Spanish Court Grants Citizenship to Moroccan Woman Despite Failed Integration Test

The courts had refused in 2018 to grant nationality to the Moroccan woman, Z. B., citing a "lack of integration" into Spanish society, reports El Español. But she appealed this decision to the High National Court, which has now granted her Spanish nationality by residence.

The Moroccan woman had failed the general knowledge exam required by the Spanish Civil Code and intended to assess applicants for nationality on their mastery of current political and cultural affairs, or the geography of the country. Born in Morocco in 1974, and residing in Spain since 2000, she had filed her application for Spanish nationality since 2012.

To read: Moroccan Economist Wins Spanish Citizenship After Years-Long Wait

The Moroccan woman stressed in her appeal that her husband and children already enjoy Spanish nationality (by residence and by birth) and asked the High Court to rule on her case "from a gender perspective." This is what the judge favorably responded to, referring to the 2007 Equality Act, stating that "even if the exam does not in itself discriminate against women, Z. B.’s case is particular in that she comes from a country where the education of women is conditioned by social isolationism."

The discriminatory environment in which the woman has evolved cannot alone serve to "relax the requirement of integration into Spanish society for the granting of nationality by residence," the judges nevertheless relativize, stressing that decisions regarding the granting of nationality must be made on a case-by-case basis.