Spanish citizenship by residence: requirements and how to apply

How many years you need and the requirements

10 years

General rule

5 years

You have refugee status

2 years

You are a national by origin of an Ibero-American country, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal, or you are Sephardic

1 year

You were born in Spain

1 year

You have been married to a Spanish citizen for a year and are not legally or de facto separated

1 year

You are the widow or widower of a Spanish citizen and were not separated when they died

1 year

You were born outside Spain and your father, mother, grandfather or grandmother was Spanish by origin

1 year

You could have opted for Spanish nationality and did not do so in time

1 year

You spent two years in a row under the guardianship or foster care of a Spanish citizen or institution

In every case, your residence must be legal, continuous and immediately before the application. Time without papers does not count: if that is you, start with arraigo (residence based on ties to Spain). You also need good civic conduct and enough integration, which you prove with the exams.

DELE A2 and CCSE exams

Both are run by the Instituto Cervantes (Spain's language institute): the DELE A2 (or higher) tests your Spanish and the CCSE the Constitution and Spanish society.

• No DELE: if you are a national by origin of a country where Spanish is an official language (you still take the CCSE).
• No exams: anyone under 18.
• Finished ESO (compulsory secondary school) in Spain: you can be exempt from both; you prove it in the application.
• You cannot read or write: request the exemption before you apply for nationality; if you apply while it is pending, your file is closed.
• Price: the CCSE costs 85 euros with two attempts; the DELE A2 costs 138 euros in Spain in 2026.
• Validity: the CCSE is valid for 4 years and the DELE never expires.

How to apply step by step

1. Pass the exams. Do this before you apply, unless you are exempt. If you authorise it in the application, the Ministry checks your results with the Instituto Cervantes.
2. Gather your documents. Full valid passport, plus your birth certificate and criminal record certificate from your country, legalised or apostilled and translated, and your marriage certificate if you are married. The Ministry checks your Spanish criminal record, your town hall registration and your residence if you authorise it.
3. Pay the fee. It is the tasa modelo 790 código 026 (form 790, code 026): 104,05 euros. Pay online inside the application or at a bank; you pay it even if your nationality is refused.
4. Submit the application online.

   Log in to the Ministry of Justice e-office with Cl@ve, a digital certificate or an electronic DNI, and AutoFirma installed. You have two months to submit it or it is deleted. Cannot log in? See Cl@ve errors.

   Official Justice Portal

5. Track your file. On the same e-office you see its stage with your NIE, the application number and year, and your date of birth. That status page is not an official notification.

How long Spanish citizenship takes

The Ministry has one year to decide from the day your application reaches the Directorate General handling it. If that year passes without an answer, it counts as refused under silencio negativo (refusal by silence) and you can appeal. While a request for documents is unanswered, that clock stops. You check the status of your application online.

After approval: oath and registration

You have 180 days from the notification to take the jura (oath) at the Registro Civil (Civil Registry) or before a notary for the address on the decision. Otherwise the approval lapses.

At the oath you renounce your previous nationality, unless you are from an Ibero-American country, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal or France, or a Sephardic Jew of Spanish origin. Bring the originals of your birth and criminal record certificates. Then come the registration and your DNI (Spanish ID card).

Do you need a lawyer or gestor for Spanish citizenship?

No. You file it yourself on the Ministry of Justice e-office (Cl@ve, digital certificate or electronic DNI) and only pay fee 790 code 026. An authorised lawyer, gestor administrativo, procurador or graduado social can file it, but is not required. Hire a lawyer when:

• You are refused or get no answer within a year and want to appeal.
• You go to court at the Audiencia Nacional: a lawyer and a procurador are compulsory.
• You have a criminal or police record.

If you cannot afford it, ask the bar association for free legal aid (justicia gratuita). Fees are set freely: get a written quote and distrust anyone who guarantees the result.

Common problems and how to fix them

More than a year has passed with no answer

Your application counts as refused by silence, and you can keep waiting for a written decision or appeal. You can file an optional appeal for reconsideration or go straight to a judicial appeal before the National High Court (Audiencia Nacional). Against silence there is no deadline: you can appeal at any time as long as no written decision has been notified to you. If you are notified of a refusal, you have one month for the reconsideration appeal and two months for the court appeal.

They have asked me for documents

Reply within the deadline stated in the request (the period to fix missing documents is three months) and upload them through the same e-office application; otherwise your file is closed. If you chose electronic notification, check DEHú often.

One of my certificates has expired

Your documents must be valid on the day you apply, and a criminal record certificate with no stated validity lasts six months from issue. For the oath, however, the originals no longer need to be valid.

Updated 30 October 2026