She Misses Three Questions, Spain Refuses Her Nationality: 14 Years Later, This Moroccan Woman Wins

The Moroccan woman, born in 1981, has been legally residing in Spain since 2010. Married to a Spaniard of Moroccan origin and the mother of a daughter with Spanish nationality, she applied for nationality by residence on 28 November 2012.

Her application nevertheless received an unfavorable opinion. The magistrate in charge of the civil registry considered that she was not sufficiently integrated into Spanish society. The public prosecutor’s office reached the same conclusion.

During her interview, the Moroccan woman was notably unable to explain correctly what an “institution” or an autonomous community was. She was also unable to specify which national holiday is celebrated in Spain on 6 December.

On Bladi.net : Spanish Court Denies Citizenship to Long-Term Moroccan Resident, Citing Lack of Integration

These answers weighed heavily in her application. In July 2018, the Directorate-General for Registries and Notaries, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, officially refused her nationality for an “insufficient degree of integration.”

The Moroccan woman then challenged this decision. She argued that she had been living in Spain for several years with her Spanish husband and their daughter, that she held a residence card as a family member of a citizen of the European Union, and that she had no criminal or police record, either in Morocco or in Spain.

In its judgment No. 443/2026 issued on 14 July, the Audiencia Nacional considers that the administration gave far too much weight to a few incorrect answers.

Three incorrect answers are not enough

For the judges, there is no sufficient basis for asserting that this Moroccan woman is not integrated into Spanish society.

The court notably points to the length of her residence in Spain, her lack of a criminal record, her marriage to a Spanish citizen, and the fact that she is the mother of a Spanish child. According to the judges, these factors carry “far greater weight” than the incorrect answers given during her interview.

The Audiencia Nacional also recalls case law from the Supreme Court stating that the level of integration must be assessed taking into account the applicant’s personal circumstances and level of education. In this case, the Moroccan woman had explained that she had not pursued studies and had never worked, having until then depended on the income of her husband, an agricultural worker.

This assessment contrasts with the case of a Moroccan man who had been living in Spain for more than twenty years and whose nationality had again been refused for lack of integration. In another recent case, the judges had instead counted the 98 crossings made by a Moroccan man between Spain and Morocco before recognizing his right to nationality.

On Bladi.net : Spanish Court Grants Citizenship to Moroccan Woman Despite Failed Integration Test

This time, the decision is unambiguous. The Audiencia Nacional overturns the refusal issued by the Ministry of Justice and orders that Spanish nationality be granted to the Moroccan woman.

The Spanish state is also ordered to pay the legal costs, up to a limit of 1,000 euros.

After nearly fourteen years since she submitted her application, the few questions she had been unable to answer are therefore no longer sufficient to bar her access to Spanish nationality.