Doha – Spain has naturalized more than 237,000 Moroccan nationals since 2018, a strong increase from previous years, according to the Spanish Ministry of Social Security and Migration.
As reported by the EFE news agency, Moroccans continue to be one of the three best immigrant groups that contribute to the record population in Spain on January 1st.
According to the Spanish news agency OKDIARIO, the naturalization process Has maintained A steady pace during the almost seven -year term of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
This shows a dramatic increase compared to the earlier administration of Mariano Rajoy, which has naturalized about 130,000 Moroccans over a comparable period.
Citing the ministry’s figures, the Spanish outlet reports that 45,799 Moroccan citizens were granted in 2023 Spanish citizenship alone, which was 5.4% compared to the previous year. The Spanish National Statistics Institute (ine) quoted A higher number of 54,027 naturalization.
Of the citizenship granted, 53% were male, with the average age of the recipients for 19 years.
Many of these young recipients were former unaccompanied exterior minor who were entitled to citizenship after 18 years.
Current data from the Ministry show that there are 844,969 Moroccan residents in Spain with an average age of 34 years.
However, the latest data from INE report on a higher number of approximately 1,100,000 Moroccan residents that surpass the population of entire provinces such as Asturias, Vizcaya or La Coruña.
According to Efe, Spain receive In the last quarter of 2024 27,700 new Moroccan immigrants, while 12,300 Moroccans left the country in the same period.
The news agency reports that around 9.4 million people born abroad have acquired around 2.6 million people born abroad in the past few years.
This Moroccan demography was a key factor in the results of the 2023 elections, indicates OKDIARIO in the same report. It also adds that the trend was observed in Catalonia, where around 150,000 naturalized Moroccan voters lived.
According to the Ine, Catalonia in 2022 registered around 16,172 new Moroccan natural sciences, twice as many in Andalusia.
The latest data from INE also show that in 2023 a record -breaking one recorded a total of 240,208 foreigners who received Spanish citizenship, which corresponds to an increase of 32.3% compared to the previous year.
Moroccan nationals directed this group and made 22.5%of all naturalization, followed by Venezuelans (12.6%) and Colombians (7.8%).
The way to Spanish citizenship usually requires several criteria, including proof of good behavior, no criminal record, integration into Spanish society and the tests carried out by the Instituto Cervantes.
The standard time for citizenship applications can extend up to three years, whereby the requirements for the residence vary on the basis of the nationality and circumstances of the applicant.
With a view forward, the current Spanish coalition government, led by PSOE and Sumar, has suggested A significant regularization program that could affect around 700,000 undocumented immigrants that arrived to Spain before the end of 2023.
If this initiative were approved, it would be the greatest regularization effort in the history of Spain.
Spain has previously carried out six extraordinary regularization processes under various administrations since 1985.
The most recent main practice included 525,000 permits under José María Aznar and 576,000 under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
The Spanish government last August granted Citizenship to two young Moroccan men aged 21 and 23 who saved the life of a 74-year-old man from drowning in Léridas Serós Canal in 2023.
These people were only three people who received Spanish citizenship for heroic acts between 1993 and 2024.
Over 218,000 citizenship applications are currently waiting for processing, which reflects the continued demand for Spanish citizenship among foreign residents.
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