If you meet the conditions to obtain Spanish nationality, you will need to pass two tests if you're not originally from a Spanish-speaking country.
The first test is the Prueba de Conocimientos Constitucionales y Socioculturales de España (CCSE) or Test of Constitutional and Sociocultural Knowledge of Spain (all applicants sit this) and the second is the DELE language exam (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) for those whose native language isn’t Spanish.
In this article, we’re specifically going to cover the CCSE exam, which covers topics such as government, Spanish geography, Spanish culture and history. It consists of 25 questions, which you will have to answer within a set time limit of 45 minutes to test your knowledge.
Fifteen of the questions are designed to test your knowledge of Spain’s government, legislation and rights of the citizen while the remaining ten are concerned with Spanish culture, history and society.
TEST YOURSELF: Can you pass the Spanish citizenship test?
How do I register for the exam?
In order to take the exam, you’ll first need to register and log in online. You can do that here.
You will need to choose from a selection and places and dates where and when your exam will take place and then pay your fee of €85 in order to be registered correctly.
READ ALSO: Step by step - how to apply for Spanish nationality
Here are some tips to help you pass the exam and ensure you are successful.
1) Make sure to find out when the dates are
There are only certain dates per year when these exams take place and deadlines by when you must have registered for them. Make sure you know when these are so that you don’t miss the deadline and have to wait a long time to be able to register again.
There are many examination centres across the country click here to find out the nearest one to you. Each one of these will be able to tell you when they will be holding their exams and when you need to register by.
2) Get to know the style of the exam and the types of questions
Each year there are 300 multiple choice questions and out of these 25 will be selected for the exam. If you answer 15 of these correctly, you will pass the exam. There are many places online where you can find out the style of the exam, including a practice one on our website here. This will get you familiar with the types of questions that might be asked and the topics covered.
3) Download the official updated manual
On the Insituto Cervantes website, you’ll find the updated manual para la preparación de la Prueba de Conocimientos for which there is a new one each year. These are the exact 300 questions and answers that will be used in that year’s exam. Click here to see the manual for 2022. This should be used as your study bible.
Each year, 25 new questions are added and 25 old ones taken away, so you need to make sure you have the updated list for the year you will be taking the exam.
4) Find time to study
Trying to memorise the answers to potentially 300 different questions can be quite the challenge, so you need to make sure you take plenty of time to study well ahead of your exam.
As well as just studying the manual, you’ll find many online simulations where you can practise and get some idea of how you might do. There are also various apps that companies have created and YouTube videos so that you can study while on the move too.
5) Remember to bring the correct documentation with you
On the day of the exam, it’s very important that you bring the correct documents with you in order to be able to undertake the test. You will have already registered online, but on the day of the test you will need to bring verification of your registration, your original passport and your residency card.
If one of these is being renewed then you will need to make sure you bring photocopies instead.
6) Make sure you know how to fill out the exam sheet correctly
There is a particular way to fill out the multiple-choice exam sheet that you must be aware of. Putting a check or an ‘x’ in the circle will not be accepted. Instead, you’ll have to colour in the small circle, so that the exams will be able to be machine-read. They will not be marked individually by people.
7) Be patient when waiting for the results
Even though they are straightforward multiple-choice questions and there are only 25 of them, you will need to wait around 20 days to find out whether you’ve passed or not. This should be relatively easy after all, if you’re applying for citizenship, you should have lived in Spain a while (typically 10 years or more) and you’ll be used to being patient.
8) You have a second chance
If you don’t pass the test the first time around, you will be given a second chance to re-register and take the exam again. You won’t have to pay the fee again either as you already paid it the first time.
9) Focus on improving your Spanish
Even though this part isn’t a specific language test, all the questions will be in Spanish so you will need to have a pretty good grasp of the language in order to pass the test. You will definitely need to know more Spanish than the A2 level required from the Spanish language test to fully understand the questions, and if you're aiming to become a Spanish national speaking the lingo should be a priority anyway.
Could you be exempt from doing Spain's citizenship exams?
Generally speaking, foreigners who wish to take up Spanish citizenship must sit and pass the language and culture exams in order to be successful. However, there are a few groups who are exempt.
These include foreigners who studied in Spain, children, people with learning difficulties and others who you can read about in more detail in this article.
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