Nationality

A person born in Spain before 1982, stateless and who only managed to obtain British nationality years after their birth, requests the Supreme Court (TS) to recognize that they were Spanish by origin and that they can recover that nationality. The case is based on the fact that, for years, the individual did not have a nationality because British legislation at the time did not allow it to be transmitted by their mother, who was British, and their father was unknown. Therefore, they argue that, with the approval of Law 51/1982 and the modification of the Civil Code, they should have been considered Spanish by birth since then, given that this right was expressly recognized for individuals born in Spanish territory to foreign parents who did not transmit another nationality.

The TS highlights the debate on the possible retroactive application of the mentioned law and acknowledges that, indeed, it would be reasonable to understand that these individuals did acquire Spanish nationality automatically when the reform came into force, even if they were born before. However, it is noted that recovering nationality also requires other legal requirements, such as residing in Spain or being exempt from this requirement as an emigrant, and these elements are not proven in this case.

Thus, although it acknowledges the mistake of the lower courts in denying the original acquisition of nationality due to statelessness and the retroactive application of the law, it ultimately dismisses the claims of the appellant for lacking the current requirements to recover Spanish nationality. It is confirmed that being stateless when the law was approved did entitle one to be considered Spanish by origin, but it does not imply that this status can automatically be recovered without meeting the other requirements demanded by the law.