Abstract

MATEOS, Pablo  and  DURAND, Jorge. Residence vs. Ancestry in Acquisition of Spanish Citizenship: A Netnography Approach. Migr. Inter [online]. 2012, vol.6, n.4, pp.9-46. ISSN 2594-0279.

Access to a nationality from a European Union (EU) country has become a key migration strategy for people from outside the EU and their families. This paper explores access to Spanish citizenship, through an innovative methodology, "netnography". We analyzed an Internet discussion group (41 000 posts and 2 860 individuals), where migrants share their concerns about the cumbersome Spanish naturalization process. We identify a series of strategies to access Spanish citizenship that seek to maximize the possibilities given by residence experience in Spain or Spanish ancestry (a sort of family endowment that we call "ethnic capital" here). These factors create an unequal pattern in the "geography of naturalization", marked by the history of Spanish emigration and immigration policies, woven together in the complex web of the personal experiences of migrants, who are constantly faced with the question: residence or ancestry?

Keywords : nationality; migration; netnography; ethnic capital; Spain.