Citizenship for refugees and stateless people

Key rules

• Five years: Recognised refugees need five years of continuous legal residence before applying for nationality.
• Start date: Counting from your asylum application is the usual practice, but confirm it before you apply.
• Stateless people: Do not assume the refugee period applies to you; check your own period first.
• Missing papers: Spanish refugee documents can generally replace a passport and home-country certificates.

Confirm your start date and, if you are stateless, your residence period with the Ministry of Justice or a lawyer before applying.

Refugees need five years, not ten

If you hold refugee status in Spain, you can apply for nationality after five years of legal residence. Most other applicants need longer. The five years must be continuous and must run right up to the day you apply.

When the five years start

Count from your asylum application. This is the usual practice. Some readers count from the day refugee status was granted instead, and the Ministry of Justice has not always applied the rule the same way. Before you apply, confirm your start date with the Ministry of Justice or a lawyer. The timeline below shows the steps in order.

Gaps in legal residence can break the count, so keep your residence papers up to date at all times.

If you are stateless

Stateless people (apátridas) are not clearly covered by the five-year rule. Stateless status is granted under its own separate process. Ask a lawyer or an immigration office which residence period applies to you before you count any years.

If you cannot get identity papers

You do not have to ask your home country for papers. As a refugee, you can generally use Spanish documents instead:

• The Spanish refugee travel document can stand in for a passport.
• The asylum authority's record of your refugee status can stand in for home-country certificates.
• Home-country criminal record and birth certificates are usually not required, because you cannot contact that authority.

Offices handle this case through special practice, not a fixed list. Bring every Spanish document you have, and ask the office what they will accept in each case. The documents list below covers the full set.

Before you apply

• Work out your start date and check it.
• Gather your refugee travel document and your refugee status record.
• Check that your legal residence has been continuous.

The questions below answer the most common doubts.

Timeline and deadlines

• Start counting your residence, usually from your asylum application: on the day you apply for asylum, or in some cases the day refugee status is granted

• Keep your legal residence continuous: for the whole five years

• Apply for nationality: after five years of legal residence immediately before you apply

Documents you need

• Spanish refugee travel document, accepted in place of a passport if you cannot get one from your home country. It is issued in Spain.

• The asylum authority's record of your refugee status, which can replace home-country certificates when you cannot obtain them.

• Home-country criminal record and birth certificate. These are usually not required of refugees, since contacting that authority is not possible.

Frequently asked questions

Does the five-year period start from my refugee status or my asylum application?

The five-year period usually counts from your asylum application, but some cases count it from the grant of refugee status. Practice has varied, so ask the Ministry of Justice or a lawyer which start date applies to you. Your residence must also be continuous up to the day you apply.

Do stateless people get the same five-year period as refugees?

No, stateless people (apátridas) are not clearly covered by the five-year period for refugees. Stateless status is granted under a separate regime, so ask the Ministry of Justice or a lawyer which period applies to you before you apply.

Do I need a criminal record certificate from my home country as a refugee?

Usually no, refugees are generally not asked for a home-country criminal record or birth certificate, because contacting that authority is not possible. Your Spanish refugee documents, such as your travel document or the asylum authority's record, usually replace a passport and home-country certificates.