Waiting, delays and refusals

It is for anyone planning or going through a move to Spain who has filed, or is about to file, a nationality application. By the end, you will know how to track your file, respond to requests and react to delays or a refusal.

Start with "How long a citizenship decision takes and how to track your file". It sets realistic expectations and shows you how to check your status. From there, go to the article that matches your situation.

Refusals of immigration permits, such as visas and residence cards, and the search for a lawyer are not covered here.

Key rules

• Legal decision period: The Ministry has one year to decide a nationality application, and if it does not, the silence counts as a refusal.
• Oath deadline: Once a grant is notified, you have 180 days to take the oath or promise.
• Court appeal deadline: You have two months from the day after notification of an express refusal to go to court, or one month for an optional reposición appeal first.
• Reply to a request: You have 10 working days from the day after notification to answer a request for documents, and you can ask in writing for an extension before that time ends.
• Real wait: Expect one to two years from filing, sometimes more.
• Court: The court appeal goes to the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid, unless your letter names another court.

Waiting, delays and refusals: the whole process, step by step

• File the application with the fee and documents, then track the file online: At the start; the one-year clock runs from when the Ministry registers your file, not from first filing.

• Wait while the Ministry checks police records, residence and test results: Usually well beyond the legal period in practice, often one to two years from filing. See: How long a citizenship decision takes and how to track your file

• Answer any request for more documents, and ask in writing for an extension if you need it: You have 10 working days from the day after notification, and an extension must be requested before that time ends. See: Responding when the Ministry asks for more documents

• Check your electronic notifications regularly: A notification you do not open within 10 natural days counts as rejected, and the procedure carries on.

• If the file is archived because a request went unanswered, appeal the archiving or file again: Appeal within one month; a new application needs the fee and documents again and restarts the wait.

• If there is no decision after one year, treat the silence as a refusal and choose how to challenge it: After one year from registration. See: No answer after a year: what administrative silence means

• If the refusal is express, choose between a reposición appeal, a court appeal or a new application: One month for reposición, or two months from the day after notification to go to court. See: Your citizenship application was refused: your options

• Keep your residence permit valid and stay reachable while you wait, including when travelling: Throughout the wait, until the oath. See: Travel, moving house and expiring cards while your file is pending

• Take the oath or promise before a Registro Civil once a grant is notified: Within 180 days of notification. See: Travel, moving house and expiring cards while your file is pending

• Be aware that nationality can be annulled for false information: Within 15 years of acquiring nationality. See: When Spanish citizenship can be annulled for false information

Documents you may need

• A valid residence permit — Travel, moving house and expiring cards while your file is pending

• Proof of registration at your new address in the municipal register — Travel, moving house and expiring cards while your file is pending

• Proof that you passed the CCSE — Your citizenship application was refused: your options

• Proof of good civic conduct — Your citizenship application was refused: your options

• Proof of sufficient integration into Spanish society — Your citizenship application was refused: your options

• Proof of legal — Your citizenship application was refused: your options

Waiting, delays and refusals: questions that cross several articles

Does a request for documents stop the one-year clock?

Yes, a request for documents pauses the period to decide your file between its notification and your reply, or until the reply deadline ends. The pause cannot last more than three months, after which the file may be archived. Read: Responding when the Ministry asks for more documents, and No answer after a year: what administrative silence means.

Is the one year the real waiting time for a decision?

No, in practice most files take longer than the one-year legal period, often one to two years from filing. The year runs from when the Ministry registers your file. Read: How long a citizenship decision takes and how to track your file, and No answer after a year: what administrative silence means.

What happens if I do not open an electronic notification?

If you do not open it within 10 natural days, it is treated as rejected and the procedure carries on as if you had been notified. Any deadline then runs from that date, so you can lose a reply window without reading it. Read: Responding when the Ministry asks for more documents, and How long a citizenship decision takes and how to track your file.

Where can I check my file, and what do I do if nothing has moved?

You check the file on the Ministry of Justice's online office using your file number and ID, an electronic certificate, Cl@ve or DNIe. Notifications also arrive through the DEHú electronic mailbox.