The most common way to obtain citizenship is legal residence in Spain for a certain period: 5 years for recognized refugees, 1 year for those who married to a Spanish citizen and 10 years for whoever else. A certain category (for example, children born and adopted in Spain, direct descendants of the Spaniards, etc.) can obtain the national passport automatically.

Applicant
Eligibility

  • Legal residence in the country for a certain period.
  • No criminal record in Spain.
  • Successful completion of citizenship test.
  • Proof of Spanish language proficiency (for some nationalities it is obligatory to pass the DELE exam).
  • A package of documents submitted in the country.

Advantages
of Spanish Citizenship

  • All rights of an EU citizen including indefinite residence in any European country, rights to study, work, etc.;
  • Preferences when applying for a job in Spain.
  • Visa-free travels to the EU countries;
  • The right to elect and be elected to government bodies;
  • Simplified family reunification procedure.
  • Access to free medicine and social benefits.
  • Starting a business in any of the EU countries.
  • Low interest rates for loans and mortgages.

Status
processing time

In the view of large flow of applicants to become Spaniards, it usually takes the Ministry of Justice from 1 to 2 years to consider every case. Registration for the civics test is also performed in advance, sometimes the queue lasts for several months. When personally supported by experienced Spain Legal’s lawyers, you can obtain a Spanish citizenship in a shorter time.