Polygamy is a valid reason to deny Spanish nationality according to the Spanish Supreme Tribunal of Justice (STS 3054/2008).
The Supreme Tribunal of Justice in Spain, in 2004 and 2008, ruled that refusing to grant Spanish nationality to a person because of his or her polygamous marriage is not discriminatory ((STS 3054/2008 – ECLI:ES:TS:2008:3054)).
This precedent is still in force today.
For instance, in 2021, the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Nacional Audience solved a case based on this precedent. ((SAN 527/2021 – ECLI:ES:ES:AN:2021:527)).
But what were its reasons? Let me explain it.
The requirement to obtain nationality: To prove a sufficient degree of integration into society.
Art. 22.4 of the Spanish Civil Code establishes that to acquire nationality it is necessary that the interested party justifies a sufficient degree of integration into Spanish society.
Thus, the Spanish Supreme Tribunal deemed that it was not discriminatory to deny nationality on the grounds of the applicant’s polygamy, because he did not comply with a sufficient degree of integration into society.
The arguments were as follows.
Incompatibility of polygamy with Spanish public order
The Tribunal explained that polygamy causes inequality between women and men and the submission of women to men.
Moreover, the Court argued that polygamy is so incompatible that it is even a crime to contract a marriage when a previous marriage exists.
(Translation)
Therefore, the Court considered that polygamy is not only contrary to the law but also repugnant to Spanish public order.
This order is made up of the fundamental values on which the country’s legal order is based.
Consequently, the Spanish Tribunal ruled that it was legal to consider that there is not a sufficient degree of integration in Spanish society when a person’s marital status, such as polygamous marriage, violates Spanish public order.
(Translation)
Do you agree?
