Spanish nationality by residence
One of the most common ways of obtaining nationality is by continuous residence in Spain
WHO CAN OBTAIN SPANISH NATIONALITY BY RESIDENCE?
As a general rule, the residence of the person in Spain is required for 10 years legally, continuously and immediately prior to the request.
However, there are cases in which the required residence period is reduced; these are:
1. REFUGEES: 5 years for those people who have obtained refugee status
2. IBERO-AMERICAN, SEPHARDIC AND OTHER COUNTRIES: 2 years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal or people of Sephardic origin.
3. OTHER CASES: 1 year
- Born in Spanish territory.
- The one who did not duly exercise his right to acquire Spanish nationality by option.
- Those who have been legally subject to the guardianship, guardianship or foster care of a Spanish citizen or institution for two consecutive years, even if they continued in this situation at the time of the application.
- Whoever has been married to a Spaniard for a year.
- The widower or widow of Spanish or Spanish.
- Those born outside of Spain to a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, provided that all of them originally had been Spanish.
It will be necessary to have Cervantes Institute Diplomas of the constitutional and sociocultural knowledge test ( CCSE ) and the Spanish language knowledge test ( DELE ). However, if you come from a Spanish-speaking country, the language test will not be necessary.
The estimated time to obtain nationality is from 12 to 24 months, although currently the concessions have been expedited due to the implementation of artificial intelligence in the analysis process.
Nationality data by residence
The number of foreign residents who acquired Spanish nationality in 2021 increased by 14.1%, to 144,012.
TheThe most frequent nationalities of origin were Morocco (42,000), Colombia (8,328) and Ecuador (8,325).
(INE data: National Statistics Institute)
Democratic Memory Law
Spanish nationality for children and grandchildren of Spaniards
The Government approved the Democratic Memory Law that intends to pay tribute to those who had to leave Spain. This Law allows access to Spanish nationality for descendants born abroad.
Advantages of obtaining Spanish nationality
- Right to reside and work in any country of the European Union, extendable to spouses and dependent children.
- Take undergraduate or postgraduate courses at European universities, with the rate for EU citizens.
- Visa-free entry to countries that do not require a visa for Spaniards. 165 countries without the need to apply for a visa or additional documents.
- Right to Public Health, in case of not having medical coverage in the country of habitual residence.
- Protection in Consulates of Spain in other countries.
- Access to certain oppositions such as the national police, civil guard or army.
- Access to public places for nationals as in the case of the MIR.
- Right to participate in General Elections.
