Who takes the Spanish passport on the islands — a look behind the numbers

Who takes the Spanish passport on the islands — a look behind the numbers

Key question: Why do most naturalizations in the Balearic Islands today come from Morocco, Colombia and Venezuela — and not from Germany, as discussed in Balearic Islands on the Rise – More Visitors, Fewer Germans: How Mallorca Can Manage the Transition?

If you stroll across the Mercat de l’Olivar on a Monday morning, you smell freshly brewed coffee and fried fish, vendors stack crates of oranges, and several languages can be heard between the stalls. Still, these everyday scenes only partly reflect who formally becomes Spanish. The official figures are clear: in 2024 well over a thousand people from Morocco received citizenship in the Balearics; almost 1,400 were Colombians, and nearly 640 were Venezuelans — a strong increase compared with 2014. By contrast, 19 Germans applied for nationality in 2014; in 2024 there were only seven.

This is not a quirk of the statistics but the result of several factors working together. First: countries of origin and length of residence. People from many Latin American states can apply after a significantly shorter time (often two years), while most others must meet a ten-year residence requirement plus language and cultural tests. Second: the labor market and geographic distribution. Moroccan families are often rooted in more rural municipalities such as Sa Pobla, Inca or Manacor; they work in agriculture, hotels or gastronomy. Colombians and Venezuelans are frequently based in Palma and its surroundings — construction, services and hospitality are typical sectors. These patterns are detailed in Colorful Job Market: How Foreign Workers Support the Balearic Islands — and What Is Still Missing. Third: political ruptures play a role: the massive rise in Venezuelan naturalizations is closely linked to the crisis in their homeland; recent events in early January 2026 — the arrest of the Venezuelan former president and the international turmoil — reinforce the desire for legal security here.

What the raw numbers do not show is how this new citizenship plays out in everyday life. Economically, a Spanish passport often means better job security, social protection and mobility within the EU. For municipalities it means more taxable residents, but also pressure on schools, health services and especially the housing market. This pressure is amplified by the high share of foreign property purchases reported in Almost every second property in the Balearic Islands in foreign hands – what does this mean for Mallorca?. You can hear it in the noise of construction near Platja de Palma, in crowded classrooms in the suburbs and in rental ads that disappear within a week.

What is missing from the public debate is a sober discussion of several points at once: first, a distinction between legal status and integration. A passport is a legal step — but not a guarantee of language skills, professional recognition or participation in local clubs. Second, there are hardly any transparent figures on how many naturalizations lead to permanent settlement and how many are rather the formalization of temporary life situations. Third, we rarely talk about EU citizens such as Germans: many keep their passport because pension entitlements, tax situations or mobility within Europe are more important to them than Spanish nationality. A broader demographic perspective is available in Who Shapes Mallorca's Streets? A Reality Check on Island Demographics.

An everyday scene: at the weekly market in Sa Pobla, between tomato stalls and the sound of an old radio, a farmer woman of Moroccan origin speaks Mallorquí and Spanish; she has children in school here and often holds both passports. That same morning a Colombian family in Palma sets up a small café — they have just submitted their paperwork and hope that the passport will make it easier to get a loan. Such scenes show that naturalization is often the result of years of rootedness, not a short-term plan.

Concrete proposals to prevent the development from causing local tensions or displacement: first, municipalities and the Balearic government should provide closer offers for professional recognition and qualification for new citizens — for example accelerated recognition procedures for trades and construction qualifications. Second, additional state-sponsored language and culture courses are needed, combined with flexible schedules for shift workers. Third, targeted housing programs are required: municipal support for affordable housing in communities with high immigration and binding rules for holiday rentals so that long-term housing does not disappear permanently. Fourth, better data collection would be helpful: not only the number of naturalizations, but also age structure, sector affiliation and intention (permanent stay vs. formalization) should be recorded so that policy can respond appropriately.

In conclusion: the rising naturalization numbers are not an “import” of loyalty but an expression of an island society that relies on workers and in which people from very different countries put down roots. That Germans comparatively rarely take the Spanish passport is more a pragmatic decision than a sign of exclusionism. Those who mean integration seriously must now build the bridge between legal belonging and genuine, everyday settling — in language, work, housing and participation. That is the task for town halls, employers and all of us who walk across the market in the morning and count the voices but too rarely see the development plans.