You have the right to apply for Spanish citizenship generally if you have 10 years of continuous legal residency in Spain or five years if you’re a refugee.
Those from Spanish or Portuguese-speaking Latin American countries, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, the Philippines or Portugal, however, will only have to wait two years.
Alternatively, if you marry a Spaniard, you only have to legally reside in Spain for one year. The same for a child who is born in Spain.
There are several other circumstances in which you may be entitled to citizenship, including through citizenship by descent.
READ ALSO: 12 must-read articles before applying for Spanish citizenship
Whichever situation applies to you, typically have to go through a similar application process and pass two exams - 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 DELE language exam (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) for those whose native language isn’t Spanish.
There are several other requisites you must meet, which you can read about in our article here. This will also tell you about the steps you need to take to apply.
The main question that everyone wants answering, however, is how long do Spanish citizenship applications actually take.
Before 2024, there were huge delays in processing applications as there was a huge backlog. On average it would take between one and half and three years to wait for a resolution, but some people even waited up to five years.
Then in mid 2024, the government announced the launch of new automated technology and software to help streamline the process, so that it would take months instead of years. They also said they would hire more staff to help deal with the backlog.
READ ALSO: Will I lose my British citizenship if I become Spanish?
So, what is happening now in 2026? Has the application process become faster, or has it slowed down once again?
By law, the Justice Ministry is supposed to take a maximum of 365 days or one year to issue a resolution, but it’s clear that this isn’t always happening.
To answer this question of how long it currently takes, we look at what some of Spain’s top law firms say on the matter.
According to IG Abogados Extranjería in Madrid “In 2026, many people are still waiting for a decision after months – and even years – since submitting their application”.
As a guideline, they tell their clients that the average resolution time in 2026 is between 12 and 24 months.
They state that of the applications they filed in 2023, many have already been resolved, although not all.
For those submitted in 2024 most are still in process or qualification phase and for those submitted in 2025, they are still in initial phases.
There current recommendation, however, "is not to wait more than 14 months for a response. If your Spanish nationality status remains unchanged, legal action is the only way to guarantee a binding decision within a short timeframe."
READ ALSO: How to avoid 8 common mistakes when applying for Spanish citizenship
Law firm Cohen & Aguirre estimates that from the time you apply to the time you receive your final resolution “it could take between six to 18 months”. That’s another huge time frame, which doesn’t really make the answer any clearer.
According to Balcells, obtaining Spanish nationality by residence takes approximately one year, “but in practice this is not always the case”.
They admit that some of their clients have had to wait up to three years in the past.
Often it can depend on the your individual circumstances and the way you get citizenship. According to Immigration Advice Service, if you’re applying through marriage, “as a general rule it takes 6 to 18 months from the time a complete file is received”.
READ ALSO: How to check the status of your Spanish citizenship application
There are many different reasons for the delays. The first is the sheer number of people applying every year. Balcells estimate that between 80,000 and 100,000 new applications for nationality are submitted each year.
In 2025, a record number of nearly 295,107 new applications for Spanish nationality by residency were registered, according to official government stats.
Consular offices have also received 1.2 million applications under the Democratic Memory Law, better known as the 'grandchildren's law' as it benefits the descendants of those exiled during the dictatorship, creating a significant backlog.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares indicated that there could be a lot more. As of March 31st, 2026, some 2.4 million people "have expressed their interest in applying for Spanish nationality" under this law, which could create even further delays to the process.
In addition to the bottleneck of applications, Balcells admits that the Ministry of Justice does not follow a chronological system. This means they may begin to resolve a case which was received later than one that has been pending for some time.
While you may not have control to speed up your application, there are ways you can help make sure there aren’t further delays.
This includes making sure you're not missing any documents and that your application is complete, as well as getting help and guidance from professionals.
Comments