Can’t make a Spaniard without cracking a few eggs

What does it mean to be Spanish? It’s a question that tens of thousands of immigrants ask themselves each year, as they prepare to prove that they deserve Spanish nationality.

Applicants are vetted and asked a series of questions by a judge, who then decides if they qualify. Historical questions, such as “Who won the civil war?” are common, as are those related to the Spanish language for none-native speakers. But other magistrates favour more offbeat questions, which have raised doubts about the objectivity of the “Spanish test” and prompted the government to alter how it handles naturalisation requests.

“How do you make a Spanish omelette?” is one such example. “Which bullfighter is dating a TV celebrity?” is another. The interview can also be bewilderingly generalised: “How are fiestas celebrated in Spain?” There are even trick questions: “What is the name of the river that joins Madrid and Barcelona? (Answer: there isn’t one.)

Unlike many other countries, Spain does not have a standardised test for those seeking to be naturalised, so the judge’s line of questioning is key. (In Ireland, applicants’ financial, residency and police records are checked, but they do not undergo a test).

Antonio Mbengani, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, failed the interview in 2010, despite having lived and worked in Madrid for 20 years – 10 years more than required for most Africans.

"The judge asked me which important event had taken place in 1934 and the names of Spanish writers from the 16th century," he told El País newspaper. "And he failed me."

Ironically, three years earlier, Mbengani had appeared on television, asking then prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero a question in a current affairs programme. “But because I didn’t know what happened in Spain 80 years ago, the judge decided I wasn’t integrated,” he said.

Carlos Elías, a Peruvian, was unable to answer questions about 16th century writers and his request was rejected. “It was very unpleasant, it was as if it bothered [the judge] that I was there at all,” Elías­ said. “The interview lasted two minutes.”

Successful appeals

Both Elías and Mbengani appealed against the decisions and now have Spanish nationality.The government is now in the process of creating a new, standardised test, after Spain’s judicial watchdog criticised the current system for causing an unnecessary backlog of appeals and for being too reliant on the discretion of individual judges.

An estimated 100,000 residents request Spanish nationality each year, the vast majority of them from Morocco and Latin America.