Yes. It is possible for a U.S. citizen to acquire Spanish citizenship without automatically losing U.S. citizenship.
The important distinction is that Spain may require you to declare that you renounce your previous nationality when acquiring Spanish citizenship through certain routes. That declaration does not, by itself, automatically terminate your U.S. citizenship under U.S. law.
If you are considering Spanish dual citizenship, understanding how the two legal systems interact is essential before completing the final stages of the Spanish process.
Declaration depends on route
Acquiring another citizenship
How you acquired it matters
Yes, but Spain and the United States approach the issue differently.
Article 23 of the Spanish Civil Code establishes several requirements for acquiring Spanish citizenship by option, residence or discretionary naturalization. For applicants over 14 who can make the declaration themselves, these include:
The declaration of renunciation does not apply to nationals of the countries covered by Article 24.1 of the Civil Code —Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal— or to Sephardic Jews originating from Spain.
The United States is not included in that exemption.
However, this does not mean that signing the Spanish declaration automatically causes a U.S. citizen to lose U.S. citizenship. The United States applies its own rules — the U.S. Department of State explains that dual nationality is possible and that U.S. citizens may hold another nationality at the same time. This is why dual citizenship USA Spain cases require both legal systems to be considered separately.
Concerned about what you will be asked to declare? Tell us how you are obtaining Spanish citizenship and we will review the legal implications before the swearing-in ceremony.
For many Americans, the possibility of holding both nationalities arises because they discover a Spanish parent, grandparent or more distant ancestor. Whether Spanish dual citizenship by descent is available depends on the legal route.
If your father or mother was Spanish when you were born and your circumstances fall within Article 17 of the Spanish Civil Code, you may already be Spanish by origin. In this situation, the legal issue can be one of proving and registering an existing citizenship rather than applying to acquire it through residence.
Article 20 of the Spanish Civil Code provides a right of option in certain cases, including people whose father or mother was originally Spanish and born in Spain.
A person born outside Spain whose father, mother, grandfather or grandmother was originally Spanish may benefit from the reduced one-year legal residence period established in Article 22.2.f, provided all other requirements are met.
Applications Under the Democratic Memory Law
The temporary application period under the Ley 20/2022, de Memoria Democrática (Democratic Memory Law) ended on October 22, 2025.
New applications under that temporary route are no longer accepted. However, people who properly requested an appointment within the legal deadline and obtained the corresponding proof can still continue the process afterward.
The Spanish Consulate’s official guidance on Democratic Memory Law appointments explains how cases initiated within the deadline continue to be handled.
You can find a fuller breakdown in our guide to Spanish citizenship by descent. If your connection goes back to a great-grandparent, we also cover those cases separately.
For routes subject to Article 23 of the Spanish Civil Code, one of the final stages is commonly known as the swearing-in ceremony (acto de jura). At this stage, the applicant makes the declarations required by Spanish law before the competent authority.
The acquisition must then be registered with the Registro Civil —Spain’s Civil Registry, which records civil-status matters such as births, marriages and citizenship.
For grants of citizenship by residence or discretionary naturalization, Article 21.4 of the Spanish Civil Code establishes an important deadline: the grant expires if the applicant does not appear before the competent official and complete the Article 23 requirements within 180 days of notification. This is therefore not a formality that should simply be postponed indefinitely.
Before signing, it is also important to review the information recorded in the document, including names, surnames and birth details, and to understand the declarations being made.
U.S. law does not treat the acquisition of another citizenship as an automatic loss of U.S. citizenship.
The U.S. Department of State’s guidance on relinquishing U.S. nationality explains that loss of nationality requires a potentially expatriating act to be performed voluntarily and with the intention of relinquishing U.S. citizenship.
Formal renunciation of U.S. nationality is a separate U.S. procedure. When carried out abroad, it generally requires appearing before a U.S. diplomatic or consular officer and completing the corresponding process.
This distinction is at the heart of dual citizenship with Spain and USA: a declaration required by Spanish law and the loss of U.S. nationality are not the same legal act.
Your individual circumstances still matter, particularly if you have performed other potentially expatriating acts or expressly intended to relinquish U.S. citizenship.
Citizenship and tax residence are separate questions.
As a U.S. citizen, you are generally subject to U.S. federal income tax rules on your worldwide income, even when you live outside the United States. The IRS Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad explains these obligations and the mechanisms that may apply to Americans living overseas.
Depending on your circumstances, provisions such as the foreign tax credit or foreign earned income exclusion may affect the amount ultimately payable.
Obtaining Spanish citizenship does not, by itself, make you a Spanish tax resident.
According to the Spanish Tax Agency’s rules on individual tax residence, a person can be considered resident in Spain when, among other circumstances:
Other rules and presumptions may also apply.
Spain and the United States have an income tax treaty designed to coordinate taxation between both countries and address situations of double taxation. The IRS provides the Spain–United States tax treaty and its subsequent protocol. Therefore, having dual citizenship in Spain and USA does not automatically mean paying the same tax twice.
It can, however, create reporting and tax obligations in both jurisdictions depending on where you live, what income and assets you have and your individual circumstances. For that reason, citizenship advice and cross-border tax advice should be treated as separate areas.
Some errors cause delays. Others can affect the validity of the process itself.
For Spanish citizenship granted by residence or discretionary naturalization, failing to complete the requirements of Article 23 within 180 days of notification can cause the grant to expire.
A birth certificate may be perfectly valid but still fail to prove the required family relationship or citizenship status.
The complete documentary chain must support the specific legal route being used.
Depending on the document and procedure, a U.S. public document may require a Hague Apostille before it can be used in Spain.
The competent authority depends on whether the document was issued at state or federal level.
When an official Spanish translation is required, an informal translation by a relative or a standard U.S. notarized translation may not satisfy the Spanish authority.
A sworn translation follows the requirements applicable to official use in Spain.
Obtaining citizenship is not necessarily the end of the nationality analysis.
Article 25 of the Spanish Civil Code provides, for example, that Spaniards who are not Spanish by origin can lose Spanish citizenship if, for three years, they exclusively use the nationality they declared they were renouncing when acquiring Spanish citizenship.
The exact rules depend on how the person became Spanish and their subsequent circumstances.
At Díaz & Asociados, we begin by reviewing four basic questions:
From there, we determine the Spanish legal basis, review the supporting documentation and identify any inconsistencies before the application progresses.
Where the swearing-in ceremony applies, we explain what declarations are relevant to your case and what should be checked before signing.
We can also coordinate the Spanish side of the process, including documentation, Civil Registry requirements and appearances where our involvement is legally possible.
Because the effect on U.S. citizenship depends on U.S. law, we will also identify situations where specific U.S. legal advice should be obtained rather than making assumptions about the consequences.
If you want to understand the full Spanish procedure, see our guide on how to apply for Spanish citizenship.
Yes, it can be possible. Spain may require a declaration concerning your previous nationality in certain acquisition procedures, while U.S. law applies separate rules for loss of citizenship. The absence of a general bilateral dual-citizenship agreement does not automatically prevent you from holding both.
Acquiring Spanish citizenship does not automatically cancel your U.S. citizenship or passport. Under U.S. law, loss of nationality requires a voluntary potentially expatriating act performed with the intention of relinquishing U.S. citizenship. Your circumstances should still be reviewed individually.
There is no single timeframe. It depends on how you qualify for Spanish citizenship, which authority handles the case and whether additional documentation is required. The 180-day period after certain grants is a separate deadline for completing the required post-approval formalities.
Possibly, but filing in two countries does not necessarily mean paying tax twice on the same income. U.S. citizens generally remain subject to U.S. worldwide-income rules, while Spanish taxation depends primarily on tax residence and other circumstances. The bilateral tax treaty may provide relief.
Tell us about your case and we will review how dual citizenship Spain USA applies to your circumstances before you make any declaration that could have legal consequences.
