Last modified 01/27/2024
EU Immigration: Immigration to the European Union,how to be resident in Europe (example: Argentineans can obtain the Italian passport, Mexicans can obtain the Spanish passport because, in general, Latin Americans can obtain the European passport because…) .
During the XIX century and half of the XX century, thousand of Europeans left their countries of origin due to wars and economic crisis, but, despite the distances, they maintained their costumes and bonds, transmitting their citizenship to their descendents from blood right, for marriage or through naturalization.
For Argentineans and Mexicans who descend from Italians and Spanish, obtaining the citizenship of these member of the European Union, makes easier the access to the European citizenship and, therefore, they get the right to reside and work anywhere in the European territory.
The creation of the European Union has made possible the appearance of the European citizenship, which is given to everyone whose nationality belongs to a State that is member of the mentioned Union.
It is not necessary to be a citizen born in one of the states that are member of the European Union to access to the European citizen, because, due to the migration that happened in Europe during the XIX century and the first half of the XX century, occasioned by a succession of wars, many Europeans migrated to South America, North America, Canada and Australia.
In their new countries, these European immigrants constituted great cities, becoming centers of trade, industry, culture and, in some cases, even politic, keeping their costumes, traditions and even the same alimentation they had in their countries of origin, making strong bonds, trying to keep their citizenship despite many of them were acquiring the nationalities of their new countries, transmitting their citizenship of origin to their sons and wives and, therefore, all their descendants.
Yesterday, European immigrants crossed the Atlantic Ocean to get to America. Today, their descendants, looking for better economic and social opportunities, walk through the same bath. But they could not have better chances, because their condition of offspring of European citizens, will give them the possibility to access to the citizenship of their ascendant’s country of origin (father, grandfather, great – grandfather, great – great – grandfather) because of their blood right.
The citizenship of a state that is a member of the European Union can also be obtained through naturalization and that happens when an immigrant decides to become a citizen, after fulfilling the criteria established by the law, such as getting married with a citizen of that country, a certain period of residency, etc.
In the case of people who descend from Italians, there is not limit in the number of generations in the father’s side (but there is no possibility of jumping through generations; this means that it cannot jump from father to great – grandfather), which does not happen in the mother’s side, in which there is only validity for the right since January the 1st of 1948, this means that the children of Italian citizens, in order to make their rights count, have had to be born after January the 1st of 1948.
Also, for those women who get married with descendants of Italians, they can obtain the citizenship automatically, as long as the marriage took place before April the 27th of 1983. But, for marriages that took place after the mentioned date, they must present a series of documents, among these documents we find the marriage certificate performed in an Italian city, as well as the residency certificate, birth certificate (translated into Italian) and certificates of criminal records.
Another human group that has open gates to obtain the Spanish citizenship are the Mexicans who have Spanish ascendants, due to the Law of Historic Memory since the year 2008, which will be valid for two more years. This law will be applied to the children and grandchildren of exiled Spaniards in the period that took place from July 18th of 1936 up to December 31st of 1955, the most fateful years of the Francoist dictatorship.
Once obtained the citizenship of the state that is a member of the European Union, the immigrant is ready to obtain the European citizenship, which will allow him or her to obtain the European passport.
Obtaining the European citizenship will allow every immigrant having the right to walk freely across the vast territory of the European Union and establish him or herself in the member state he or she wishes. The immigrant will also be able to participate actively in the municipal elections and in the European elections. Besides, he or she, in his or her quality of possessing a European passport, will be entitled to diplomatic protection.
Summing up, the European immigration, product of the wars and economic crisis, brought Italian and Spaniards, who kept their cultural, social and economic bond with their countries of origin. The European countries of Spain and Italy, have a citizenship recognition policy towards immigrant descendants, which will allow them to have access to the European citizenship and obtaining many rights, such as voting, residency and employment.
