Dual citizenship - could not have my cake and eat it

When there was a campaign for it in Norway, I did a lot to spread the word about the benefits of dual citizenship and I was very happy the day the Norwegian Parliament passed the law allowing dual citizenship in Norway. Therefore, the disappointment was great when I realized that Spain does NOT allow dual citizenship in a generalized way.

It was almost a given. In all parts of Spain I have spoken with other people who have passports both from Spain and from another country, for example from the United States and other European countries. I've even seen Scandinavians showing their Spanish ID card (you must be Spanish to get one), and I know for sure that they have Scandinavian passports. In these cases, maybe it was just a matter of not informing the northern authorities about passport number two. I don't know, but it was quite clear to me that as soon as Norway said yes to dual citizenship, well then it would just be a formality to obtain a Spanish passport in full transparency.

The fact is that Spain allows dual citizenship and therefore the country is not on the list of the few countries in Europe that do not allow dual citizenship. Until recently, Norway was one of the few countries in this regard. BUT, now what happens is that Spain ONLY allows citizens of its former colonies to retain second citizenship if they want to apply for Spanish nationality. Although it applies to many Latin American countries, it is not a general openness and to all countries, nor Norway.

I must add that in March of this year France and Spain signed a bilateral agreement that allows dual citizenship between the citizens of these two countries. It is estimated that this agreement will benefit 350,000 Spaniards in France, as well as 160,000 French in Spain. Much more compared to the number of Norwegians in Spain and Spaniards in Norway, and that is why I have little faith that something similar will happen to us ... I have lived in Spain for (many) years and I follow Spanish politics quite a bit. Therefore, I lose the opportunity to vote for the party that I believe will always do the best job in the government of the country. Sometimes I have voted in municipal elections, but several times (actually) they have screwed it up and I have gone off the lists and I have also lost this opportunity to vote. (But that's a different story).

It would also have been good to obtain that practical identity card, and also the opportunity to use the digital version for online management of administrative matters and obligations in front of the authorities. Okay, but why can't I just renounce my Norwegian citizenship then? No, there are both emotional and rational reasons why I am not interested. First, I feel more Norwegian than most, and I have very strong emotional and family ties to Norway. And I also want to give a certain opportunity in Norway to my family, those who come later ... There are also economic reasons. No, I don't want to burn that bridge. A little more salt in the wound here is when I see and hear about Spaniards who after a few years in Norway decide to apply for a Norwegian passport. Very well. But they are not faced with a requirement to renounce their Spanish citizenship, as I would have done if I had applied for Spanish. Unfair?