Spain, a universal hotel: network brought in pregnant women

In **Burgos**, a network has been dismantled that, according to information published by **La Gaceta**, brought pregnant migrants to Spain so that their children could obtain nationality. In Spain this right is not acquired by being born there: nationality by residence requires at least one year living in the country.

In **Burgos**, a network has been dismantled that, according to information published by **La Gaceta**, brought pregnant migrants to Spain so that their children could obtain nationality.

## Nationality by residence, not by birth

Spain does not apply pure jus soli. A child born here to foreign parents does not become Spanish simply by being born, except in specific cases, such as when one parent was also born in Spain. The usual route is nationality by residence: for those born on Spanish territory, it requires one year living in the country, according to **article 22 of the Civil Code**. It is a procedure with requirements and checks.

## Pregnant women at the center of the case

The network was organized around pregnant women, the most vulnerable part of the scheme: they travel in that condition and are exposed to whoever organizes the transfer. The newborn's nationality is neither automatic nor immediate, but it opens an administrative procedure with lasting effects.

## What should not be mixed up

An investigation into a incivil ring says nothing about migrants as a whole, who live in Spain through other channels. It does serve as a reminder that organized fraud exists and is prosecuted. With court proceedings under way, the prudent course is to wait for what the rulings confirm.