Ancestry or Residence: Strategies for accessing Spanish citizenship, a "netnography" approach
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Department of Geography
Ancestry or Residence: Strategies for
accessing Spanish citizenship, a
“netnography” approach
Pablo Mateos – University College London, UK
Jorge Durand – University of Guadalajara, Mexico
p.mateos@ucl.ac.uk
www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/pablo
www.pablomateos.com
Contents 1. Background & justification 2. Methodology - Netnography 3. Analysis and results 4. Conclusion
Growing interest in Citizenship studies • Citizenship is one of the two key ingredients of the Nation State (territory + people) • Different approaches: – Citizenship as belonging / identity – Citizenship as a bundle of rights and obligations – Citizenship as nationality (passport) • Transnationalism literature interested in dual/multiple nationality (States within States) – Absent citizens / Citizenship a la carte (Fitzgerald) – Extraterritorial Political Rights (Escobar)
Acquisition of nationality & migration
• Recent interest in facilitating ‘naturalisation’ of immigrants
in EU as an integration policy (residents focus)
• Post-1992 ‘Maastricht treaty effect’- 2 ingredients:
– EU citizenship = Any EU nationality
– Full mobility for EU nationals
• Increasing benefits of an EU nationality little studied
– Entry (esp. from ‘tourist visa countries’)
– Permanence (bypasses migrant residency legislation in 30
countries)
– Intra-EU Mobility (Schengen effect, access to large labour market)
– Exit (multiple return, access to welfare)
• But… very different policies of nationality acquisition
across Europe (Baubock, 2006; 2 volume IMISCOE book)
Ancestry: a passport to Europe
• Adverts in a magazine for the Portuguese speaking community in London
• German Citizenship - Don’t loose your
citizenship because of lack of information
• Consulting and Geneaology
• Complete advice and Genealogical
research
• Search of your ancestors in Italy
• Offices in Italy – Offices in Brazil
Ethnic preferences in EU nationality laws exploited
by migrants
• Some testimonies from our study
… it is now common to see Madrid full of Latin Americans who are
grandchildren of Italians, living legally in Spain, while the grandchildren
of Spaniards are in many cases living illegally here..
(Ricardo, Brasilian)
Why can a great-great-grandchild of an Italian live legally in Spain and
a grandchild of Spaniards cannot? It is very unfair that if one person
has only one Italian great-great-grandparent can obtain the Italian
nationality and live in Spain without problems, while I have four
Spanish grandparents and I’m just a foreigner in Spain.
(Laura, Argentinean)
Process of acquisition of EU citizenships • General lack of knowledge on nationality acquisition by birth and by non-residents • Stark variation in Jus Soli & Jus Sanginis provisions across Europe • Preference for ‘ethnic populations’: Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, etc • 60 million people world-wide have the right to claim Italian ancestry (Guido Tintori) • De and Re-ethnicisation of citizenship (Joppke)
Growth of naturalisation through residence
Nationality concessions (left) vs. permanent residents of foreign nationality (right)
90,000
(1980-2008) 5,000,000
80,000 Total naturalised = 523,106 people 4,500,000
4,000,000
Población extranjera con permiso de residencia
70,000
Concesiones de nacionalidad española
3,500,000
60,000
3,000,000
50,000
2,500,000
40,000
2,000,000
30,000
1,500,000
20,000
1,000,000
10,000 500,000
0 0
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
00
01
02
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04
05
06
07
08
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Concesión de nacionalidad espanola por residencia Extranjeros con permiso de residencia
•Source:: Concesiones de nacionalidad, compiladas de Clarke et al (1998), y Anuario Estadístico de Inmigración (varios años), ver (Ministerio de
Trabajo e Inmigración, 2009)Spanish nationality rules
• Jus sanginis in general – country of emigration
• Transmission by ancestry
– only from parents with Spanish nationality at the time when the
person was born (not grandparents)
– recent changes in legislation have removed age limitation to
register births from Spanish citizens abroad
• Acquisition by residence
– By marriage
• 1 year of marriage and legal residence in Spain
– By residence
• 2 years of legal residence for Ibero-American countries, Philipines,
Ecuatorial Guinea and Sephardic Jews
• 10 years for all other countries
• Period of residence under a full residence permit (excludes students,
temporary permits, etc)% tipo nacionalidad
S
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
O uiz
Ve a ac e
ne nía
zu
Fr ela
Ar a n
ge ci a
n
Es M tina
éx
ta i
do C c o
R G s u
U ba
ep uin n
ú b e a r ido U
lic E ug s
a cu u a
D a y
R om to
es in ria
to ic l
de Bé ana
Nacionalidad Española
Pa lg
ís ic
es C a
R de ile h
es
to F A
de ilip sia
Pa Al i n
ís em a s
es an
de ia
Am Per
ér ú
ic
R a
us
R ia
C Bra
Otra nacionaldiad Europea
es ol s
to om il
de bi
Pa
•Source: Padrón de Población del Instituto Nacional de Estadística (2009)
ís In a
es Ar dia
de ge
A lia
Pa Po fric
Pais de Nacimiento
ís rtu a
R es g
es M Ba al
to a rru jos
de ec
Pa E cu os
ís ad
es o
Cualquier otra nacionalidad
de C h r
Eu ina
ro
R p
ei I t a
no a
U lia
Pa nid
ki o
U stán
cr
Se ani
a
Pa neg
ra al
gu
Bo ay
Po livia
lo
N nia
ig
Bu eri
a
Nacionalidad del pais de nacimiento
R lgar
um ia
Nationality & COB of foreign born residents (2008)
an
iaNationality & COB of foreign born residents
Nationality
Total Country
Country of Birth
Oceanía
People
6,773
of birth Spanish Other-EU
30% 56% 13%
Other
1%
• The nationality of 24% of
Venezuela 151,008 37% 57% 5% 0% foreign born residents is
Argentina 293,227 47% 34% 19% 0%
México 45,156 53% 44% 3% 1% not that of their country of
Cuba 99,783 54% 44% 2% 1%
Estados Unidos 35,169 55% 39% 6% 1% birth
Uruguay 88,918 55% 31% 14% 0%
Guinea Ecuatorial
República Dominicana
22,695
128,382
61%
64%
38%
33%
0%
1%
1%
1%
• 1.1 million of them (20%)
Chile
Resto de Países de Asia
67,827
52,458
65%
66%
28%
24%
6%
8%
1%
2%
have Spanish nationality
Filipinas 36,151 67% 32% 1% 0%
Perú 186,060 72% 26% 2% 0% • Furthermore, there are
Resto de Países de América 69,794 72% 24% 3% 1%
Rusia 57,274 77% 17% 3% 3%
an additional 0.9 million
Brasil
Colombia
152,239
354,869
80%
81%
16%
18%
4%
1%
0%
1%
foreign born with Spanish
India
Argelia
32,985
58,653
83%
83%
13%
10%
3%
6%
0%
1%
nationality and residence
Resto de Países de Africa
Marruecos
127,840
732,006
83%
84%
10%
15%
6%
1%
1%
0%
abroad
Ecuador 471,425 85% 15% 0% 0%
China 144,585 88% 11% 0% 0% • Total of 2 million of
Pakistán 54,306 95% 4% 1% 0%
Ucrania 79,615 95% 4% 0% 1% potential “new Spaniards”
Senegal 54,763 96% 3% 1% 0%
Paraguay 81,589 96% 3% 1% 0%
Bolivia 226,033 97% 3% 0% 0%
Nigeria 37,451 97% 2% 1% 0%
Total 3,949,034 76% 20% 3% 0%Research objectives – Spanish nationality • To explore examples of different strategies adopted to access an EU nationality – Spain • To map out the hierarchy of countries of origin according to the residence or ancestry routes • To gain understanding of the underlying reasons of acquisition of an EU nationality • To distil lessons for future work in measuring acquisition of nationality beyond the naturalisation route • To test an innovative research methodology
Contents
1. Background & justification
2. Methodology - Netnography
3. Analysis and results
4. Conclusion
Netnography – Ethnographic work based on material derived from
personal experiences or life histories published on the internet
Kozinets RV. (2006). Netnography. In The Sage Dictionary of Social
Research, Jupp V (eds.), Sage: London: 193-119Discussion group characteristics
• “Registro Civil” disscusion group
http://groups.msn.com/registrocivil
• Key player in facilitating migration information
through a “self-help approach”
• Run from May-2001 to Feb-2009
• Messages fully visible to the public
– 54,920 messages downloaded in May 2008
– 6,813 people (unique user names)
– 2,860 people sent messages to the “Nationality forum”
and this is the group studied hereVariables captured
Variable Pre-set responses
• Captured for 2,860 people
1 ID Person ID number
2 Role in the group Participant / Leader • 41.904 messages processed
3 Country of origin Country • at least 16.856 messages on
4 Spanish Ancestors? Y/N
5 Seeks nationality Y/N nationality read
6 Year nationality requested Year
7 Nationality approved? Y/N
8 Year nationality acquired Year
9 Method of access to residence / spouse/ parents/
nationality grandparents/ off-spring/
10 Resides in Spain? Y/N
11 Year of arrival to Spain Year
12 Length of residence in < 1 year / 1-2 years / 3-5
Spain years / > 5 years
13 Signs of irregular Y/N/ probably
experience?
14 Undocumented/irregular Y/N
migrant?
15 Returned to country of Y/N/ intermitent / pretends
origin?
16 Other observations Free textData capture screen
Contents 1. Background & justification 2. Methodology - Netnography 3. Analysis and results 4. Conclusion
Countries of origin & Spanish ancestry
Marruecos
Estados Unidos
Ecuador
República Dominicana
Brasil
Chile
España
Uruguay
Perú
Colombia
México
Cuba
Venezuela
Argentina
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
Personas
Con ancestros Españoles Sin ancestros Españoles Información de ancestros no disponibleAncestry and residence by country of origin
100%
Marruecos
W
Colombia
W
Ecuador
W
Portugal
W
75% Panamá
W
% Vive en España
Perú Paraguay
República Dominicana W
W W Cuba
W W Venezuela
AustriaW
W W W W Costa Rica
50% Holanda
FranciaMéxicoW W Argentina
W
Brasil W W
Chile Uruguay
Italia W
W Estados Unidos
W W
25%
Guatemala Sahara Occidental
0%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
% Ancestros EspañolesTypology of countries (ancestry vs. spouse)
Total
People %Spouse & Predominant
Country of origin (1) %Ancestry (2) Children (3) Ratio Method
Ucrania 5 0% 80% 1
Rusia 6 0% 33% 1
Marruecos 10 10% 60% 0.71
Spouse &
República Dominicana 37 16% 65% 0.6
Children
Perú 53 17% 49% 0.49
Colombia 61 16% 38% 0.39
Ecuador 23 22% 43% 0.33
Panamá 8 25% 38% 0.2
Paraguay 8 25% 38% 0.2
Portugal 5 20% 20% 0 Neutral
México 80 39% 25% -0.22
Venezuela 165 53% 28% -0.3
Estados Unidos 16 50% 25% -0.33
Cuba 78 45% 18% -0.43
Argentina 469 39% 15% -0.44
Brasil 36 47% 14% -0.55 Ancestry
Uruguay 63 43% 11% -0.59
Chile 41 49% 12% -0.6
Sahara Occidental 6 33% 0% -1Clear “ancestry-residence gradient”
• Driven by:
– history of Spanish emigration in 20th century
– preferences in Spanish nationality law for
Iberoamericans
– history of immigration flows (Morocco)
– immigrant sex ratios / rates of intermarriageLarge backlog of nationality applications and registrations • Waiting time of nationality requests: – Mean: 1 year 9 months – Mode: 2 years • Additional waiting time to register the new nationality and get passport: 1-2 years • Waiting times increase irregular situation after residence permits expire. • Average time since first arrival to Spanish passport: 4-6 years (small sample)
Irregularity is a transition between statuses
• A large number of cases show people entitled to Spanish
nationality who are irregularly in Spain or in a legal limbo
because of the lengthy administrative process
My case is as follows, I got Spanish nationality (great!) after this I requested the
nationality for my two daughters but after a year and a half I have no news at all. […]
One of them is now 18 and her residence permit has expired for several months […] I
am desperate and feel powerless because my phone calls and enquiries are going
nowhere. My daughters have been living in Spain for 7 years and one of them needs to
work but can’t. The nationality will be the solution but we don’t know nothing about how
the process is going or how much longer we have to wait. If any one can answer my
questions please help.
(Marisa, Ecuatorian)Transnational lives or insurance policy?
• 96 people declare future residence intentions.
• 58% to stay in Spain
• 19% already returned to country of origin
• 8% pretends to return
• 15% come and go between the two countries
Hi, I am Colombian and I have Spanish nationality with DNI and everything. I now live in Colombia
and my question is , can I loose my [Spanish] nationality for living in Colombia and not in Spain?. If
so, what do I need to do not to loose it?. If I return to Spain will I have problems for not having had
National Insurance contributions, or as a Spaniards I won’t have any problems?
(Claudio; Colombian, return migrant living in Colombia)
Hello, (…) my mother is Peruvian 62 years old and wants to request the Spanish nationality, she
has been in Spain for 9 years and has made National Insurance contributions for 4 years. I would
like to know if she gets Spanish nationality will she receive a pension or not?
(Rosario; Peruvia, more than 10 years living in Spain)Nationality is passed on to facilitate further migration
• Interesting case of nationality transmission through
ancestry to regularise migration situation in Spain.
I am Cuban and I am as irregular in Spain. My mother is in Cuba and has just obtained
the Spanish nationality because her father was Spanish born in Spain, that is, she was
Spaniard ‘by birth’. I have requested the residence permit for being the daughter of a
Spaniard by they have rejected it, what can I do?
• A year later, after having acquired Spanish nationality
she is interested in passing it on to her husband:
Hello: I am Cuban and I have Spanish nationality. My husband is in an irregular
situation. I would like to know if he has the right to regularise his situation in Spain if we
have been married (in Cuba) for 8 years. Regards
(Gladys; Cuban, resident in Spain)Strategies: Summary
• Clear strategies followed to obtain Spanish
nationality
– Residence:
• a) regularise situation (amnesty, children, spouse)
• b) move away from student residence permit (work contract)
• c) marriage to a Spanish or EU national
• Hierarchy of countries by time of residence requirements
– Ancestry:
• Cascading process from the off-spring of a Spanish ancestor.
• Key to find historical documents and know your way around the
complex administrative system, both in Spain and country of
origin (consulates providing wrong information)Some more illustrations of these strategies
¿Anybody knows of an solicitor in Alicante? I need to get my grandfather’s birth
certificate… I have been living in Spain for 5 years, but I am now back in Argentina. I
would like to get Spanish citizenship to transmit it to my children.
(Cristina, Argentinean)
[…] My grandfather was Spanish and we have just managed to get my father’s
nationality recognised post-mortem by the Spanish consulate in Buenos Aires. This
nationality thing is very urgent to me, so that I can pass it to my partner. My siblings live
in Argentina but I have been living in Spain for three years but as a student and this time
doesn’t count at all.[…]
(Ernesto; Argentinean, 3 years living in Spain)Conclusions (I)
• Interest in accessing Spanish nationality is two-fold:
– a migration strategy
– an ‘insurance policy’
• Strong interest in transmission to children and partner
• Clear hierarchy of countries: ancestry-residence gradient
• Ancestry route is more prominent
• Fuzzy boundaries
– Irregularity / nationality
– Residence / absent
– Nationalities / citizenship-denizenship
• Traditional survey work in countries of origin required
(hope to attract EU funding)Conclusions (II) • Netnography method (+) cheap to collect & no transcription! (+) honest & detailed responses (in general) (-) incomplete life histories (-) ad hoc research strategy • Promising methodological developments in the age of volunteered information and the social web – Text mining, blog mining, Facebook API
Acknowledgements / publications
• Thanks to:
– Dr. Isabel Villaseñor (UNAM, Mexico)
– Muhammad Adnan (UCL, UK)
• Forthcoming paper:
– Migraciones Internacionales
Bilingual journal published by Colegio de la Frontera
Norte, Tijuana, MexicoYou can also read
