendants of Spaniards had submitted their papers in the Buenos Aires consulate alone.

“We have the idea that there are a lot of Argentines in Spain and that almost all of them have Spanish papers, and that is not the case,” he clarifies Clarion Pablo Vignati, an Argentinian who has lived in Valencia for more than a decade and, in addition to leading a group of expatriates on Facebook and Casa Argentina in Valencia José de San Martín, runs an immigration and migration procedures consulting firm.

“Around 35 percent of all Argentines in Spain are undocumented or have come under the umbrella of a study and stayed,” says Vignati.

According to him, “the important changes are aimed primarily at people who have already been here in Spain and have not been able to find a way to legalize themselves.” “This will affect many Argentines.”

Now, more than 30,000 Argentines living illegally in Spain Thanks to this reform they were able to regulate their situation.

The figure comes from a study by the Economic and Social Research Center Funcas, based on data from the National Statistics Institute of Spain, the Continuous Population Statistics, the Permanent Observatory for Immigration and the European Union statistics agency Eurostat, among other sources.

“We are the only country in the European Union that has such an important figure as roots, which we now use in five situations to give answers to every migrant and of course this is an absolutely necessary discourse in the European Union,” emphasized he the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, when she announced the changes to immigration regulations.

With this initiative, Spain wants to legalize around 900,000 immigrants over the next three years who are now working, studying or looking for ways to survive on Spanish soil, even without documents.

“The fundamental change of this reform is that it reduces from three to two the number of years you have to be in the country to apply for a residence permit based on origin,” he explains Clarion María Miyar, Director of Social Studies at Funcas.

“This is positive for people who find themselves in an irregular situation because they can decide to have roots a year earlier, which is not a small thing.” However, it is also not a good idea to entrust the management of residential complexes in whole or in part to the roots says Miyar.

“Because the Spanish system suggests: 'Come, stay a few years and in a few years we will legalize you.' It's like having to go through a rite of passage. It is assumed that people remain in the country irregularly for two or three years, are in a precarious situation and do not have a work contract or access to public health care,” he clarifies.

Sebastián Gregori's father applied for Spanish citizenship for all of his children born in Argentina when they were young. Sebastián graduated from UCA with a degree in Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering and settled in Madrid a few years ago.

“I got a job in Argentina and came to Spain a week later, stayed with a friend and within a month my Spanish ID was issued,” he says Clarion.

“But my husband is Venezuelan and it cost us a lot,” she adds.

“Before he came, I started checking the requirements on the immigration website, but they are difficult to understand. The information is duplicated. “One place tells you one thing, somewhere else they tell you another,” says Sebastián.

“I submitted everything according to the required criteria and documentation and it supposedly took three months to respond, but the notifications never arrived. When we found out about it, they canceled the operation,” he recalls.

“I don't like paying the toll of hiring a lawyer or a manager, but the truth is that it was the most advisable thing I could have done,” he admits.

“Last week they gave us the confirmation and in December my husband has to appear to be fingerprinted and give him the physical document,” she says happily.

And he warns: “I got married in Argentina, but it is directly advisable to get married in Spain.” I am registering the marriage here because my marriage certificate is not valid for the Spanish government, even though it was certified by The Hague (the Apostille, which gives documents international validity). It is advisable to have the marriage registered here. And this is another complicated issue that will take at least six months. Everything is long and slow.”

According to the change, which will come into force within six months, it will be easier for a citizen who has Spanish citizenship to prove the sentimental connection with another person who, despite being a foreigner, is living with him legally in Spain could stop you or your partner.

“The possibility of requesting temporary stays for family members of Spanish citizens will be opened. It used to be called “family roots.” Now it is a temporary residence,” clarifies Pablo Vignati.

“But it won’t be that easy. A common law marriage concluded in Argentina today is not valid, even if the cohabitation has existed for years, since it is a simple affidavit. “It would have to have been registered or registered more than a year ago and would then be valid,” he emphasizes.

María Miyar rises from Funcas Doubts about the possibility of making the relationship review more flexible to obtain a legal residence permit in Spain: “I don't know how they can ask for proof that they are a couple. That leaves the door open to bring another person, a friend.”

The Director of Social Studies at Funcas reviews Clarion the growth of immigration in Spain: “At the beginning of this century it was something very rapid. In ten years it has increased from 2 to 12 percent – ​​Miyar clarifies. “Now we’re at 18.5 percent of the foreign-born population.”

As an example, he cites how many foreigners came to Spain two years ago: “In 2022, more than a million people came. Of course, most of them did not arrive with a residence permit. The number of irregularities increases among these people. And they still do not have the right to apply for regularization based on roots. “This bag of irregularities is only growing.”

“Immigration helps expand the workforce, but it is usually immigration that fills low-skilled, low-paying jobs,” he points out. This is not usually the case with Argentinians as they are skilled immigrants and integrate very well. But in general, although immigration contributes to the volume of the country, it does not contribute to the growth of gross domestic product per capita. “It’s a population growth model that doesn’t stimulate productivity.”