Children born to Ecuadorian and Chilean parents living in Spain will no longer receive Spanish citizenship upon birth, writes the Spanish daily El Pais.

As in the United States, children born on Spanish soil are automatically considered citizens. According to the Spanish Civil Code, the Spanish citizenship is automatically given to those "born on the Spanish soil to foreign parents, if the legislation of neither of the parents' countries does not automatically confer citizenship upon the child." The recent constitutional changes in Chile and Ecuador that now grant automatic citizenship to those born outside of these countries to parents who are Ecuadorian and Chilean citizens, absolve the Spanish state of responsibility of providing protection to what would otherwise be considered stateless persons.

This would seem to be a rather devastating development. For someone who is interested in the questions of citizenship and belonging, I am wondering how have the attempts of these countries to "reach out" to their diasporas (by revising their legislation) seen by the "benefactors." Both Ecuador and Spain recognize dual citizenship; how hard will it be for these children to obtain Spanish citizenship in the light of the current economic situation and the anti-immigration sentiments it has highlighted?