Spanish Citizenship

The Spanish passport ranks an impressive third place in the current list of the world's most powerful passports, as it allows its holder to travel visa-free to more than 180 countries, including all European Union countries, the United States, Canada, and many countries in South America, Africa, and Asia. The Spanish passport also grants the right to live and work in any EU country. It's no wonder that Spanish citizenship is so attractive - over the past two years, more than 7,000 foreigners have acquired Spanish passports.

To obtain Spanish citizenship, you must meet certain requirements, such as:

• being a legal resident of Spain for a specified period of time;
• passing tests in Spanish language and knowledge of Spanish culture;
• having no criminal record;
• you may also be required to renounce any previous citizenship.

There are several ways to obtain Spanish citizenship:

By Descent: if at least one of your parents was a Spanish citizen at the time of your birth. In 2022, another law was passed allowing those whose parent lost or renounced Spanish citizenship due to expulsion from the Kingdom during the Franco dictatorship for political, ideological, or religious reasons to acquire Spanish citizenship.

By Residency: if you have been a resident of Spain for at least 10 years, you can apply for citizenship by passing tests on the Spanish language and integration.

By Marriage: if you are married to a Spanish citizen, you can apply for citizenship after one year of marriage.

By Sephardic Origin: if you have Sephardic Jewish ancestry, you can apply for Spanish citizenship under the Spanish Law for the return of Sephardic Jews. The deadline for applications under this law was October 1, 2019, but in some cases, applications are still being accepted.

In most cases, to obtain Spanish citizenship, you need to pass a language test known as DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera), organized by the Cervantes Institute. The DELE test is designed to assess your level of proficiency in Spanish, and there are several levels of the test, from A1 (beginner) to C2 (advanced).

Applicants usually need to pass the A2 level DELE, which confirms that you have a good basic knowledge of Spanish and can communicate effectively in various situations.

For most of our clients and readers, the first step will be obtaining resident status in Spain. And the Granfield Estate team can help you with this too. Especially since more and more non-EU foreigners are choosing residency through investment, for example, by purchasing real estate worth 500,000 euros or more. Contact Granfield Estate – we will answer all your questions about residency documents and find the best property for you on the Costa Blanca. With us, all transactions are transparent, fast, and secure.