Preparing and filing your application
You can assemble a complete file, file it online and know the true cost and sequence.
This Topic walks you through building and filing your Spanish nationality application. It covers the document file, criminal record certificates, online filing, the total cost and the order in which to prepare everything.
Pick the article that fits your situation
The citizenship document file: what you need and expiry dates
Shows what goes into a Spanish citizenship-by-residence file, which documents have an age limit, which never expire, and how to time each one so nothing lapses before you file. For applicants applying by residence.
Criminal record certificates for citizenship from Spain and abroad
Explains which countries' criminal record certificates you need for a Spanish citizenship application by residence, how recent they must be, and how your Spanish record and good conduct are checked. For applicants who have lived abroad.
Filing your citizenship application online step by step
How to file a Spanish citizenship-by-residence application online through the Ministry of Justice electronic office: what you need to identify yourself, who can file for you, the steps, the proof to keep, and what to do if the Ministry asks for corrections.
What Spanish citizenship costs in total
A cost-by-cost list for anyone applying for Spanish citizenship by residence: the state fee, the language and knowledge exams, criminal record certificates, translations, and who can skip some of these costs. Use it to build your budget before you start.
When to start and in what order to prepare
The order to prepare a Spanish nationality-by-residence application so that no exam, record or certificate expires before you file. It is for applicants who are counting down to their filing date.
About this topic
It is for anyone considering, planning or carrying out a move to Spain who wants to apply for citizenship. After reading, you can assemble a complete file, file it online and know the true cost and sequence. Many certificates expire, and there are several separate fees, so order matters.
Start with "When to start and in what order to prepare". It shows how to sequence exams, records and filing so nothing runs out before you submit. Then read the other pages as you reach each step: the document file and expiry dates, criminal record certificates from Spain and abroad, filing online step by step, and what citizenship costs in total.
Apostille and sworn translation, choosing paperwork help and avoiding scams are covered elsewhere.
Key rules
- Record freshness: A foreign criminal record certificate must have been issued no more than three months before you file, unless it states a shorter validity.
- Exam results: CCSE and DELE A2 results do not expire for a nationality application, so take the exams first.
- Residence period: You must have completed the full legal residence period (normally 10 years) before you file, counted from the grant of legal residence.
- Correction request: If the Ministry asks you to correct or add documents, you normally have 10 working days to respond, and the deadline in the notice prevails.
- State fee: The state fee is paid with modelo 790 código 026 and was about 104.05 euros in 2025; it is updated yearly, so check the current amount before paying.
- CCSE fee: The CCSE exam costs 85 euros as of 2025.
Preparing and filing your application: the whole process, step by step
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Check you have completed the full residence period (see "When to start and in what order to prepare"): before you start anything else
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Book and pass the CCSE and DELE A2 exams (see "When to start and in what order to prepare"): first, booking one to 2 months ahead because places fill quickly in large cities
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Gather your passport, residence card and full birth certificate, legalised or apostilled and translated if needed (see "The citizenship document file: what you need and expiry dates"): while you wait for exam results
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Order your criminal record certificates from every country you lived in, with apostille and sworn translation (see "Criminal record certificates for citizenship from Spain and abroad"): last, so each foreign certificate is issued no more than three months before you file
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Pay the state fee and file online through the Ministry of Justice electronic office (see "What Spanish citizenship costs in total" and "Filing your citizenship application online step by step"): once every document is ready and still within its validity
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Answer any request to correct or add documents (see "Filing your citizenship application online step by step"): within 10 working days of receiving the notice; the deadline in the notice prevails
Documents you may need
Identity and residence
- Residence route — The citizenship document file: what you need and expiry dates
- Passport and residence card — Filing your citizenship application online step by step
- Empadronamiento certificate — Filing your citizenship application online step by step
Other documents
- Birth certificate
- Spanish criminal record certificate
- Criminal record certificate from your country of origin — Criminal record certificates for citizenship from Spain and abroad, Filing your citizenship application online step by step
- Minor under 18 — The citizenship document file: what you need and expiry dates
Each article lists the other documents it asks for, where you need them.
Preparing and filing your application: questions that cross several articles
Do my exam results and documents expire before I file?
Your CCSE and DELE A2 results do not expire for a nationality application, but foreign criminal record certificates do. Those must be issued no more than three months before you file, so order them last. Read "When to start and in what order to prepare" and "Criminal record certificates for citizenship from Spain and abroad".
Which countries do I need criminal record certificates from?
You need certificates from your country of origin or nationality, and from any other country where you lived for a significant period since you came of legal age. Spanish records are checked by the administration itself. See "Criminal record certificates for citizenship from Spain and abroad", and "The citizenship document file: what you need and expiry dates" for the other documents.
How recent does my birth certificate need to be?
Your birth certificate has no strict expiry, but it must be a full copy from the civil registry, legalised or apostilled, and it is usually expected to be recent, issued within about the last year. Translate it if it is not in Spanish.
Where do I file my nationality application?
You file online through the Ministry of Justice electronic office, under the nationality by residence procedure. Pay the state fee first, then submit. Read "Filing your citizenship application online step by step" and "What Spanish citizenship costs in total".
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What to read next
More in Permanent residence and citizenship
Counting your years of residence
You can work out which of your years count, how trips abroad affect them and your earliest eligibility dates.
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.
Citizenship by residence
You know which waiting period applies to you and what else must be true before you can apply.
Also in Immigration and residency
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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.