Spanish nationality by residence: an easy step-by-step guide

Soraya Mohamedi Mohamed · Ubuntu Canarias · 12 min read

A man checking and filling in documents at a table, next to a folder with papers

You don't need to read it all at once. You can save it and come back to it when you reach each step.

Step 1 · How many years do I need?

Living in Spain is not the same as having legal residence

For nationality, the years you have lived in Spain do not count. What counts is the years you have had legal residence: with a residence card (TIE, the foreigner's identity card) or with a valid permit.

Time without papers does not count. The padrón (the town hall register of where you live) does not count on its own either. It is useful for other things, but it is not legal residence.

This residence must be continuous, which means without breaks, and it must be right before you apply for nationality. If you apply too early, they will say no.

The years for your case

It depends on your country of origin and your situation:

Your situation	Years of legal residence
General case (for example: Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Pakistan, Ukraine…)	10 years
People with recognised refugee status	5 years
People who are nationals by origin of Latin American countries (Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil…), Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal	2 years
People born in Spain	1 year
People married to a Spanish man or woman for at least 1 year, and not separated	1 year
Widows or widowers of a Spanish man or woman (if they were not separated)	1 year
People who were for 2 years in a row under the guardianship or foster care of a Spanish person or a Spanish institution	1 year
People born outside Spain with a father, mother, grandfather or grandmother who was Spanish by origin	1 year

Be careful with the words "by origin". For the 2-year period, what counts is the nationality you were born with, not one you got later.

If you got your residence permit through a special process, like a regularisation, check from which date it counts as legal residence for nationality before you send anything.

Step 2 · Which exams do I have to take?

This is where people get confused the most. There are two different exams and not everyone has to take both.

CCSE: (the exam on constitutional and social knowledge of Spain) questions about the Constitution, the laws, the culture and daily life in Spain.
DELE A2: (the official Spanish language diploma) a basic-level Spanish exam.

Your country of origin	CCSE	DELE A2
Countries where Spanish is spoken: Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea…	✅ Yes	❌ No (exempt)
Brazil, Portugal, Andorra, the Philippines	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Pakistan, Ukraine and all other countries	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Minors (from any country)	They do not take the exams like adults. You need to ask about their case.

Being Latin American saves you one exam, but not both. Everyone has to take the CCSE, wherever they come from.

People from Brazil often get confused. They have the short 2-year period, but Spanish is not spoken in Brazil, so they do have to take the DELE.

There are two special situations:

If you finished the ESO in Spain (compulsory secondary school), you can ask to be excused from the exams.
If you cannot read or write, or you have learning difficulties, you can ask to be excused. But you must ask for this before you apply for nationality, and wait for their answer.

Step 3 · Prepare for the CCSE exam

What the exam is like

There are 25 questions in 45 minutes.
Some questions have 3 answers to choose from, and others are true or false.
To pass, you need 15 correct answers.
Wrong answers do not take points away. Always answer every question, even if you are not sure.
It costs €85. If you fail or cannot go, you get a second chance without paying again.
Results come out in about 20 days and they tell you by email.
A pass is valid for 4 years.

It is not all about laws. About 6 in every 10 questions are about the Government, the laws and taking part in society. The other 4 are about culture, history and daily life in Spain: customs, festivals, geography, or how to do some paperwork.

Sign up only on the official website of the Instituto Cervantes (the official Spanish institute that runs the exam). Some websites pretend to be exam centres and charge much more: we have seen the same exam advertised for €151.

In 2026 there are two exam dates left: 29 October (sign up by 8 October) and 26 November (sign up by 5 November). There are exam centres in Gran Canaria. Look for them in the official list of Instituto Cervantes centres (in Spanish).

For people who cannot read or write, the Cervantes has a special version, and the questions are also in audio.

How to prepare without paying for a school

You don't need to take any course to sit the exam. The Instituto Cervantes gives you all the official material for free:

The CCSE 2026 Manual, with all the questions that can come up. In 2026 about one in every four questions changed, so don't study with old manuals.
The official app for your phone, for Android and iPhone. It is the only one with the real exam questions.
A practice exam.
The questions in audio and a glossary of words in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and other languages.

If you prefer to prepare with a teacher, in the Canary Islands the Centros de Educación de Personas Adultas (CEPA) (public adult education centres) have a course to prepare for the CCSE. It is in person, it lasts 60 hours over one term, and it is for foreign people over 18. People who cannot read or write can also join, because they adapt the materials.

In Gran Canaria these centres offer it:

CEPA Las Palmas-Ciudad Alta, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
CEPA San Bartolomé de Tirajana, in San Fernando
CEPA Santa Lucía de Tirajana, in Vecindario

The courses, places, dates and sign-up rules can change each school year. Before you go, ask the CEPA directly if there are places left.

The course prepares you, but it does not replace the exam. You still have to take the CCSE exam at the Instituto Cervantes and pay the fee.

Tips for studying

A little every day. 20 minutes a day helps more than three hours on a Sunday.
Use the app in your spare moments: on the bus, while waiting for an appointment, before you sleep.
Read the questions out loud. If Spanish is hard for you, listening and repeating helps a lot.
Study with another person who is also preparing. Asking each other questions works very well.
If you don't understand a word, look it up in the Cervantes glossary or ask someone. Don't just learn the answer by heart.
Do the practice exam with a clock, 45 minutes, as if it were the real day.

You can prepare for the nerves too

For many people this exam weighs more than it seems. It is not just an exam: behind it there are years of waiting, papers and hard work. So it is normal to feel afraid, even if you know the answers.

Some things that can help:

The exam does not measure your worth. It measures if you have learned some specific questions, and you can practise that.
Failing is not the end. The fee includes a second try. Many people pass the second time.
Pack your bag the night before: your passport or the document you used to sign up, and a pen. That way you don't have to think about it in the morning.
Sleep. Studying all night before the exam usually does more harm than good.
Arrive early. Arriving in a rush makes the nerves worse.
If your mind goes blank on a question, go to the next one and come back later. Often the answer comes to you on its own.
If you feel stuck, breathe slowly for a few seconds: breathe in through your nose and breathe out slowly through your mouth. It seems small, but it helps you calm down.

The wait after you apply is also hard. Many months can go by with no news. Checking your file every day does not make it faster, and it often makes the worry worse. Once a week is enough. In the meantime, carry on with your life: your work, your classes, your people.

If the wait or the exam is affecting you a lot, talk about it. With your family, with your friends or with us. You don't have to go through it alone.

Step 4 · Get your papers together

Your residence card (TIE) or the residence document you have.
Your full, valid passport, with all its pages. Sometimes they also ask for your old passports.
Your birth certificate from your country.
Your criminal record certificate from your country.
Your CCSE and DELE pass certificates, if you need them.
The receipt for paying the fee.

Documents from your country usually need the Hague apostille or must be legalised. If they are not in Spanish, they must also be translated by a sworn translator or at the consulate.

A practical tip: the criminal record certificate expires. Check how long the one from your country is valid (if it doesn't say, the Ministry accepts it for 6 months) and ask for it when you already have everything else ready.

If you are married to a Spanish person, or you are a widow or widower, they will also ask for your partner's birth and marriage certificates. If you are a refugee, they will ask for the document that shows this.

Step 5 · Send your application

You apply online, on the Sede Electrónica del Ministerio de Justicia (the Ministry of Justice's official website for applications). To log in you need Cl@ve or a digital certificate (Cl@ve is the Spanish government's online ID system). A lawyer, an agent or an organisation can also apply for you, with your permission.

You pay the fee with the modelo 790, código 026 (the official payment form for this fee), and it costs €104.05. This fee does not include the price of the exams.

A very common trap: starting the application is not the same as sending it. When you create it on the website, you have two months to finish it, sign it and send it. If you don't, it is deleted automatically.

Step 6 · Wait and check your notifications

You can see how your file is going on the Ministry website, in the section «Cómo va lo mío» ("How is my case going"). But what you see there is only information. Official notifications come another way: through the Dirección Electrónica Habilitada Única (DEHú, the government's online mailbox for official notices).

Check the DEHú often. As a general rule, if you don't open a notification within 10 days, it counts as refused and the process goes ahead anyway.

If the Ministry asks you for another paper, you have 3 months to hand it in. If you don't, they can close your application.

How long does it take? The law says the Ministry has one year to answer. In practice, it often takes longer. Be wary of anyone who promises you nationality in four months.

If a year goes by with no answer, the law treats it as a "no" ("silencio negativo", negative silence), but you can appeal and the Ministry still has to answer you.

Step 7 · If you get it: the oath

Getting nationality granted does not mean everything is done. You have 180 days from when they notify you to take the oath or promise. You can do it at the Registro Civil (the Civil Registry, where births, marriages and nationality are recorded) or before a notary. With a notary it is usually quicker to get an appointment, but it costs money.

If you ask for an appointment at the Registro Civil and they don't give you one within the time limit, keep the proof that you asked for it and ask the Registro Civil or a professional straight away what to do.

At the oath you must give up your previous nationality, unless you are from a Latin American country, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal or France. With these countries you can have dual nationality.

After the oath they register you at the Registro Civil. Then you can apply for your Spanish ID card (DNI) and passport.

Before you start, check this

Do I have the years of legal residence I need, without breaks?
Are my residence card and passport valid?
Do I have to take the CCSE? (Almost everyone does.)
Do I have to take the DELE, or am I exempt?
If I cannot read or write, have I asked to be excused first?
Do my documents have an apostille and translation?
Do I have Cl@ve or a digital certificate, or someone to help me apply?
Do I know how to check my notifications?

This guide is for information only. It is based on information published by the Ministry of Justice, the Instituto Cervantes and the Government of the Canary Islands in October 2026. Every case is different and the rules can change. Before you apply, check your own situation.

Official sources

Do you have questions about your case or need help getting your papers ready?

Request guidance on paperwork

Share on your social media