Foreign investors or natural persons who want to relocate to Spain and obtain citizenship here have to know the local requirements imposed by the Spanish authorities. In order to obtain citizenship in Spain, the person applying for it must have an age above 18 years old; it is also necessary to have lived in Spain for a period of 10 years if the person is a foreign national. Still, several exemptions are allowed under specific situations, which can be presented by our team of Spanish company formation specialists.
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As a foreigner applying for citizenship, it is necessary to be a resident of the country for at least 10 years. Citizenship can also be obtained if the foreigner marries a Spanish citizen or if the person has parents that are considered Spanish citizens.
An important aspect is that the local legislation requires having a good understanding of the local culture, but also being able to speak the Spanish language.
There are two ways of obtaining citizenship in Spain:
Persons are entitled to apply for citizenship by option if the individual is the child of a Spanish citizen; at the same time, adopted children of Spanish citizens, who, at the moment of the adoption had an age above 18 years old, can apply for this type of permit.
Spanish citizenship can also be obtained by a foreign person who has been living in Spain for five or ten years. Five years is the time period required for refugees, while a period of ten years is applicable to nationals from countries such as Andorra or Portugal; our team of Spanish company formation agents can offer more details.
The legislation on immigration in Spain for 2024 states that persons who want to become Spanish citizens by naturalization will first have to become permanent residents. One can become a permanent resident after living here for 5 years, this being a compulsory requirement in the long process of becoming a citizen. Please mind that the application can be finalized in a period of 2-3 years in general, but one can go through this process in a shorter period of time, of 1.5 years.
Starting with 2023, Romanian citizens can acquire Spanish nationality without having to renounce their current one. According to the agreement signed between Romania and the Spanish Kingdom, dual citizenship is allowed for Romanian citizens.
When applying for Spanish citizenship, the language test DELE A2 is mandatory. This way you can demonstrate the Spanish language skills you have. This kind of test is not mandatory for Spanish citizenship candidates coming from Latin America countries.
The main body processing citizenship applications is the Civil Registry, to which persons can address their place of residence. Spanish nationality is given to persons who have registered their citizenship at the Civil Registry for a period of at least ten years. It is important to know that those granted Spanish nationality shall not lose this distinction even in a situation in which the record of the Civil Registry is annulled.
Once getting the Spanish citizenship there are other procedures that one should consider. For instance, it is mandatory to register with the Civil Registry corresponding with the domicile.
Citizens coming from Latin America countries can obtain Spanish citizenship after living 2 years in Spain. The same is available for citizens from countries like Portugal, Andorra, Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, etc. These citizens are not obliged to renounce their current nationality, as Spain allows dual citizenship in such cases.
It is also good to know that children adopted by Spanish citizens who are under 18 years of age or older can be good candidates for obtaining Spanish citizenship. Thus, it applies to birth Spanish citizenship.
Persons who need more information on Spanish citizenship can address our team of company formation representatives.