Permanent residence and citizenship
Helps you progress to long-term residence and Spanish citizenship.
Move from temporary residence to long-term status and, if wanted, Spanish nationality: counting years, long-term residence, every nationality route, exams, filing, oath and dual nationality.
- topics
- 12
- articles
- 74
- of reading
- 7.1 hours
Begin with
Counting your years of residence
You can work out which of your years count, how trips abroad affect them and your earliest eligibility dates.
When your residence clock starts and which years count · Which permit years count toward permanent residence and citizenship · Gaps between permits and late renewals: is your residence still continuous?
More in permanent residence and citizenship
11 more topics in this section, about 7.1 hours of reading in all.
Permanent residence for EU and UK citizens
You know when your five years complete, how to prove them and what the nationality route looks like for you.
Counting your five years as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen · Time abroad and breaks: keeping EU permanent residence continuous · Proving permanent residence as an EU citizen, and whether you need to
Long-term residence (residencia de larga duración)
You know whether you qualify, which long-term status to request, how to apply and what it changes.
Who qualifies for long-term residence after five years · Income and insurance requirements for long-term residence · Applying for long-term residence: steps, fee and timing
Citizenship by residence
You know which waiting period applies to you and what else must be true before you can apply.
How many years you need for Spanish citizenship by residence · The two-year route for Ibero-American and other special nationalities · One-year routes: born in Spain, guardianship and other cases
Citizenship exams (CCSE and DELE A2)
You can plan, book and pass the culture and language exams in the right order.
What the Spanish culture and constitution exam (CCSE) covers · Booking the culture exam (CCSE): fees, centres and calendar · How to prepare for the culture exam (CCSE)
Preparing and filing your application
You can assemble a complete file, file it online and know the true cost and sequence.
The citizenship document file: what you need and expiry dates · Criminal record certificates for citizenship from Spain and abroad · Filing your citizenship application online step by step
Waiting, delays and refusals
You know how to track your file, respond to requests and react to delays or a refusal.
How long a citizenship decision takes and how to track your file · No answer after a year: what administrative silence means · Responding when the Ministry asks for more documents
After approval: oath, DNI and passport
You complete the post-approval steps on time and end with your Spanish ID.
The 180-day deadline after your citizenship is approved · Booking and taking the oath or promise (jura o promesa) · Getting your first Spanish ID (DNI) and passport
Dual nationality and renunciation
You know whether you can keep both nationalities and what renouncing really does.
Can you keep your nationality when you become Spanish? · How renouncing your previous nationality works at the oath · Check your home country's dual-nationality rules before you apply
Children's Spanish nationality
You know whether your child is or can become Spanish and which process applies.
Is a child born in Spain to foreign parents Spanish? · Registering a child born abroad to a Spanish parent · Do children become Spanish when a parent naturalises?
Nationality by origin and descent
You know whether you can claim Spanish nationality through family and how to prove it.
Claiming nationality through a Spanish parent or grandparent · Descendants of exiles: who qualifies under the Democratic Memory law · The Democratic Memory deadline has closed: what now?
Deciding whether to naturalise
You can decide whether, when and by which route to pursue Spanish nationality.
Should you become a Spanish citizen? · What Spanish and EU citizenship gives you · What you give up by naturalising
Other sections in Immigration and residency
Eligibility and route selection
Helps you find the Spanish residence route you qualify for.
Applications and evidence
Helps you assemble and file a complete residence application.
Status, cards, and renewals
Helps you get the residence card and keep status valid after approval.
Partners, dependents, and family routes
Helps you secure status for partners, children and relatives.
Mistakes, gaps, and dead ends
Helps you avoid or recover from immigration status failures.
Need certainty before you act?
For important relocation decisions, speak with a qualified human specialist.
Always verify important information with the relevant official authority or a qualified adviser before acting. This website uses large language models together with various public data sources, official government documents and other established sources. Due to the amount of data on this website, some information might be wrong. Information may also be incomplete or outdated.