How to check the status of your Spanish citizenship application
If you meet all the requirements and have applied for Spanish citizenship, it can be a long and frustrating wait to find out if it has been granted or not. Fortunately, there are several ways you can check on the status of your application.
Typically if you’ve lived in Spain for 10 years or more, you are legally able to apply for Spanish citizenship.
Like many bureaucratic processes in Spain, it can be complicated, and waiting for an answer can take a long time.
For citizenship applications submitted online, Spain’s Justice Ministry should give a response within a year, according to a 2015 Spanish law.
In reality, however, waiting times for Spanish citizenship applications in recent years are reportedly between one and three years.
READ ALSO: How long are waiting times for the Spanish citizenship process?
This is according to a number of legal firms in Spain specialising in Spanish citizenship applications, from Balcells Group, to Parainmigrantes.info and Legalteam.
Fortunately, there are several ways you can check on the status of your application while you wait, giving you an insight into when you may receive your final answer.
The legal continuous residency requirements for Spanish Spanish citizenship are:
- 10 years as the general rule
- 5 years if you are a refugee
- 2 years if you are from a Spanish or Portuguese-speaking Latin American country, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, Philippines or Portugal.
- 1 year for those married to a Spanish national or children/grandchildren of Spanish citizens born in Spain.
READ ALSO - Step by step: how to apply for Spanish nationality
How to check your application status
One of the easiest ways to check the status of your application is via an online tool.
In order to be able to use it, you must remember that you must have registered and received your reference or R number, otherwise, you won’t be able to.
If you submit your application online, you will get this automatically, but if you have done it in person or any other way, it will be assigned to you at a later date.
To access the service, you will need:
- The reference number from your application
- Your NIE number
- The year you applied
- Your date of birth
How to check your Spanish citizenship application. Source: Spanish government
Make sure to enter your NIE in capital letters, with no hyphens.
You can also access this online tool if you have registered for a Cl@ve by formally identifying yourself online under the section ¿Cómo va lo mío?
READ ALSO: How to save lots of time on official matters through Spain's online Cl@ve system
How to check the status of your Spanish citizenship application. Source: Spanish government
Once you have done this you will be able to see your status. It will be marked as one of the following:
- En Estudio (In Study)
- Pendiente respuesta informes preceptivos solicitados (Pending response to mandatory reports requested)
- Requerido (Documents requested)
- Pendiente de firma (Pending signature)
- En calificación (Being qualified)
- Abierto - concedido (Open - Granted)
- Expediente archivado (Archived application)
- Nacionalidad denegada (Nationality denied)
- Expediente en vía de recurso (Appealed application)
- Estimado por recurso de reposición (Approved after an appeal)
This will tell you the status, as well as details such as if you need to provide further documentation.
You can also obtain information on the status of your procedure through the general information telephone number 060.
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Typically if you’ve lived in Spain for 10 years or more, you are legally able to apply for Spanish citizenship.
Like many bureaucratic processes in Spain, it can be complicated, and waiting for an answer can take a long time.
For citizenship applications submitted online, Spain’s Justice Ministry should give a response within a year, according to a 2015 Spanish law.
In reality, however, waiting times for Spanish citizenship applications in recent years are reportedly between one and three years.
READ ALSO: How long are waiting times for the Spanish citizenship process?
This is according to a number of legal firms in Spain specialising in Spanish citizenship applications, from Balcells Group, to Parainmigrantes.info and Legalteam.
Fortunately, there are several ways you can check on the status of your application while you wait, giving you an insight into when you may receive your final answer.
The legal continuous residency requirements for Spanish Spanish citizenship are:
- 10 years as the general rule
- 5 years if you are a refugee
- 2 years if you are from a Spanish or Portuguese-speaking Latin American country, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, Philippines or Portugal.
- 1 year for those married to a Spanish national or children/grandchildren of Spanish citizens born in Spain.
READ ALSO - Step by step: how to apply for Spanish nationality
How to check your application status
One of the easiest ways to check the status of your application is via an online tool.
In order to be able to use it, you must remember that you must have registered and received your reference or R number, otherwise, you won’t be able to.
If you submit your application online, you will get this automatically, but if you have done it in person or any other way, it will be assigned to you at a later date.
To access the service, you will need:
- The reference number from your application
- Your NIE number
- The year you applied
- Your date of birth
Make sure to enter your NIE in capital letters, with no hyphens.
You can also access this online tool if you have registered for a Cl@ve by formally identifying yourself online under the section ¿Cómo va lo mío?
READ ALSO: How to save lots of time on official matters through Spain's online Cl@ve system
Once you have done this you will be able to see your status. It will be marked as one of the following:
- En Estudio (In Study)
- Pendiente respuesta informes preceptivos solicitados (Pending response to mandatory reports requested)
- Requerido (Documents requested)
- Pendiente de firma (Pending signature)
- En calificación (Being qualified)
- Abierto - concedido (Open - Granted)
- Expediente archivado (Archived application)
- Nacionalidad denegada (Nationality denied)
- Expediente en vía de recurso (Appealed application)
- Estimado por recurso de reposición (Approved after an appeal)
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