Spain is coming to the end of its first wave of mass international migration, with Latin Americans being clearly predominant during this unprecedented period of immigration. During the 2000 s, various incentives and strategies including bilateral labor agreements between Spain and Latin American countries were issued, and represented the government’s strategy to assist and encourage immigration from Latin America, mostly due to the well-established historical ties from Spain’s past as a colonial power in the region as well as its tradition as a country of emigration, particularly to Latin American countries. The range of comprehensive government policies on migration and the existence of a legal framework based on shared cultural traits (such as language and traditions), together with the preferential treatment received under Spanish nationality law (e.g. a reduced 2-year residence requirement to apply for naturalization), have had a measurable effect in the form of growing numbers of immigrants from Latin America. Although the link between demographic and citizenship issues have had very low profiles in the political arena, we argue in this chapter for its importance in shaping the various forms of current international migration, especially with regard to subsequent circular migration and re-migration, in the midst of an economic recession.

Publication details and link to source: Andreu Domingo and Enrique Ortega-Rivera, ‘Acquisition of Nationality as Migration Policy’, Applied Demography Series, Volume 5, 2015, pp 29-54.