Currently due to the great geographic mobility many cases of uncertainty have arisen as to the rights of people when applying for a nationality and the corresponding passport.

It is very interesting to know, for example, that if you are born in a different country of one of your parents you can access dual nationality depending on the existing agreement between the countries concerned. The same can happen if you wish to acquire the nationality of your husband or wife or of a country that you are residing in. But you should always keep in mind that in applying for a passport, in all cases you will be required the nationality of that country.

The concurrence of two nationalities in one person results in the existence of a dual legal link. The person with dual citizenship is, at once, a national of both countries, enjoying full legal status of nationals of both States.

However, this does not mean that these people can be simultaneously subject to the laws of both countries, but rather on the contrary, one can “give preference to one of the nationalities” as to have a reference point regarding the citizen-state relations.

To that end, most of the treaties regarding dual nationality take the persons primary domicile or residence as a point of reference so that dual citizens are not constantly subject to both laws. This applies to issues such as the granting of passports, diplomatic protection, and exercise of civil and political rights, labour rights, social security and military obligations.

Unfortunately there are a minority of countries where dual citizenship is not allowed, therefore acquiring a new nationality will lead to automatically losing the prior.

Given the huge difference that can exist depending on the countries involved and the personal circumstances of each, our specialists in Daemi Zabalza & Asociados can advise you and lay out your best options and the steps to follow.