Requirements to apply for Spanish citizenship
There are different ways to get the Spanish (being a descendant of a Spanish citizen, by option etc). The most common is the nationality by residence, which means to get the citizenship after a certain period of residence in Spain.
As a general rule, in order to apply for Spanish citizenship, the applicant must have lived in Spain legally and continuously for 10 years, in accordance with Article 22 of the Spanish Civil Code.
Note: that this period of ten years is counted from the date of application to the previous ten years. If, for example, you have lived in Spain for 15 years, but have not been in Spain for the last two years, you will not meet the requirements.
The law states that the ten years must be continuous. It is common accepted that leaving Spain for more than 6 months in a 10 year period is not considered continuous residence.
The period of student visa is not considered to be legal residence.
The term “legal residence” in the Civil Code refers to “residencia”, whereas the term “estancia” refers to living in Spain as a student, and therefore the period of residence as a student cannot be counted.
New born in Spain
Foreigners children born in Spain follow the nationality of their parents. If the law of the parents origin country does not grant any nationality to the new born (e.g. case of Brazil), then the baby will get Spanish nationality.
A child born in Spain, who has already have a nationality, must have lived legally in Spain for one year before applying for citizenship. The period of legal residence starts from the time the child’s residence permit is granted.
If one of the parents is a Spanish national, the child can get the citizenship immediately, without waiting for a year of residence.
Spanish Citizenship by Marriage
Marriage to a Spanish citizen is also one of the common ways of acquiring Spanish nationality. After marriage, you only need 1 year (instead of 10) residence period before filing the application.
Nationality and language test
Before you can apply for citizenship in Spain, you must pass an examination called CCSE. The purpose of this test is to assess the applicant’s integration into Spanish society and his or her knowledge of the Spanish culture and political system. Other required examination is A2 Spanish language test. Both test are hold by Instituto Cervantes.
