Spanish citizenship has become a long-awaited goal for a huge number of relocators. There are exceptions when the circumstances, citizenship or origin of an immigrant allow them to obtain a Spanish passport literally 1-2 years after moving to the country. But for most foreigners, Spanish citizenship is the final destination of a long immigration journey that takes 10 years.
Our article provides a detailed analysis of current issues relating to obtaining Spanish citizenship. However, no publication can replace legal advice from the specialists at Imperial & Legal, because legislation changes over time, old immigration programmes are closed and new opportunities arise. To stay up to date with all the latest developments, seek the help of our professionals.
What are the advantages of Spanish citizenship?
- Along with citizenship, expats gain the opportunity to live in a politically and economically stable country with a mild climate and unique opportunities for work, business, and study.
- As Spain is part of the European Union, new citizens receive a passport and the right to live, work and do business in any of the 27 jurisdictions of the union without any restrictions.
- By becoming a Spanish citizen, immigrants gain free access to the state social security system, which provides citizens with virtually free medical care and social services support.
- Spanish citizenship extends to children, including those who have been adopted.
- The citizenship obtained by a foreigner does not differ in terms of the rights and opportunities it provides from the legal status of the kingdom’s native residents.
Acquisition of citizenship on the basis of long-term lawful residence and integration is defined as naturalisation. In Spain, this process is characterised by a complex administrative framework and a number of mandatory requirements, compliance with which may pose challenges even for permanent residents. In practice, self-submission of documents often results in significant processing delays or may lead to a refusal of the application.
Who can apply for Spanish citizenship?
As already mentioned, regardless of immigration category, any foreigner can obtain citizenship in Spain if they have lived legally in the kingdom for more than 10 years.
In 2015, a number of changes were made to Spanish legislation, significantly simplifying the process of moving to Spain for five categories of immigrants, among which the following should be highlighted:
- entrepreneurs and start-ups;
- freelancers;
- qualified hired specialists.
Spanish law also provided favourable conditions for investors to obtain residence permits. The Golden Visa immigration programme was closed in April 2025, but its numerous participants will be able to naturalise once they have lived in the country for a sufficient period of time.
Foreign workers, businesspeople and investors can bring their immediate family members with them to the country, which means that the latter can also apply for Spanish citizenship as dependent family members.
Those born in Spain, as well as spouses, children and grandchildren of Spanish citizens, have access to a simpler procedure for obtaining citizenship.
What requirements must applicants for Spanish citizenship meet?
1. Minimum period of residence
| Length of residence in Spain | How and to whom is citizenship granted? |
| 10 years | Naturalisation under the general procedure |
| 5 years | Naturalisation for immigrants with refugee status |
| 2 | Spanish citizenship under special procedures for people from Latin America, Equatorial Guinea, the Philippines, Andorra, Portugal, and descendants of Sephardic Jews who once lived on the Iberian Peninsula. |
| 1 year | Spanish citizenship under special procedures for:
|
2. Actual residence in Spain
The minimum period of residence for naturalisation cannot include time spent in the country on a tourist or student visa. The countdown begins when a foreigner moves to Spain and applies for a residence permit under one of the immigration routes discussed above.
After spending 5 years in the country, the immigrant is eligible to apply for a permanent residence permit. When an expat has lived in Spain for 10 years and is sufficiently integrated into the local community, they can apply for naturalisation.
For most of this period, the future citizen must actually be present in the kingdom. In other words, the time of their continuous absence from the country must not exceed the period established by law, the duration of which depends on the procedure for obtaining citizenship. Immigrants who need to spend 10 years in the kingdom before they can naturalise must not be absent from the country for more than 6 consecutive months.
3. Good reputation
The good reputation of a foreigner applying for Spanish citizenship is confirmed by police certificates of no criminal record from their country of origin, as well as reports issued by the relevant authorities in Spain.
4. Proof of integration
The applicant’s high degree of integration into the local community is confirmed by tests developed by the Cervantes Institute:
The DELE test requires the future citizen to demonstrate sufficient proficiency in Spanish. Successful completion of the CCSE test confirms that the applicant is familiar with the constitution, culture and social structure of modern Spain.
Citizens of Latin American countries only take the second “constitutional” test, as they do not need to prove their proficiency in Spanish.
5. Renunciation of first citizenship
In order to become Spanish citizens, a significant number of applicants will have to declare their renunciation of their first citizenship, although the actual loss of first citizenship is determined by the legislation of the country of first citizenship. Only people from Latin American countries, as well as the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, and Andorra, can get a Spanish passport without losing their first citizenship. An exception has also been made for Jews of Sephardic origin.
Main reasons for rejecting an application for citizenship
1. Incorrect calculation of the length of stay in the country
A common mistake is to submit an application prematurely, when the applicant has not yet spent enough time in the country to begin the naturalisation process. Even if the application is submitted just one day early, it will be rejected.
We would like to emphasise once again that time spent in Spain on a tourist or student visa is not taken into account when calculating the length of residence for naturalisation. The count only begins from the moment the immigrant receives their residence card.
Our consultants calculate the exact date after which the client can confidently apply for Spanish citizenship.
2. Long breaks in residence
It is important not only to correctly calculate the period of residence in the country, but also to ensure that this period is continuous.
Of course, the requirement to remain in Spain continuously does not mean that a foreigner residing in the kingdom cannot fly home for a holiday. However, they must not stay abroad longer than permitted:
- if the applicant is eligible to obtain Spanish citizenship after 2 years of residence, they should not be absent from the country for more than 3 consecutive months;
- if the applicant can only naturalise after 10 years, their period of continuous stay outside Spain must not exceed 6 months.
Cooperation with Imperial & Legal usually begins at the stage of obtaining a visa for relocation. Our staff can take on the task of monitoring the continuity of the client’s stay in the country.
3. Errors in documents
Even if an applicant meets all the requirements of the immigration authorities, they should ensure that their application is not rejected due to errors in the accompanying documentation.
All foreign documents sent with the application must be properly translated into Spanish, apostilled and legalised.
The documentation provided must not be out of date or contain inaccurate or outdated information about the applicant.
4. A formal approach to submitting an application
A big mistake is made by those who take a formal approach to the naturalisation process, hoping that it will be enough to simply submit the application and documents.
Even impeccably prepared applicant data may raise questions from Spanish immigration authorities. An unnoticed notification may result in the application being rejected, as the law regulates the response time for such requests.
The applicant must pass the CCSE and DELE tests and attend a personal interview to confirm sufficient social or cultural ties with Spain.
Our team of experts not only helps to collect and translate the documents for the application, but also prepares the applicant for the tests and interview, as well as competently interacting with the immigration authorities on all requests and notifications.
5. Presence of violations
If an immigrant has an outstanding criminal record, their application for Spanish citizenship will be automatically rejected. A more common mistake made by applicants is to be inattentive to minor violations that do not lead to criminal prosecution.
For example, if you have unpaid fines for speeding on the road or a minor debt to the tax office, these minor violations can also cause your application to be rejected.
The key task of Imperial & Legal’s staff is to thoroughly check the client’s reputation so that a single unpaid fine or police record does not become an insurmountable obstacle on the way to a Spanish passport.
How Imperial & Legal helps you naturalise in Spain
Our company offers comprehensive turnkey solutions so that obtaining Spanish citizenship does not involve wasted time and unforeseen expenses.
- We conduct an initial legal assessment of the applicant and objectively evaluate their personal circumstances.
- If no insurmountable obstacles are identified at the initial assessment stage, the next step is to develop the optimal strategy for obtaining Spanish citizenship. The best strategy involves obtaining Spanish citizenship within a reasonable time frame and at a reasonable minimum cost.
- Imperial & Legal’s comprehensive service includes preparing application documents, including translation, apostille or legalisation of foreign language documents.
- Once the package of documents has been compiled, our specialist submits the application for citizenship online. We also register our clients for language and integration tests. If necessary, Imperial & Legal staff help immigrants prepare for these exams.
- Legal support for the process means that Imperial & Legal specialists take care of all communication with the Spanish immigration authorities regarding requests and further steps, right up to the applicant’s swearing-in ceremony and receipt of their passport.
- Our staff become your reliable assistants when it is necessary to challenge an unjustified refusal by filing an administrative or judicial appeal.
Spanish citizenship for family members
Spouses, civil partners, minor children and even financially dependent elderly parents of immigrants can become Spanish citizens if they:
- They have obtained a residence permit at the same time as the main applicant and have lived in the country with them for the period required for naturalisation. In this case, dependent family members apply for citizenship at the same time as their sponsor.
- Obtained a Spanish residence permit later than the main applicant in the process of family reunification. In this case, the sponsor becomes a Spanish citizen earlier, and his dependents become subjects:
- either as a result of naturalisation, after living in the country for some time;
- or through a simplified procedure as spouses or children of a Spanish citizen.
Spanish citizenship for children
There are three options for children to obtain Spanish citizenship:
- Citizenship by choice, when one or both parents became Spanish subjects after the birth of the child. In this case, the new citizens will also be able to apply for a Spanish passport for their minor son or daughter if their children live in the kingdom for at least 1 year.
- Citizenship by descent – children born to at least one Spanish citizen automatically obtain the right to Spanish citizenship regardless of their place of birth.
An important clarification: if the Spanish father or mother was born outside the country, their child must apply for citizenship before reaching the age of 21.
- Citizenship by birthplace, as the name suggests, is granted to children born in Spain. Even if such a child was born to foreign parents, after one year of legal residence in the country, it will be possible to apply for simplified naturalisation. Registration at the place of residence will confirm the length of residence in Spain.
Spanish citizenship for spouses
Spouses of foreigners can become Spanish citizens through naturalisation if they move to Spain with their husband or wife. In this case, they will need to live in the kingdom for at least 10 years before they can apply for Spanish citizenship.
A shorter route is available for foreign spouses who have been married to a Spanish citizen for at least one year. Such applicants can apply for Spanish citizenship after one year of residence in the kingdom.
Step-by-step algorithm for obtaining Spanish citizenship
A distinctive feature of the citizenship application process in Spain is its duration. Applicants need to be patient, as decisions on applications are usually made within 12-18 months. Fortunately, the naturalisation procedure is usually carried out by immigrants with permanent resident status in Spain.
Consultations and reliable legal support from our company’s specialists help to avoid unforeseen expenses and significantly save time in the process of obtaining Spanish citizenship. With the help of Imperial & Legal, naturalisation in Spain takes place in 5 stages.
Preliminary consultation
Integration tests
To pass this exam, the applicant must correctly answer 15 out of 25 questions. With the DELE / Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera test, immigrants demonstrate that they have a command of Spanish at a level not lower than A2 according to the classification accepted in Europe. As a rule, CCSE and DELE exams are taken directly in Spain at the nearest authorised testing centre. Our staff will register you for the tests on the Cervantes Institute website. Candidates who successfully pass the integration tests will be awarded the relevant certificates.
