More than 4,000 people born in the demarcation of Lleida with both parents foreign have obtained Spanish nationality since 2022 upon reaching the age of majority and requesting recognition. This data brings to the forefront a group that was born in Ponent but has had to initiate a judicial procedure to access a status that is not automatically recognized.
Between January 1, 2022, and the publication date, the civil registries of Lleida have registered 11,257 nationality acquisitions, and 35% corresponds to people born in the demarcation. The paradox is that being born in Lleida is not enough in these cases, because the regulations require that at least one parent be Spanish or that the parents be stateless or of unknown identity to avoid this procedure.
Those born in Ponent account for more than a third of registered nationalities
The accumulated figure confirms the weight of this group in the total number of resolved cases in Lleida. Of the 11,257 nationality acquisitions registered since 2022, about one in three cases corresponds to people born in the demarcation itself.
After reaching the age of majority, these citizens must promote a judicial procedure to achieve recognition of Spanish nationality. The legal requirement leaves them out of automatic attribution despite having been born in municipalities of Ponent and having developed their administrative life there.
In the annual evolution, the civil registries of Lleida resolved 1,005 cases in 2022, 897 in 2023, and 655 in 2024. In 2025 the figure rose to 1,062, and so far this year there are already 404 accumulated registrations.
Colombia surpasses Morocco in a map of origin that is changing in Lleida
The breakdown by country shows a progressive shift in the migratory flows that access nationality in the demarcation. Citizens of Latin American origin have been gaining weight compared to those of African origin in the resolutions processed in Lleida.
Colombia has consolidated itself as the main country of origin of the newly naturalized in the last three years, with more than 700 cases since 2024. Morocco occupies the second position in the same period.
Behind them appear Peru and Venezuela, which already surpass African origins with a long presence in the demarcation, such as Senegal, Mali, or Gambia. Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Bolivia have also increased their presence in the resolved applications.
The concentration remains high in a small group of nationalities. Morocco, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela account for 3,341 of the 7,234 nationalizations granted in Lleida over the last four and a half years.
Colombia leads this profile change with more than 700 new naturalizations since 2024, ahead of Morocco, while Peru and Venezuela occupy the third and fourth positions in the Lleida demarcation.