Tell us about your case
Six offices in Spain
More than 40 lawyers
All areas of law
In person or remote
The essentials
The application form takes an afternoon to fill in. The hard part comes later: a birth certificate that has not been legalised, an expired criminal record certificate or a translation that is not valid all lead to a request for corrections, and each request adds months to a procedure that is already long. If you do not reply within three months, the authorities treat you as having withdrawn and you have to start again (art. 10.2 of Royal Decree 1004/2015).
To obtain Spanish citizenship by this route, our work starts before the fee is paid. We count the years of legal residence that really count, review your history of cards and renewals, check that your documents from your country of origin are valid and in the form the Ministry of Justice asks for, and only then do we file the citizenship application through the electronic office, signing as your representatives. From that moment the notifications come to us.
If you do not yet have a residence permit that lets you start counting, or your card is about to expire, the priority is something else: the residence permit renewal without leaving gaps. For any other procedure, you can count on our immigration lawyers.
Article 22 of the Civil Code sets four periods. Which one applies to you depends on your nationality of origin or your personal situation, and in every case your residence in Spain must be legal, continuous and immediately before the application.
Are you going to apply for citizenship, or has your file been stuck for months?
The figures that mark the file, from filing to registration.
1 year
to decide and notify, counted from the day the application reaches the body that processes it; with no reply, it is treated as refused
source: art. 11.3 RD 1004/2015
3 months
to reply to a request for corrections; if you do not, you are treated as having withdrawn
source: art. 10.2 RD 1004/2015
1 month
for the appeal for reconsideration (recurso de reposición) against an express refusal; against silence it can be filed at any time
source: art. 124.1 Ley 39/2015
180 days
from notification of the grant to complete the formalities at the Civil Registry and ask for registration; otherwise the grant lapses
source: art. 21.4 CC and art. 12 RD 1004/2015
The procedure is electronic at every stage (art. 3 RD 1004/2015). This is the process, step by step, as we run it.
1
We calculate your residence period from the dates of your permits and review criminal records, long trips and your tax situation.
2
We tell you whether you have to take the DELE A2 and the CCSE test or are exempt, and when it makes sense to book at an exam centre recognised by the Instituto Cervantes.
3
We request or review your birth certificate and your criminal record certificate from your country, legalised or apostilled and translated, and prepare the application form.
4
We pay the government fee (tasa) with form 790, code 026, attach each document and file through the citizenship application. You receive the receipt with the date and time of registration.
5
We monitor the status of the file and reply to any requests. The Ministry of the Interior issues a mandatory report to check that the requirements of article 22 of the Civil Code are met (art. 8.2 RD 1004/2015).
6
If it is granted, we tell you the formalities at the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) of your place of residence, which records the acquisition in the Spanish Civil Registry and closes the procedure (art. 13 RD 1004/2015).
We look for gaps between a card and its renewal, renewals requested late and long absences from Spain. The law requires residence that is continuous and immediately before the application: if your card expires while you wait, we tell you how to keep it valid.
We review criminal and police records in Spain and in your country, fines and debts with the authorities. A cancellable conviction or an old arrest can weigh against you if it is not explained with documents.
Besides the exams, the Ministry assesses the whole file, including the reports it requests (art. 6.8 RD 1004/2015). We provide evidence of work, studies, social life or involvement in your neighbourhood when it supports the application.
We check the legalisation or apostille, that the translation is a sworn translation and that the details match your passport and your foreigner identity card. A single different letter in a surname is enough for a request for corrections.
The sooner you tell us, the more room we have
Article 5 of RD 1004/2015 sets the basic documents. The registration certificate (empadronamiento), the Central Criminal Records Registry certificate and the residence card do not have to be provided if you authorise on the form that your data be checked. If the applicant is a citizen of the European Union, their registration certificate, entered in the Central Registry of Foreigners, serves that purpose.
Once a year has passed without a reply, the application is treated as refused by silence. This is not a ground for refusal: it is the door the law opens so that a court can decide.
Counting from your arrival in Spain, rather than from the grant of your first permit, is a common mistake. If even a single day is missing, the application is refused.
The criminal record certificate from your country of origin has a limited validity. If it expires before you file, the Ministry will ask for another and the file gets longer because of the request.
If you agreed to electronic notifications, they arrive at the electronic office. Someone who does not log in often can miss the three-month deadline to correct the file.
1
2
3
Ten years as a general rule. The shorter periods of five, two and one year depend on your nationality of origin or your situation, such as marriage to a Spanish citizen or having been born in Spain (art. 22 CC).
It is the Instituto Cervantes test on the Constitution and the sociocultural knowledge of Spain. It has 25 questions, you pass by answering 15 correctly and the certificate is valid for four years, according to the official information from the Instituto Cervantes. 60% of the questions are about the Constitution and how the State is organised, and 40% about culture, history and society (art. 6.3 RD 1004/2015).
From the DELE, nationals of countries where Spanish is an official language and anyone who already holds a DELE A2 or higher are exempt. From both tests, people under 18 and people whose legal capacity has been modified by a court. The Instituto Cervantes also reports a waiver of the CCSE for those who hold the Spanish secondary school certificate (ESO) obtained in Spain.
The legal deadline is one year from the day the application reaches the body that processes it. If it passes without a decision, the law treats the application as refused. The file stays open and the Ministry may still decide later, but you can appeal so that a court reviews it.
On its electronic office, the Ministry of Justice offers an online service to check the status of citizenship-by-residence files. If we represent you, we do that follow-up ourselves and let you know of every movement.
It is not compulsory: you can file it yourself. A lawyer provides a prior review of the requirements, quick replies to any requests and the option of appealing to the National High Court (Audiencia Nacional) if necessary, because there the case is conducted by a legal professional.
Yes, with your residence permit valid. Avoid long absences: your residence must be continuous.
We have six offices in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Málaga, Córdoba and Palma de Mallorca) and we also work with clients online.
